Using learning object technology to tackle the education challenges of the Caribbean

The education systems in many Caribbean countries lag behind highly developed countries due to a number of geographic and economic factors. Consequently, traditional opportunities for secondary and tertiary education are not available for a significant portion of the population. Even when education opportunities exist, they are often of low quality. We propose the use of learning objects and learning object repositories as a viable, cost-effective solution to these problems. Global repositories provide rich sources of learning objects that can be assembled into course material depending on local needs. Used effectively, learning objects can reduce the time, cost, and expertise required for producing content, allowing existing resources to achieve much more than is currently possible. We also describe our long-term research aimed at providing personalized learning experiences to individuals based on learning object technology, We argue that this research has the potential to transform distance education.