Aspect-oriented Learning Objects

Learning Objects (LOs) have evolved as a means to organize, encapsulate, and exchange reusable granules of learning material between different e-learning systems. A common problem encountered in practical situations is that conceptually coherent learning material may be distributed across several LOs, a problem which may originate in the way the material is decomposed into LOs. From a maintenance perspective, modifications and updates of such material are tedious and expensive, since modifications may have to be done in various locations in several LOs. This paper proposes to remedy this problem by using solutions already established in the area of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP). Furthermore, it is shown from a reengineering perspective how crosscutting concerns of LOs can be modularized as aspects and how aspects can be linked with LOs using XQUERY.