The NMC's Learning Object Initiative was launched in early 2002 and continued until the initiative was retired in December 2004. When the effort was in full force, it served as the umbrella for a wide range of NMC projects, conferences, and publications. The initiative was designed to address three key priorities:

1. to detail the landscape of theories, standards, projects, tool sets, and repositories for NMC members;
2. to highlight and recognize successful models for developing and deploying learning objects; and
3. to support the further development of learning objects and repositories in higher education.

In the first phase of the initiative, two activities were undertaken. The effort began with a comprehensive review of the literature of learning objects, with the goal being to identify the key theoreticians and authors driving work in this arena.

Once identified, these leading theoreticians and practitioners were invited to a special forum and asked to clarify and discuss the significant enablers and impediments to broad scale use of learning objects. Six areas of interest focused their discussions: theory, pedagogy, standards, tools, funding, and policy. This event, now referred to as the San Francisco Summit, resulted in the production of two white papers: Elusive Vision: Challenges Impeding the Learning Object Economy; and A Traveler’s Guide to the Learning Object Landscape.

The Learning Object Landscape, a special section of the NMC web site composed of more than 50 pages of information and more than a hundred links, captures the work of the first phase of the initiative and provides considerable detail about the important learning object theories, standards, projects, tool sets, and repositories.

The second phase of the Learning Object Initiative sought partners interested in collaborations and identified opportunities in which the NMC could add value to the development of learning objects. The first of these partners are MERLOT and the ADL Academic Colab, and formal agreements have been signed with each organization. NMC has been a Sustaining Partner in the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) for many years and a long term supporter of their efforts.

The third phase of the initiative was to target opportunities with specific projects that would further the development of learning objects on a large scale. The NMC worked with its partners to develop and launch a series of projects, international in scope, to begin to address the paucity of standards-conformant learning objects and to develop critical masses of such objects in selected disciplines. The largest of these efforts was the Pachyderm Project, which is developing an open-source authoring environment especially suited to the development of media-rich, standards-conformant learning objects.

The Learning Object Initiative resulted in several White Papers. Each may be copied and distributed freely, as long as they are copied
in their entirety.

Elusive Vision: Challenges Impeding the Learning Object Economy
Tthis paper, sponsored by Macromedia, presents an overview of learning objects and their value, introduces an analysis of the systemic challenges inhibiting the realization of a functional economy in learning objects, and identifies the essential components of such an economy.

A Traveler's Guide to the Learning Object Landscape
This collection of summarized articles and annotated weblinks provides an accessible primer on e-learning and learning objects; a guide to key organizations, large scale initiatives, and projects; and summaries of selected articles and papers on learning object standards, pedagogy & andragogy, effectiveness, policy & digital rights, and learning technologies & tools. A final section identifies funding and development links.

Guidelines for Authors of Learning Objects
This monograph provides practical suggestions and tips for authors of learning objects. Included topics are the range and types of learning objects, pedagogical and design considerations, applicable standards, metadata, interoperability, and reusability.