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A learning kit is a collection of digital learning materials (a learning object) and a software application called gStudy. gStudy supports learners’ interactive engagement with multimedia information in the learning kit to learn, apply and transfer that information to new situations. Kits can include text, diagrams, geographic maps, photos, charts, tables, audio and video clips, and programmable media, such as applets; that is, in any information format found in libraries and on the Internet. Topics of learning kits can range widely: prenatal nutrition, grade 3 mathematics, Pacific Rim cultures, genomics, grade 11 English, fuel cells, securities analysis, tort law, forest management, grade 8 social studies, Java programming … and more. Audiences are many: students in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary educational institutions; trainees in business and industry; military personnel; and anyone who wants to expand knowledge in the domains a learning kit addresses. 
Beyond mere access to interactive multimedia content, the Project is developing software tools that help: - learners cognitively engage with multimedia information in strategic ways by classifying, indexing, annotating, analyzing, organizing, evaluating, cross-referencing and searching the contents of kits.
- teams collaborate as they simultaneously learn how to collaborate more effectively.
- anyone develop and practice skills that support life-long learning in varied contexts.
- creators of learning kits apply results of educational research to boost learning effectiveness on average for the learning kits they create.
- researchers gather and analyze unprecedented volumes and kinds of data about e-learning that is fuel for advancing learning science.
- What tools should learning kits have to optimize learning,
problem solving and transferring knowledge to new contexts? - How can learners best develop and practice skills for
collaborating and life-long learning? - How can research on eLearning be accelerated and improved?
The Learning Kit/gStudy Project builds on and is extending a theory called self-regulated learning. This theory’s main topics concern how learners develop learning skills and how they develop expertise in using learning skills effectively. The theory arises from two key observations. First, learners’ goals for learning take precedence over goals set by teachers, authors of curricula, developers of learning objects, or workshop leaders. Second, learners are in charge of how they learn. They choose which study tactics and learning strategies to use as they strive to achieve their goals. Why are these points important? Research shows learners: - often set unsuitable goals.
- have a limited repertoire of learning skills.
- often do not use learning skills they have.
- frequently need extensive help to manage learning and collaborative tasks.
Until these problems are remedied, people learn less, lose motivation, and fail to maximize skills judged essential for life-long learning. 
The Learning Kit Project is mapping pathways and developing catalysts to empower people who live, work and learn in Canada’s knowledge-driven economy. Our general goals are to: - accelerate, coordinate, and expand R&D in e-learning and the learning sciences, specifically with respect to self-regulated learning, collaborative learning and co-regulation, metacognition, study tactics and learning strategies, problem solving and features of instructional designs that underlie educationally effective learning objects.
- develop software tools that can assist learners across the life course—from early elementary grades to retirees—to study more effectively, learn, and to easily and continuously improve skills for life-long learning.
- mobilize the application of research by (a) developing useful tools that disseminate the results of educational research in the form of improved software for learning and (b) creating an ever-expanding data warehouse that affords easy and frequent re-investigation of the results of educational research.
- mentor highly qualified personnel who can make major contributions to the continuance and revitalization of R&D in e-learning and the learning sciences.
"Knowledge is the main source of competitive advantage." Achieving Excellence: Investing in People, Knowledge and Opportunity
Industry Canada (2001) Canada has invested heavily in Internet technologies so Canadians can access knowledge they need. Most Canadians now survey oceans of information on the world wide web using browsers. Educational organizations and private enterprises assign significant resources to provide students and staff with email, chat and conferencing systems to exchange information and collaborate. Substantial assets are allocated to online repositories for learning objects (self-contained, re-usable packages of multimedia educational content) and other online resources for learning. … the gap between the “know” and the “knownots” is growing … Skills Development in the Knowledge-Based Economy
Policy Research Secretariat, Industry Canada (1999) The promise of these investments is yet to be realized. Much data and information that people find on the Internet (and in conventional libraries) is presented in ways that do little to help people transform raw data into knowledge. Some forms of presentation thwart learning, problem solving, and transfer of knowledge. Research offers repairs for these shortcomings. Evidently, many who develop information resources don’t know about these principles; if they do, they don’t often put them to use. Learners will stumble, perhaps badly, if these flaws are not corrected. Again, educational research provides guidelines that address these concerns. Beyond intrinsic capabilities for learning, learners can acquire new skills for learning. Expert learners learn faster and better. They are more motivated to learn and can apply new knowledge usefully. … a significant minority of Canadian children… are not developing
the skills and ability to learn that will help them
live and work to their full potential. Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians
Human Resources Development Canada (2002) Regrettably, it seems relevant research is not widely applied. Too few educators know which learning skills to teach or how to teach them. Bells and whistles that appeal to learners online and eye-catching features that sell curriculum materials sometimes interfere with developing and practicing learning skills. These problems intensify as learners migrate from well-supervised classrooms to a milieu where skills for self-reliant life-long learning are keys to their satisfaction and catalysts for Canada’s economic prosperity. As a result, the forecast for a robust knowledge economy is less optimistic. 
Our project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chair Program and our universities. It bridges university researchers, teachers and schools, publishers, software developers and hardware designers in collaboration to build new resources for Canadians’ life-long learning. Our labs provide comprehensive training for new scholars who will assume leading roles in Canadian universities and in R&D enterprises that develop infrastructure for the knowledge economy. We have forged partnerships with research groups in Europe and the U.S. to increase research productivity and enrich our R&D program.
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