Wilson & Myers (2000) stated that “thinking and learning make sense only within particular situations” (p. 71). I feel that the context in which instruction is delivered can have powerful influences on the learning produced. I am not sure that LOs capture or specify these contexts. It would seem to be an important function of a teacher to match an appropriate LO to contextual elements of the instruction environment.
Some self-directed learners may not be able to strategically build meaningful learning from a library of LOs. Others will.
I think of learning object repositories like I think of regular libraries. Just because someone builds a library of books does not mean that everyone will use it in the same way or even at all. The library may also present a framework that even limits learning potentials.
Wilson, B. G., & Meyers, K. M. (2000). Situated cognition in theoretical and practical context. In David H. Jonassen & Susan M. Land (eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning environments. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence, Erlbaum Associates.
Gdbear's Weblog 
November 9, 2008 at 4:46 pm
LOs and LCMS
I must agree with you in terms of student use. There is no guarantee that the perfect structure and online environment created by the instructor will actually be used the way it was originally intended.
Even though LOs can be accessed directly by the student, I think it is better in the structure of a classroom, so that the teacher can select those LOs that best compliment each other to get the learning goal accomplished.
Repositories are a lot like libraries, except that in good ones, every book is a “How to…” self-help book based on sound instructional design and pedagogical methods.