Recent work suggests that learning object design can be improved by greater integration of instructional design, learning theory and software development methodologies. Despite this, there is a lack of research in the field that seeks to establish an association between the contextualised nature of learning object design and empirical properties of learner-computer interaction. In addressing this issue, we argue for a situated learning perspective on learning object design. Using the CASE framework as an exemplar of situated learning, we describe an holistic approach to eliciting socio-cultural properties of learning objects.