This study reviewed the education of absolute illiterates globally. It was based on the creation of game-based learning (GBL) which provides a user-friendly learning platform with little cost and little intimidation for the learner. The research also identified 60% of the world's illiterate population residing in rural areas with little access to computers and educational centers. The GBL environments created real world environments that allow learners to practice real-life scenarios in familiar surroundings using 3-D technology. The study also adapted a English language program to meet the needs of various languages. The context of the game is a farmer and a wife then acquire items and count them in their native language. The numbers used in counting are spoken and the game produces the correlating number so the learner becomes familiar with the written form of the letter. In conclusion, the participants identified that the mobile learning was more beneficial than PC applications due to unreliable electrical service at home. The mobile system was also available on demand.and applied to participants real-life usage.

RATING: 10/10

Adult learning disabilities

Creating a conducive adult learning environment is an article directed to training nurses in a clinical setting, but it can also be applied to any other learning environment. It identifies the responsibilities of the preceptor (instructor) and the preceptee (learner) and the best means for parceling out duties to the learners.<br> The recommended process of assigning tasks to start with a single task and have the learner participate in parts of the medical procedure until the complete task has been practiced. The concept of repetition is also identified as an important tool for learning a given task. The task of correcting or counseling a student is also discussed. These principles are applicable to all learning situations and can be adapted to fit the specific area of training.

RATING: 10/10

Older adult preferences.is a dissertation preview that introduces the dissertation on preference of older adults to attend in person classes weekly for four to six hours.

The information gleaned from this study is significant for learning designers and course structure. The study also investigated the time and location of the study, and the class make up. This information also warrants further investigation when designing courses for these adults and the success of the program. The dissertation is of value to those who are specifically involved in designing programs for older adults.

RATING: 8/10

Spacing effect. of training explores the retention of learning over short and long intervals of learning, particularly in hybrid and distance learning.<br> The study was based on prior studies regarding training and retention and integrated data from the learning management system used by the participants. The study resulted in finding that smaller , more frequent learning over time appears to be more effective than the traditional presentation of mass learning. The study also concluded that much of the time participants spent in learning pertained to language acquisition of foreign language learners and/or new vocabulary.<br> It is also noted that the participants were engaged in learning to support workplace goals, which leads to highly motivated participants.

RATING 10/10

Difficult dialogues. Although this is only the preview of the dissertation, the discussion of the role of educators in preparing students to participate in the global marketplace requires understanding of how all individuals interact with divers cultural and social environments. Often discussing important topics and differing perspectives can alleviate fear and misunderstanding. It also serves as a springboard for further investigation.

The author identified the definitions used to conduct the research and the questions and methods employed in the study.

The comments that society is becoming increasingly complex and that good communication is necessary to interact with understanding truly impacts educators and students alike.

Andragogy US/Iraqi Dialog

This article reviews effective teaching characteristics and effective teaching methods and strategies to engage adult learners. The piece goes further in exploring five specific teaching methods to support adult learning: self-directed, active, experiential, collaborative, and narrative.

9/10

Using Wiki

This article reviews a longitudinal study of graduate students in a Master's degree program that collected both good and bad learning experiences. The comments collect from the participants resulted in themes that were repeated throughout all three years of comments. The comments were compiled to and reviewed to determine adult student perspectives on the learning process. The authors noted that their is a need to balance suppor of students with challenging students. This is a ground work of student perspective and requires further investigation to implement appropriate changes and then review student perspective after the changes.

Rating: 7/10

Identifies adult developmental learning needs. For many years, since 1911, Training at a machining company had been directed to specific tasks. After the company was sold to a new company, the education of employees changed from siloed task training to a atmosphere of learning and integrated team work. This shift in training also changed the culture of the company and built an atmosphere of one team, even across shifts and departments. This article points out how the change from task training to education that included theory of the task improved the decision making process of the employees that resulted in company improvements. Rating: 9/10

This is an article from 2002 that identified the emerging need of online, adult learners. One concept is the use of cognitive learning theory as tools for the online learning environment.<br> Several descriptors identified who the adult online student is, primarily adult working women with full time jobs and a family (often single head of household) who are trying to return to school to improve personal circumstances.

This article is a invitation to review the learning environment that was devised and determine if it met the needs of students then and what changes need to be implemented for today's students.

Rating 9/10

This article was found on InstructionalDesign.org. This article is about the Characteristics of Adults as Learners model. This model is designed as a guide in adult learning. The website also has sections on concepts, theories, and models.

9/10

This article is from the journal Professional Development in Education, it is a credible and relevant source. This authors analyze cases in principle professional development in four schools to find common practice. They determine if and how adult learning theory is or can be used to improve practices.

8/10

This article focuses on creating online tutorials for adult learners. Andragogy theory is used to build online programs for adult learners that are learner centered and engaging.

8/10

This article presents options for applying a variety of adult learning principles to make a course more effective. The author focuses on instrumental learning theories, humanistic learning theories, motivational models and more. Rating: 5/5

This presentation features a broad overview of adult learning and defines an adult learner. Additionally, the presentation provides multiple technology resources that can be used in an adult learning environment. Rating: 4/5

This article is from a education journal and is credible and relevant. It covers andragogy and transformitive learning as they can be utilized with adult learners. The focus on transformational learning theory is of particular interest.

8/10

This article was found on the website PHYS.ORG. This website covers many topics including education. The education section is where the reader will find the most relevant information and research to teaching and learning.

7/10

This article explores the importance of analysis of instructional design which seems to be often downplayed particularly in distance learning. ADDIE, REVIT have been considered when evaluating whether the training was meaningful or not and from that a central report was extracted and may prove useful in the development of similar e-learning situations for adult learning.

RATING: 4/5 (rating based upon a score system 1 to 5, 1= lowest 5=highest in terms of content, veracity, easiness of use etc.)

This article outlines the different aspects of a learning environment that is effective for teaching adults. The author provides suggestions for creating effective adult learning environments.

8/10

Throughout this article are several highlighted passages that combine to form this annotation.

This research study presents the idea that the social environment is a self-selected learning environment for adults. The idea of social prestige-bias learning is intriguing because it is derived from the student, not an institution nor instructor. The further idea of selecting whom to learn from based on prestige-bias also creates further questions that warrant a deeper understanding of the learner and the environment which s/he creates to gain knowledge.

Using a previously conducted experiment on success-based learning and learning due to environmental change, this research further included the ideal of social prestige-biased learning.self-selected by the learner.

In a study of 167 participants, three hypotheses were tested to see if learners would select individual learning, social learning, prestige-biased learning (also a social setting), or success-based learning. The experiment tested both an initial learning environment and a learning environment which experienced a change in the environment.

Surprisingly, some participants selected social prestige-biased learning and some success learning and the percentages in each category did not change after the environmental change occurred.

Questions that arise from the study:

• Does social prestige, or someone who is deemed prestigious, equate to a knowledgeable teacher?
• Does the social prestige-biased environment reflect wise choices?
• If the student does not know what s/he does not know, will the social prestige-bias result in selecting the better teacher, or just in selecting a more highly recognized teacher?
• Why did the environmental change have little impact on the selected learning environment?

REFERENCE: Atkinson, C., O’Brien, M.J., & Mesoudi, A. (2012). Adult learners in a novel environment use prestige-biased social learning. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(3), 519-537. Retrieved from (Prestige-biased Learning )

RATINGS content, 9/10 veracity, 8/10 easiness of use, 9/10 Overall Rating, 8.67/10