adult learning theories including andragogy, experiential learning

what technology should do in an online course to reach adults

form, provider, payer, purpose, duration, design, delivery, instructor quality, credential

Adult learning types including Foundational, higher education, workplace, personal, social. Includes a list of examples of the types of learning this includes in each category.

What qualifies as a mobile device and what activities/techniques are possible?

Professional development opportunities and incentives for faculty to integrate mobile devices and as a teaching and learning tool.

Studies faculty provided with tablet computers and peer mentoring workshops to help increase understanding and use of mobile devices in pedogogical approaches

Low technology teacher professional development with mobile devices

Use of mobile devices in academic environments remains low despite the fact students demand it. However laptops are relatively common and accepted. There is growth in acceptance that mobile devices can contribute to student learning, however faculty adoption is slow.

Certificate program teaches faculty how to integrate mobile devices into their courses

Udemy is an online platform where experts in various fields can create paid courses. You can learn languages, web design, photography, musical instruments all in your own time. The platform also allows for extensive ranking and reviews to be put on instructors and courses to keep the quality high. Instruction is inexpensive and self-paced. it is larger aimed at teenagers and adult learners and focuses on skills. Rating 10/10

Discusses how adult learning theory can be applied for digital learning for adults. It suggests making sure interactions are built on real world and relevant situations, that learners and go at their own pace, they are allowed to reflect on their learning, and interact with each other and different points of view. Rating 10/10

Discusses the use of the eZoomBook Tool which has the ability to allow learners to navigate back through subject matter they need to refresh on as they learn new material. It allows peer to peer teaching and working which is it's most successful feature for adult learners. the eZB template is open-format and can be adapted to a variety of learning situations. Results from their initial experiments show high use of intrinsic motivation for adult learners once they got a handle on the platform.

Examines the design and implementation of a MOOC about flipped teaching. It used digital surveys and the LMS system to gauge participant experiences and expectations. A unique aspect of this MOOC is that it asked participants to set what level of activity they expected to have in the program: active, passive, drop-in, observer. And it found that 60% of people engaged directly at that level. This is useful for designing online education experience and connecting participants with each other and in the classroom based upon their learning goals.

Discusses the use of blended-learning incorporating technology especially for adult education programs that reduce education gaps and help the under-employed with career readiness. This also focuses in on adults with chronic disease and how online education might better support their needs. It uses constructivist leanings placing education in the context of activity and environment and recreating the correct environments online.

Discusses the place of universities in lifelong learning, especially with the advancement of technology in education in the workforce. The career curriculum continuum, includes free and self-paced options such as MOOCs, educational video on Youtube, and Wikis, but also suggests more structured learning placed in context. Universities can offer this as short courses that are cheaper and offer more options for pathways to a full degree program. It also suggests professional certificates for expanding the skills of those already working. Digital institutions will be the most widely used methods for consuming knew knowledge and advancing skills. Rating 10/10

Discusses they ways in which Kacey Thorne of WGU, outlines plans for developing underlying competencies for online programs. Program architecture refers to the connect of skills and competencies for specific industries linking back to a network of what students will learn in school through offered programs. This is necessary for creating relevant programs that teach translatable skills for the real world after college. Rating 10/10

Research article. Discussed the use of web 2.0 including blogs, wikis, and social media as a method of information sharing that is impacting education through teaching and learning management. The work suggests that learning outcomes, activities, and assessment have to be in alignment to create effective learning experiences and uses a case study within an information management program in which students use various web 2.0 tools and document their use .

Research article. This article explores how older and younger student approach studying through the use of technology and reveals that those in older age groups were more likely to use technology in deep in focused ways to study once they got the hang of it and younger groups were more likely to remain on the surface level of a variety of technologies.

Research paper. This work highlights how scaffolding, meaning students work through their learning in stages with support from digital technology, making adjustments to their learning environment as needed as they progress through material. Self-evaluations are a critical component of this to help reflect on the content learned. Scaffolding helps students determine not only what to do but how to do it until they are ready to learn more fully on their own. Rating 6/10

This article discusses how even though instructors may be hesitant to include new technologies in their learning environments, doing so can enhance the student experience. It specifically explore the use of twitter for classroom discussions, simulation tools, and the LMS systems universities use currently to support online work. Soliciting feedback from students to ask how tools are working for them is important for evolving the classroom to fit student needs.

Digital promise is an organization that connects adult learners with methods to implement technology in useful ways to improve education. The website hosts a network of educators and the programs they offer to improve basic math and literacy skills in U.S. adults to help with job training and career advancement. There is also a mico-credentialing program they extend to training programs that endorse those that have learned or gained specific skills. Rating 5/10

Popular article. This article overviews the U.S. Department of Education LINCS system report which shows that there is a disconnect between those that design adult learning technology and the stakeholders (learners and employers) that plan to use it. Often technology is retrofitted, as it was originally intended for K-12 and won't work in the ways adult learners and educators need for them. One of the main ways to circumvent this is to design technology for a specific problem that needs to be solved, instead of starting with the solution. Rating 4/10

Research Article. I found this article especially interesting because it promotes the use of mobile devices for online learning. This focuses on corporate training, but it is easy to see how it could be applied across areas and fields. There is a specific focus on the use of virtual and real objects during education experiences to create experience-based learning outcomes. Rating 4/10

Research article. This paper explores how constructivism is specifically useful for adult education in the online environment. It is especially important for adult learners to interact with each other in order to creating meaningful collaborative experiences. It is also important for online educators to create and environment where students can share and discuss ideas in a safe space. It should also require high-order thinking skills and problem solving that relates to their real lives. Rating 10/10

Research Article from the Adult Education Research Conference. This article examines the history of VR as a tool to train military personnel, and medical professionals and how future directions of VR could be used for other adult education situations especially due to their low risk learning environment. The authors examine how VR could also be used in gaming, arts, entertainment, marketing and business fields. This is important because VR environments also allow students to exploring changing technology and practice self-learning. Rating 6/10

This article recommends the way in which education technology should adapt to be aimed at adult learners. Specifically that education should all students to assess themselves as they go and fill in any missing gaps in knowledge. It should also be relevant to their life needs, and connect their own experiences back into the learning environment. I feel most of this is known in adult learning theory in general, however this article is really aimed at those outside the industry and is a very helpful summary in this way. Rating 7/10

Article overviews tools in technology that are useful for bringing learners together in the classroom, especially in ways that enhance their interaction with digital media and each other. Although many of them seem to be aimed at younger learners I feel like some of the tools, like Quizlet, and Prezi are especially useful for adult learners. Rating 10/10

Research Paper. Discusses the use of MOOCs and their completion rates as tools for education. MOOCs are often touted as the best way to get education to the popular masses. The study shows that MOOCs coming from universities with major names on just a few platforms like Coursera tend to be the most successful in terms of completion rate. Courses that have auto grading features are more attractive to students, probably because they get feedback immediately. Rating 4/10

Research Paper. Although education is determined by "engagement, empowerment, experience, and evidence" the way adults learned, and what they have learned across societies differs greatly and impacts the effectiveness of higher education and problem solving. Adults as significant instigators of global change need opportunities for literacy development, dialogue, acquisition of self-reliance skills, and the ability to adapt to change. Rating 5/10