Designing Online Curriculum for Adult Learners

Author(s):  
Laura L. Bierema

The Digital Age has brought change and automation to almost every aspect of our lives, and learning is no exception. This chapter considers adult learners engaged in online higher education. The purpose of this chapter is to present a framework for designing adult learner-friendly eLearning in higher education settings. What pedagogy is most effective for facilitating eLearning? What emerging trends will influence eLearning? This chapter introduces the challenges of living and learning with technology, considers the impact of technology on teaching and learning, examines the characteristics of online learners and online learning, offers strategies for designing and facilitating eLearning in higher education, and muses about future research directions.

Author(s):  
Damien Raftery

YouTube to iTunes, company to college websites, there is a seemingly exponential explosion in creating screencasts. A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen activity, often with an audio commentary. Short and engaging, screencasts have the potential to enable learning in new and exciting ways. They are becoming easier to create and, as a teacher in higher education, I have gradually increased my use of screencasts, learning with experience and from the generally positive feedback from students.Drawing on existing research and personal experience, this chapter will introduce screencasts and discuss their potential. The importance of integrating screencasts thoughtfully and carefully into the teaching and learning process will be examined, including pedagogical and instructional design issues. Next a four-step process for creating a screencast will be presented: prepare, capture, produce and publish. Prior to conclusions and final reflections, future research directions will be examined.


Author(s):  
Natalie Ann-Marie Johnson-Leslie ◽  
H. Steve Leslie

Content delivery in higher education has changed drastically over the past 25 years. The primary focus at the foundation of such change in content delivery results from the ubiquity of technology in all aspects of the society, from business to education. The changes have been made to facilitate student learning, improve user performance, while simultaneously reducing costs. This chapter focuses on the changes made to content delivery, placing emphasis on: relating the features of content delivery showing the most change; demonstrating the impact of technology on content delivery; assessing the role of institutional leaders facilitating change in content delivery; evaluating policies shaping the integration and impact of technology on content delivery; and outlining the issues, trends and controversies impacting content delivery. This chapter will conclude with solutions, recommendations and future research directions.


2011 ◽  
pp. 665-678
Author(s):  
Damien Raftery

YouTube to iTunes, company to college websites, there is a seemingly exponential explosion in creating screencasts. A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen activity, often with an audio commentary. Short and engaging, screencasts have the potential to enable learning in new and exciting ways. They are becoming easier to create and, as a teacher in higher education, I have gradually increased my use of screencasts, learning with experience and from the generally positive feedback from students.Drawing on existing research and personal experience, this chapter will introduce screencasts and discuss their potential. The importance of integrating screencasts thoughtfully and carefully into the teaching and learning process will be examined, including pedagogical and instructional design issues. Next a four-step process for creating a screencast will be presented: prepare, capture, produce and publish. Prior to conclusions and final reflections, future research directions will be examined.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emelia Delaney ◽  
Wei Liu

Abstract The aim of sustainability is to fulfil the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations. It is also a rising area of concern within industry, it is therefore important that graduate designers are equipped with the skills to accommodate sustainability issues as well as demands from industry. Additionally, the product design stage during New Product Development has been identified to have the greatest impact on the sustainability of the entire product, however how educated designers are on the topic of sustainability is unclear. An initial literature review has been conducted to investigate design education on sustainability as well as teaching styles. Following this the study identifies and reviews UK Product Design courses to establish the current status of sustainability integration in higher education. The exploration into university prospectuses has found that around half of UK universities implement sustainability in some way, however there are limited courses which dedicate specific modules to sustainability. Additionally, links with industry and accreditation organizations between UK product design courses have been confirmed, but there is no definite information to suggest that the universities use this to aid in the implementation sustainability education. From this review future research directions have been outlined.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hammond

This paper presents a review of a sample of recent case studies on the use of asynchronous online discussion in higher education. These studies are analyzed in terms of curriculum design, assumptions about teaching and learning, and claims and reported conditions for using online discussion. The claims made for asynchronous online discussion—in particular the opportunities for interaction between learners, and permanent access to these interactions—are found to be frequently based on social constructivist principles. Asynchronous online discussion is seen as offering additional value by providing learners with experience of computer communication tools and opportunities for taking part in group work. Several constraints on participation within online forums are described. These are discussed in relation to the nature of curriculum design, software design, tutor support, and learners’ attitudes and previous experience. The conditions under which asynchronous online discussion may best support learning are set out, and avenues for future research are suggested.


Author(s):  
Debora DeZure

“Interdisciplinary Pedagogies in Higher Education” explores the increasing integration of goals for interdisciplinary learning in American higher education. The chapter begins with working definitions of interdisciplinary learning and the many factors that have led to its proliferation. It then reviews the elaboration of new methods to teach and to assess interdisciplinary learning, emerging models of interdisciplinary problem-solving, and practice-oriented resources and online tools to assist undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and their instructors with interdisciplinary problem-solving and communications in cross-disciplinary and interprofessional contexts. The chapter concludes with the impact of technology, for example, e-portfolios and other digital and technology-enabled tools, and evidence of an emerging body of scholarship of teaching and learning focused on interdisciplinary learning.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Stamatović ◽  
◽  
Mirjana Stakić

The paper is based on the overview and description of ten monographs from in- ternational scientific conferences held in the period between 2011 and 2021 at the Facul- ty of Education in Uţice, and is aimed at recording topics and issues discussed in them, and making suggestions for future research of problems, goals and perspectives in the teaching and learning process. The review of the monographs from these international scientific conferences showed that the interest of theoreticians and practitioners is firmly focused on general questions of education and rearing, teaching and learning, as well as questions of educational assessment and evaluation, textbook quality, and education and professional development of teachers. Topics in the field of elementary education are predominant, so in the future, it would be worth paying more attention to the current topics in the field of preschool and higher education.


Author(s):  
Maria Northcote

The field of online learning, like many other technological innovations, has not burgeoned without controversy. Despite the debates about the role and value of online learning, it has continued to grow in many sectors, especially in higher education. Alongside the growth of online learning, discussions about its benefits and limitations have also flourished, and many studies have investigated the quality and integrity of online courses. This chapter offers an investigation of some of the history of online learning, concluding with a collection of practical recommendations and suggestions for future research directions to guide institutions embarking on online learning programs.


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