Educating IT Professionals Using Effective Online, Pedagogical, and Scheduling Techniques

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Hsu ◽  
Karin Hamilton ◽  
John Wang
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
It Professionals

Information technology professionals comprise an important segment of adult learners seeking a four-year undergraduate degree, and it is important to provide programs that address not only the conceptual and theoretical, but also adult learning needs in terms of career orientation and practicality together with providing real-life applications relevant to the needs of the IT job marketplace. The techniques of employing distance learning, providing modular and practical learning segments, emphasizing adult-oriented learning preferences, engaging users toward learning, and providing appropriate course schedules and sequencing are discussed in the context of an actual adult learner program. This program integrates job and career-oriented needs with that of a well-rounded business education. Examples and illustrations are provided to illustrate how an adult-oriented program was customized to provide needs important to adult learners and IT professionals, with the objective of producing superior and useful learning results.

Educating IT Professionals Using Effective Online, Pedagogical, and Scheduling Techniques

2012 ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Hsu ◽  
Karin Hamilton ◽  
John Wang
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
It Professionals

Information technology professionals comprise an important segment of adult learners seeking a four-year undergraduate degree, and it is important to provide programs that address not only the conceptual and theoretical, but also adult learning needs in terms of career orientation and practicality together with providing real-life applications relevant to the needs of the IT job marketplace. The techniques of employing distance learning, providing modular and practical learning segments, emphasizing adult-oriented learning preferences, engaging users toward learning, and providing appropriate course schedules and sequencing are discussed in the context of an actual adult learner program. This program integrates job and career-oriented needs with that of a well-rounded business education. Examples and illustrations are provided to illustrate how an adult-oriented program was customized to provide needs important to adult learners and IT professionals, with the objective of producing superior and useful learning results.

scholarly journals Integration of Indigenous Knowledge into Adult Learning Material Development and the Facilitation Methodology

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yalalem Assefa
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Material Development

Connecting indigenous knowledge systems and practices with adult education programs has priceless value of promoting and transferring indigenous perspectives from generation to generation. Indeed, education is the surest path to ensuring social continuity when it ought to be based on the real-life experiences of learners and what their immediate environment and social realities entail. This demands the development of relevant adult learning materials and the utilization of participatory facilitation methodologies. Considering this in mind, this study was aimed to explore the integration of indigenous knowledge into adult education practices. In doing so, a case-study design was employed. The study sample was composed of eighteen experts, seven adult education literacy center coordinators, and seventy adult learners. Interview and FGD were considered the major data-gathering tools. Also, thematic analysis was the center of this study’s data analysis. As a result, the finding indicated that even though adult learners have diverse learning experiences, narrow emphasis has been given to the development of learning concepts and objectives in adult learning materials. The application of appropriate facilitation methods through participating experienced learners remains symbolic. To enhance the positive inclusion of indigenous knowledge into adult learning, learning material and its facilitation environment must be conducive and adequately be portraited. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the existing practice of indigenous knowledge integration into adult education in North Wollo, from the perspectives of learning material development and utilization of the facilitation methodology.

Lights, Camera, Andragogy! Adult Learning and Development in Film

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 150-159
Author(s):  
Adam McClain
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Adult Educators ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Adult Learning And Development

This article will examine specific films that portray events or phenomena of adult learning and development, and how adult learning and development can be explored by studying the lives of the fictional characters in film. It will demonstrate how the use of contemporary film by adult educators and adult learners can enhance insights about people, about life’s dilemmas, and about the growth and development in adulthood. To teach adults successfully, methods and techniques must be adapted to their skills and environments. Despite genre or popularity, film has the opportunity to tell a story and/or be a real-life recording. Film provides another strategy of telling stories to help adult educators and adult learners have further reflection, insights, emotional reactions, and enhance various life experiences and stages of development. Learners can use film to better understand narratives outside of their own and develop alternative interpretations, and film can also be used to observe social phenomena in a noninvasive way. The films discussed in the article were chosen by the author to draw the attention to examples of various aspects of adult learning and development.

scholarly journals What motivates IT professionals? Case of Latvia

2021 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 02013
Author(s):  
Svetlana Gribanova
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Job Expectations ◽  
New Concepts

For successful motivation of professionals, it is important to understand accurately their goals, values and job expectations. Theories of motivation suggest different motives to improve productivity, but their effectiveness is not sufficiently validated in case of IT professionals. This study uses empirical data from online surveys of information technology professionals. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that motivate professionals to work more efficiently, initiatively and productively. The results of the study show that to effectively solve the problem of motivating IT professionals, it is useful to use different theories of motivation, combine these theories and construct new concepts of motivation.

scholarly journals Non-Formal Adult Learning Programs at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions: Trends, Issues, and Practices

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Kirby ◽  
Vernon Curran ◽  
Ann Hollett
Keyword(s):  
Community Colleges ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Learning Programs

A number of recent policy reports have suggested that Canadian universities and community colleges should play a more significant role in response to the adult education and training needs of Canada’s workforce. This article discusses the results of a study that examined investment trends and the characteristics of non-formal adult learner programming at Canadian postsecondary institutions. Public universities and community colleges were surveyed, and a purposive sample of key informants, representing the broad spectrum of postsecondary education in Canada, was interviewed. The results indicated that institutional investments in non-formal programs for adult learners have trended upward over the past decade. Colleges reported larger average annual institutional expenditures on and larger enrolments in non-formal adult learner programs. However, adult learners comprise only a small minority of the overall student population at post-secondary institutions. Financial barriers at both the institutional and individual levels were identified as key barriers to increasing access and participation. Limited operational funding at the institutional level has influenced the nature and scope of offerings and, for many institutions, has resulted in program offerings that do not necessarily target the needs of nontraditional and disadvantaged adult learner groups. The study findings have important public-policy implications for improving access and participation in non-formal adult learning, including the need for greater incentives for individuals (e.g., tax incentives) and increased support for disadvantaged learners to enhance basic-skills training.

Application of Adult Learning Theory in Distance Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 1106-1127
Author(s):  
Mary Rose Grant
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Adult Learning Theory ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Virtual Learning Environments ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Constructive Feedback

Adult learning theory suggests that adults need to perceive the relevance and purpose of learning in order to learn most effectively. Grounded in the notion that adults frame their own learning objectives, are self-directed and active participants in their learning, require constructive feedback and want opportunities to practice new skills, online and virtual learning environments are well suited for adult learners and are directly based on adult learning principles. Virtual environments provide opportunities for adults to construct learning based on what they already know and apply what they are learning in the instructional setting. An online instructor is an adult learning expert. Using adult and constructivist learning theories and current knowledge about web-based andragogy, this chapter will focus on the characteristics and learning preferences of adult-learners in virtual learning environments and recommend instructional design and teaching strategies to encourage behaviors that influence student engagement, retention and learning.

Competence of Information Technology Professionals in Internet-Based Ventures

2009 ◽  
pp. 1905-1919
Author(s):  
Tobias Kollmann ◽  
Matthias Häsel
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
It Governance ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
Competence Model ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Different Dimensions

This chapter articulates the knowledge and skills required by IT professionals in young Internet-based firms. Building on the general IT governance principle of aligning business and IT, it introduces an adequate competence model, outlines its dimensions, and suggests a framework for modeling the effects of factors internal and external to the firm on the value propositions of the different dimensions. The authors hope that a comprehensive understanding of the role of ITrelated competence will assist founders not only in finding suitable partners, but also in aligning e-business strategy and information technology in Internet-based ventures.

Millennial Adult Learners in the 21st Century

2013 ◽  
pp. 425-439
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Reio ◽  
Keisha Hill-Grey
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Face To Face Learning

Millennials and their learning needs are in general misunderstood. Little research on how millennials prefer to learn, work, and live has contributed to unproductive, contradictory notions about this generation to the detriment of all. More research is clearly needed to better understand the current and future behaviors of millennials. A wide array of advancing technologies and their direct applications to online and face-to-face learning contexts are explored as means to engaging millennials more in adult learning endeavors. Best practices in employing technologies in the classroom, such as promoting interactivity and social presence through blogs and YouTube, are highlighted in online contexts and through course design. How technology impacts those who have not had exposure to technology is explored as well.

The Adult Learner in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Sumitra Balakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Classroom Environments ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Behavioral Features ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Life Circumstances

Researchers and practitioners have come to understand adult learners as unique and different from child learners, and have developed different theoretical approaches, methodologies, and strategies attuned to their educational needs and life circumstances. This chapter examines the factors that impact the effectiveness of adult learning programs and classroom environments by using perspectives of education theorists. The needs of the adult learner, advantages of teaching adults, and principles that can be followed are explored with the help of Knowles' andragogy model. The importance of the classroom's eco-behavioral features—their physical and emotional environments—along with other factors that effectively facilitate the process of adult education are discussed. In this context, an adaptation of Astin's I-E-O's model is proposed to deepen the understanding of adult learning programs.

scholarly journals Adult MOOC Learners as Self-Directed: Perceptions of Motivation, Success, and Completion

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Loizzo ◽  
Peggy A. Ertmer ◽  
William R. Watson ◽  
Sunnie Lee Watson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Directed Learning

Despite the increased attention given to MOOCs over the last four years, learners’ voices have been noticeably absent. This virtual ethnographic study was designed to examine the experiences of 12 adult learners with bachelors’ and masters’ degrees, enrolled in a four-week MOOC on the topic of human trafficking. Through the lenses of self-directed learning and self-determination theories, we were interested in investigating learners’ motivations for enrolling in the MOOC, their perceptions of success and completion, and barriers encountered while trying to complete the MOOC. Reasons for enrollment varied from personal enjoyment to professional development, and differing definitions emerged regarding completion or success in a MOOC. Implications of this study include a proposed conceptual framework of adult learner MOOC motivations and goals, which may inform the intentional instructional design of MOOCs to better meet adults’ self-directed learning needs. Results also pointed to the potential for social science MOOCs to promote activism and attitudinal and social change.

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