This study defines a blog as a contemporary web-based environment that can make a difference in adult informal learning practice. An online survey with 70 adult bloggers in Korea was undertaken to understand the nature of adults' blogging and its meanings in terms of learning. This study investigates (a) adults' blogging experiences related to…

People frequently hear competing media and research claims about the educational value of new technologies. But too often it is not clear how, if at all, these technologies are supporting learning. And there is not enough attention paid to the challenges of trying to introduce these technologies successfully into an educational context. To what…

In the globalized economies e-permeation has become a basic condition in our everyday lives. ICT can no longer be understood solely as artefacts and tools and computer-related literacy are no longer restricted to the ability to operate digital tools for specific purposes. The network society, and therefore also eLearning are characterized by…

This paper reports on work undertaken within a pilot study concerned with the design, development, and evaluation of online computer science training courses. Drawing on recent developments in e-learning technology, these courses were structured around the principles of a learner-oriented approach for use with adult learners. The paper describes a…

The paper first describes a web-based essay critiquing system developed by the authors using latent semantic analysis (LSA), an automatic text analysis technique, to provide students with immediate feedback on content and organisation for revision whenever there is an internet connection. It reports on its effectiveness in enhancing adult EFL…

Training individuals from diverse backgrounds and in changing environments requires customized training approaches that align with the individual learning styles and ever-evolving organizational needs. Scaffolding is a well-established instructional approach that facilitates learning by incrementally removing training aids as the learner…

This chapter focuses on the role of online educators as mentors and addresses the potential impact of a mentoring relationship on the development and persistence of adult learners in the online medium.

Limited studies on social presence in online learning do not lend themselves to understanding its effects on adult learning. Research indicates a heightened need for examining the relationship between social presence and perceived learning and satisfaction as well as retention in online courses. Incorporating social presence into online courses…

The study discusses some major adult learning theories and practices and their application to the functionality of synchronous learning tools in order to better support the needs and satisfaction of stakeholders while interacting in a web-based environment. It examines how best to provide guidelines for them in choosing the synchronous learning…

Explores the possibility of a doctoral degree program in computers and writing by distance. Reports current developments in graduate education by distance with particular attention to the types of students best served by such programs. Proposes a doctoral degree by distance that unites adult returning graduate students with prospective mentors…

Runner is a high-quality educational game designed by the University for Industry (UfI/"learndirect") to attract young adults who find learning in formal educational contexts difficult. A case study evaluation of this novel application of an adventure game genre to literacy learning is discussed, based on observations and interviews in…

Over two and a half years, the authors conducted a detailed survey of 1101 adults in England and Wales, 100 follow-up interviews and year-long case studies of 25 families. The data have led them to construct a rich and often thought-provoking picture of how adults are using information and communications technologies (ICTs) in their day-to-day…

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the benefits of on-line learning for adult learners and to further demystify three common misconceptions concerning on-line learning: students certainly do receive support from their on-line professors, the professor is pro-active rather than passive, and students may be more motivated to learn than in…

This paper focuses on the adult education and adult learning characteristics, advantages of educational technology for adult learners; explains the using of computer based educational technologies such as; Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), computer assisted interactive learning and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) in adult education;…

A federal initiative to expand learning services to adult basic learners via distance learning is proposed. The California experience can prove useful to states and programs wishing to adopt distance learning interventions. This article describes how California adult schools' serve adult learners via distance learning. Over 38,000 unduplicated…