Significant research has demonstrated the crucial role that parents play in supporting the development of children's literacy, but in contexts where adults may lack sufficient literacy in the target language, it is not clear how to most effectively scaffold parental support for children's literacy. Prior work has designed technologies to teach…

This research explores the difficulties faced by many migrant, refugee, and immigrant adults confronted with technological ubiquity in economically developed countries. Preparing migrant adult learners for the digital world by building digital literacy skills can help to maintain home language proficiency, support English language learning, and…

One of the benefits of computer game-based learning is the ability of certain types of game to engage and motivate learners. However, theories of learning and engagement, particularly in the sphere of higher education, typically fail to consider gaming engagement theory. In this article, the author examines the principles of engagement from games…

In recent years, social networking services (SNSs), for example, Facebook, have shown exponential growth in their number of users. Witnessing the popularity of these SNSs, educational researchers have also explored the potential educational value of using SNSs. Despite the few studies that have investigated learners' attitudes toward and the…

Expectations for simulations in healthcare education are high; however, little is known about healthcare students' expectations of the learning process in virtual reality (VR) and simulation-based learning environments (SBLEs). This research aims to describe first-year healthcare students' (N=97) expectations regarding teaching, studying, and…

Adult students have become the new majority in online distance education. Research in online distance education, however, is still predominantly based on the historical perspective of the traditional student profile. This study examines adult students' learning engagement in online courses and explores the impact of online course design models and…

This research examined the impact of formative quizzes on e-learning designed to teach volunteers how to tutor struggling readers. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Do embedded quizzes facilitate learning of e-content? (2) Does the announcement of upcoming quizzes affect learning? (3) Does prior knowledge interact with quizzing and…

Four cases relating to the efforts of e-learning teams in valuing adult learners in their e-learning solutions were examined to better understand how e-learning teams value their adult learners within corporate settings. Two questions guided the analysis of the cases, they are: (1) What is the nature of the e-learning solutions in these cases? (2)…

Adult students (n=12) participated in a computer-based instructional (CBI) design course that integrated adult learning characteristics and preferences. Embedding these aspects empowered students to attain competence in producing CBI projects. They expressed a need for peer feedback and more planning time. (SK)

This article describes how the design of digital learning objects can spark professional learning. The challenge was to build learning objects that would help experienced special education teachers, who had been teaching in math classes, to demonstrate their proficiency in middle and secondary school mathematics on the PRAXIS examination. While…

Although computer-based training for adults has some disadvantages, it is useful for individuation, cost effectiveness, and interactivity. Computer instruction for adults must be designed carefully, considering content organization, learner control, practice, feedback, reinforcement, and assessment. (SK)

Adults have specific and unique motivational needs in instructional settings. As a result, motivating instruction for adult learners should be designed with special considerations. This paper uses an adult motivational instructional design model to demonstrate the application of prescribed strategies into instructional software designed to teach…

Reviews current empirical data on the effectiveness of animation in computer-based instruction. Research on static visuals and learning is examined; animation research is described that includes studies with elementary school children, high school students, and adult learners; and implications for current instructional design are suggested. (56…

These four papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by C. J. Wallington at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "The Effectiveness of an Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) on Learning and Performance" (Theo J. Bastiaens, Wim J. Nijhof, Harmen J. Abma) reports on a study of Dutch…

Describes a series of evaluation criteria for self-instructional materials for adult learners that focuses on computer-assisted instruction and interactive video instruction. Five categories are included: (1) content; (2) instructional strategies; (3) instructional presentation; (4) documentation; and (5) technical aspects. (10 references) (LRW)