16
DecemberOnline Learning and Adult Learners
The rapid advancements in technology and
science over the past few decades have facilitated the dissemination of
knowledge and the development and evolution of education and learning processes
at an unprecedented pace like never before in the past. A key development that
supports and advances long-life learning and the promotion of adult skills and
knowledge consists the proliferation, not just in numbers as well as in quality
and breadth, of Online
Learning courses and
methodologies.
Online
learningis catalyzing a
pedagogical shift in how we learn and anticipate knowledge of the world around
us. Online learning marks a shift away from top-down lecturing and passive
students to a more interactive, collaborative approach in which students and
their instructor co-create the learning process and interact in its
development. On the other hand, online distance learning meets the needs of an
ever-growing population of students and adult learners who choose not to
participate in traditional classroom settings or are not able to participate,
as the recent pandemic has horizontally posed that challenge. Online learners
include among others, those unable or unwilling to attend traditional classes,
who cannot find a particular class at their chosen institution, who live in
remote locations, who work full-time and can only study at or after work, those
who manage to find the resources and time to attend a course and those who
simply prefer to learn independently.
The minimum requirement for students to
participate in an online course is access to a computer, the Internet, and the
motivation to succeed in a non-traditional classroom. Online courses provide an
excellent method of course delivery unbound by time or location allowing for
accessibility to instruction at any time from anywhere. Learners find the
online environment a convenient way to fit education into their busy lives. The
ability to access a course from any computer with Internet access, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week is a tremendous incentive