Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

According to Matthew Fell, chief UK policy director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) “adult learning is heading in the wrong direction at precisely the wrong time for our economy and our society”.

A closer look at four categories of digital literacy for adult learners

Digital Promise’s Adult Learning initiative recently launched Community Impact Stories, a new series of blog posts to highlight adult learner stories across the nation. The series explores the powerful impact of local nonprofits and community-based organizations that provide adult learning and workforce development opportunities to families and communities. We invite partner organizations and learners to share their stories moving forward: adulted@digitalpromise.org.

We often take for granted that people know how to learn. After all, we all had to learn while in school, right? But that can be a dangerous attitude to take when it comes to corporate training initiatives. School curricula are built on theories about how children and teenagers learn (and how much time they can dedicate to learning). Have you ever considered whether adults learn in the same way? (Spoiler: They don’t!)

We tend to think of adults as being able to sit and absorb boring presentation after presentation. In truth, that’s just as ineffective as it would be for a toddler. Adult learning theory is a way into the minds of adults and getting there can help you create better eLearning for your employees.

Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe

There are many similarities to adults and students when it comes to learning. If you were an auditory learner in school, you probably still prefer that learning method [1]. If you were a verbal learner you still prefer that. Adults are able to learn from additional styles as they know what they need to pick out from training, and they know the impact it will have on their job if they do not. The motivation to learn is more relevant to adults than it is to students, but trainers need to be aware of learner preferences.

Gendered life patterns and socialisation may negatively affect women’s confidence in using digital technology – particularly older women with lower socio-economic status. These are some of the findings from two reports carried out by Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, and the Good Things Foundation, into digital inclusion and literacy. In this post Kate Gilchrist asks what this means for how parents and grandparents support their children in a digital age and argues that policy makers must take such factors into account. Kate is the editor of the Parenting for a Digital Future blog and is a PhD researcher in the Media and Communications department at LSE.

In order to create meaningful eLearning experiences, you have to know how to approach your adult audience from an Instructional Design standpoint. How do you they assimilate knowledge? What are their key motivators? How can you create the most effective eLearning environment based on their needs? Here are 10 adult learning principles that are backed by adult learning facts and stats.

A short video from the PC3 team focusing on Malcolm Knowles' theory of andragogy or adult learning. This video is licenced under a Creative Common

Administrators and educators need to use appropriate and effective instructional techniques for andragogy and pedagogy, whether in person or online.