Integrating adults' characteristics and the requirements for their effective learning in an e-Learning environment

Abstract

Learning technology, through e-learning, allows adults to adapt learning to their own time, place and pace. On the other hand, the adults' specific characteristics as learners and the requirements for their effective learning must be integrated in the design and the development of any learning environment addressed to them. Adults in an online environment have also to deal with new barriers related to access to the courses, the sense of isolation and the sense of immediacy with educator and other learners. This paper is dealing with the way through which an online environment can overcome these barriers and can integrate adults' characteristics and requirements for effective learning. The use of the appropriate communication tools by designers, developers and educators seem to provide the answers as these tools promote immediacy and interaction, both considered very important factors in online educational environments and affect the nature and the quality of communication and learning. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.