Goals in Online Learning

Goal 1: Demonstrate an understanding of social issues affecting adult learning and leadership.

Goal 2: Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of technology on adult education and adult learning.

Social issues abound within online learning whether it be adult or not. There has been a merging of social delivery mechanisms and learning in the industry that my organization supports. 

What better way to reinforce training than to send microlearning nuggets about the training directly to the delivery platform that the learner carries with him everywhere and even better, knows how to use because he is on it constantly. Or how better to create a sense of immediate and lasting engagement than a video message from the instructor prior to the the start of the course, during the class itself, or after the fact when the learning is complete, as a way to enforce continued community. Additionally, online learning, particularly asynchronous learning can play to adult learning in that it allows adults to access the training when it's convenient for them, rather than making them miss class or during a time when they are not interested in learning. Technology is becoming a greater and greater social enhancement tool and can also become a greater online learning tool. 

Prior to this training I enjoyed looking at different tools and wondering if I could incorporate them into the training. Now, thanks to some of the reading in this class, I can now not only work to integrate them physically into the class, but understand how that integration can benefit the learner most. Knowing that engagement is a key aspect at the kickoff of the course, we can now manage and promote engagement mechanisms and tools at that point in the class, and realize we may need other tools for the middle and end of the class. If nothing else knowing more about these goals has helped create more nuance and depth to the tools I might work to integrate to our classes.