The Perceived Motivational Impact of Voice-over-PowerPoint™ on Part-time Adult Learners in a Distance Learning Environment

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether well-designed instructional material based on motivational theory and blended learning theory has the intended impact on the learning motivation of adult learners in a distance education environment. This study used Voice-over-PowerPoint™ technology as a medium to deliver subject specific instruction based on motivational theory as supplementary content to the course curriculum. This empirical study was conducted over a period of approximately two months on a sample of 57 adult learners who were enrolled for a distance education course for non-degree purposes at a tertiary education institution. Quantitative research methods were applied and data was collected using two motivation-measuring surveys: (1) The Course Interest Survey; and (2) The Instructional Materials Motivation Survey, which were both developed by Keller. Motivational strategies were designed for the chosen educational technology, Voice-over-PowerPoint™ (VoP) videos, using Keller’s Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation. These strategies were then delivered via the learner management system for learners to use at their convenience. This research suggests that overall, learner motivation can be affected by external conditions such as well-designed instructional material, and further supports the ARCS model. Furthermore, the use of VoP videos as a viable medium for delivering motivational strategies in a blended, distance learning environment was validated

Masters' courses in the education of adults in the UK

This is a paper from the Academic Papers Online series from ESCalate, written by John Field, Richard Dockrell, Peter Gray in 2005. Universities provide a range of advanced qualifications for professionals who support adult learners. Describing and evaluating this body of work, though, poses something of a challenge. The field of continuing education is a broad one, which has been widened further by current government policies promoting lifelong learning, as well as by increased concerns for quality improvement among providers in further and higher education. Qualifications are accordingly offered under a variety of different titles: many universities now offer taught postgraduate courses in areas such as lifelong learning, continuing education, post-compulsory education and training or adult education. This report examines the background against which these courses developed, and explores a number of curricular and organisational issues associated with them. It includes, as an appendix, a list of courses currently offered in British higher education institution

Distance Education In European Higher Education - The Potential: UK Case Study

[About the project] Study 3 focuses on prospective distance education students – who are they, what do they look for, what are the barriers? For this purpose, the browsing and search behaviour on the Distance Learning Portal is analysed and five experts are asked to conduct a meta-analysis of existing research for five country cases. The term ‘better’ is used in the central research question (‘How can the distance education offer of European higher education institutions be better matched to the needs of adult learners? ’) to indicate that the project will look at both the demand and the offer side of distance education. The three studies, which are published as single online reports, are brought together in a final publication by the end of the year 2014

Mental tactility: the ascendance of writing in online management education

A qualitative study of online management education and the role of writing as an indicative measure of thinking and learning. Established educational models, such as Dale\u27s Cone of Experience, are expanded and redeveloped to illustrate the central role of writing as a critical thinking process which appears to be increasing, rather than decreasing, with the advent of online multimedia technology. In an environment of increasing reliance on audiovisual stimulus in online education, the authors contend that tertiary educators may witness an ascendance or re-emergence of writing as central to the academic experience. This may be both supply and demand driven. Drawing on a study of two undergraduate units in the Bachelor of Commerce and applying hermeneutics to develop challenging insights, the authors present a case for educators to remain conversant with the art of teaching writing, and to promote writing to improve educational outcomes. <br /

Student Satisfaction and Performance in an Online Teacher Certification Program

The article presents a study which demonstrates the effectiveness of an online post baccalaureate teacher certification program developed by a Wisconsin university. The case method approach employing multiple methods and multiple data sources were used to investigate the degree to which pre-service teachers were prepared to teach. It was concluded that the study supports online delivery as an effective means of teacher preparation, but it was limited in the number of students followed into their first year of teaching

Learning First, Technology Second: Enhancing Missionary Training Through Technology

This article describes how the missions agency EFCA ReachGlobal uses the open source online learning platform Moodle to train missionaries and to fulfill its goal to become a learning organization. Moodle is employed in three ways: online facilitated courses, collaboration zones and knowledge banks. Blended learning is also used, notably in ReachGlobal’s pre-field training for missionary candidates