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Integrating Adults’ Characteristics and the Requirements for Their Effective Learning in an e-Learning Environment

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Best Practices for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge, Learning, Development and Technology for All (WSKS 2009)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 49))

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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.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science Department, University of Alcalá, Spain

    Maria Pavlis Korres & Elena García Barriocanal

  2. Department of Educational Science and Early Childhood Education, University of Patras, Greece

    Thanassis Karalis

  3. School of Humanities, Hellenic University of Greece,  

    Piera Leftheriotou

Authors
  1. Maria Pavlis Korres
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  2. Thanassis Karalis
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  3. Piera Leftheriotou
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  4. Elena García Barriocanal
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Open Research Society, Gerakas Attikis, NGO, Greece

    Miltiadis D. Lytras

  2. University of Ovieto, Spain

    Patricia Ordonez de Pablos

  3. Department of Information Technology, University of Milan, via Bramante, 65 - 26013, Crema (CR), Italy

    Ernesto Damiani

  4. ESSEC Business School, Cergy Pontoise Cedex, France

    David Avison

  5. KMR group at NADA/KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Lindstedtsv. 5, P.O. Box, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden

    Ambjörn Naeve

  6. The American College of Greece, Greece

    David G. Horner

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Korres, M.P., Karalis, T., Leftheriotou, P., Barriocanal, E.G. (2009). Integrating Adults’ Characteristics and the Requirements for Their Effective Learning in an e-Learning Environment. In: Lytras, M.D., Ordonez de Pablos, P., Damiani, E., Avison, D., Naeve, A., Horner, D.G. (eds) Best Practices for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge, Learning, Development and Technology for All. WSKS 2009. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 49. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04757-2_61

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04757-2_61

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-04756-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-04757-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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