ERIC Number: ED441156
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1998
Pages: 28
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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Supporting Adult Students in Web-Based Courses: Real Examples for Serving Non-Traditional, Adult, and Minority Students.
Hudson, Larry; McCloud, Rebekah; Buhler, Teresa; Cramer, Stephen; Greer, Linda; Paugh, Robert
A variety of educational practices are used to support adult learners (who are part-time learners and full-time workers as teachers or trainers) in fully World Wide Web-delivered college courses at the University of Central Florida. Use of the Web as the sole means of delivery offers some challenges for learner support, especially for adults, non-traditional students, and minorities. Some of the challenges include newness to technologies, access, software learning, and the traditional challenges to adults, such as lack of time and family demands. A variety of techniques are used to support adult learners facing these challenges, including the following: (1) an orientation session and hands-on training; (2) Web support through a new program, Web PALs (Peer Assisted Learners); (3) a minority student program; (4) peer support within courses; (5) individual e-mail contact; and (6) traditional telephone calls. This article contains descriptions of these approaches and offers strategies for implementing similar approaches at other schools. A telephone survey given to a randomly selected group of 45 minority students who have taken a web course is included. Only 28 of the 45 said they would take another web course. (Contains 147 references: 132 web sites, 8 books, and 7 ERIC documents.) (KC)
Descriptors: Access to Education, Adult Students, Andragogy, College Programs, Continuing Education, Educational Attitudes, Educational Practices, Females, Higher Education, Inservice Teacher Education, Minority Groups, Nontraditional Education, Nontraditional Students, Online Courses, Student Attitudes, Student College Relationship, Student Motivation, Student Personnel Services, Vocational Education Teachers, Web Based Instruction, Womens Education, World Wide Web
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
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Language: English
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Author Affiliations: N/A