Hello all,
I would like to give some information about our discussion structure.
It will be four parts :
First, definitions of motivation for adults
Second, motivation factors for adults in online learning environment (What are pros and cons?)
Third, the ideas for promoting adult motivation in online learning environment.
Last part, Conclusion ( Do you think that online learning environments motive to adult learners? )
i hope we will discover new things and share our unique experiences.
Hello:
1. motivation: the desire to learn something new (or add to something already known) and the willingness to take the necessary risks and do the necessary work to get the learning done.
2. Adults/online learning: I should think it ties into the answer to #1. Sometimes, online learning is the fastest, most efficient way to complete some learning even if it's not a person's first choice. Rather than seeing online learning as a barrier, the motivated learner will learn how to use online learning as a vehicle to the learning she/he really wants.
3. quite frankly, not sure. I know that many folks say that creating an online community is important and an important part of supporting a learner's motivation, must lots of folks couldn't care less about the community....
4. For those adults who enjoy learning on line, or for those adults who accept that its a vehicle for learning, absolutely. For many others (who may have other learning barriers), online learning might not be the most useful way to learn.
Interesting topic. Thanks.
Christine (Chris) Horgan
SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary, Alberta.
For discussions on motivation, I always defer to John Keller who was my Ph.D. dissertation adviser more than 30 years ago and is one of the leading authorities on motivation. He has a website with resources on his ARCS model (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) at http://www.arcsmodel.com/.
good catch, Don, and thanks for the reminder about John Keller's work. Keller has been my main source for information about motivation. Learnt a lot that I could apply in teaching. Chris