Cognitive-Based E-Learning Design for Older Adults

Abstract

Aging is highly correlated with a decline in cognitive abilities. Information and communication technologies are nowadays increasingly used for knowledge acquisition, education, cognitive development, etc. Older adults should be prepared to adopt these technologies and take advantage of their capabilities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the cognitive profile of older adults in order to identify the ways that they learn, as well as to analyze older adults’ attitudes, to aid in the development of an e-learning platform adapted to their needs. The sample of the study consisted of 103 older adults, aged 55+, from Greece. According to their responses, older adults seemed to prefer e-learning modules that presented the educational content step-by-step and contained practice questions and examples. In addition, respondents had positive attitudes toward the existence of assessment tests for after the completion of each module. Finally, the utilization of explanatory videos and special graphics in the modules was imperative, according to older adults’ preferences.

Innovations in Education—The Development of a New Pedagogical Technology of a Combinational Type, Focused on the Development of Personality of Students

“…A growing interest in online education is recorded in all countries. Distance learning, digital transformation of education and growing competition in open distance education [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] together with open innovation issues [9][10][11][12][13] are the typical features of the modern world. E-learning is understood as the organization of educational process including information obtained from databases and used in the implementation of educational programs.…”

Are There Any Cognitive Benefits of Computer-Based Foreign Language Training for Healthy Elderly People? – A Mini-Review

“…They can build on their previous learning experience and linguistic knowledge. However, the results also show that older adults need much more time to achieve the same learning outcomes, would welcome frequent repetition and also more time on solving individual tasks; simply, the design and execution of the whole course should be tailored to their specific needs as pointed out by Pappas et al (2019) . Nevertheless, the results did not show any improvement in seniors’ wellbeing ( Ware et al, 2017 ; van den Berg, 2019 ).…”

“…For example, tutors should consider the learning environment, which should bring together people with the same level of acquired knowledge in order to avoid the feelings of lower self-confidence and anxiety if they saw that their peers are faster and better at learning new things. Furthermore, Pappas et al (2019) report that especially e-learning courses for older adults should be short, clear, logical, and comprehensive; educational materials should be broken in small units to keep their attention and the teachers should provide constant feedback to this group of people to help them understand both the learning materials and their progress, as well as give them enough time to absorb new knowledge. In addition, the topic they study must be appealing to them enough to make them engaged in their learning.…”

APRENDIZAGEM NAS UNIVERSIDADES DE TERCEIRA IDADE EM TEMPOS DE CONFINAMENTO SOCIAL: O CASO DA COMUNIDADE ONLINE miOne

“…Nos últimos anos, tem-se registrado um interesse crescente na educação e aprendizagem pela terceira idade, fato comprovado pelo crescimento global do intitulado movimento University of the Third Age (U3A) desde 1973 (FORMOSA, 2019) e introdução de áreas disciplinares como Geragogia (BJURSELL, 2019) que assenta num conjunto de princípios, tais como (PAPPAS et al, 2019;VELOSO et al, 2015): (i) estratégias de aprendizagem personalizadas ao contexto do aluno; (ii) adoção de uma abordagem flexível; (iii) ter em conta as aprendizagens anteriores; (iv) manter o foco no tópico que está a ser abordado; (v) adaptar os conteúdos ao ritmo dos alunos; (vi) dividir os problemas em tarefas mais pequenas e fáceis de compreender; (vii) orientar o processo de aprendizagem a experiências pessoais partilhadas.…”