Time Management and the Adult Learner.
Adult learners have a different set of concerns than younger students going to school for the first time. Time management is key for both the adult learner returning to college or the student approaching it for the first time. The higher education landscape has changed greatly over the last decade with more and more online and distance learning opportunities than ever before. Many brick and mortar universities have online course offerings. The field of adult learning is wide open and making good use of time will allow any student the chance of academic success.
The typical adult learner has too many things vying for their attention. Work, home life and social commitments take up a great deal of the hours available in each day. Online education offers the adult learner more chances to find time to attend class, and complete the class work. Often all that one requires is a place to sit down, a laptop or net book, internet connection and the student and the class are together. No fighting traffic to get to the school, no trying to locate parking or catching public transportation to make it to class on time. Discounting the traditional brick and mortar university is not the aim of this paper. There is a place for both traditional education and online education. Not all students have the personal commitment to attempt online education.
“The time that it takes to teach and take classes has been the subject of much speculation, but no standard exists to measure the amount of time that instructors and students dedicate to course.” (Amiel and Orey 2007). Most of the time that an adult learner will spend on online education is going to have to be estimated. Trial and error will lead to a clear plan of the amount of time that a learner will need to complete the course work. Amiel and Orey