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who is your target?

Nontraditional, commuter, reentry are terms assigned to my target student population, which I refer to as adult learners. Adult learners are difficult to categorize, as the determinants are often arbitrary. Their demographic variables cut across a wide swath of the population.  Ross Gordon (2011) refers to a set of shared characteristics which include: delayed entry or reentry to college, employment, and family and community responsibilities. They are also primarily part-time students. The group is typically described to be between the ages of 25-64.  Reference  Ross-Gordon, J. (2011). Research on adult learners: supporting the needs of a student population that longer nontraditional. Association of American Colleges and Universities.  (Previously bookmarked in Diigo)

what assumptions are you making about this population?

I am assuming that adult online learners meet the six assumptions of Knowles' Andragogy learning theory. Traditional college students are often still formulating self-concepts and are involved in much more socialization on campus. Adult students are usually not seeking the social component and are driven by the immediate application of acquired skills and knowledge to life outside of the classroom.  The University of Central Florida (UCF) drilled down into the age demographics of their adult student population and extrapolated generational data. Hartmann et al. (2005) reported results of a survey of nearly 1,500 online learners at UCF that shed light on generational differences in attitudes and expectations among students born during 1946- 1964 (the cohort authors nicknamed 'Baby Boomers'), students born during 1965-1980('Generation X') and others born during 1981-1994 (the so-called 'NetGen' students). The results noted that there were substantial differences between the cohorts as far as learning engagement, interaction value, and whether they changed their approach to learning as a result of their online experience.  Hartmann, J., Patsy, M. & Chuck, D. (2005). Preparing the academy of today for the learner of tomorrow. In D. G. Oblinger & J. L. Oblinger (Eds.), Educating the Net Generation, pp. 6.1-6.15. Washington, DC: EDUCAUSE. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/educating-net-generation/preparing-academy-today-learner-tomorrow  (Bookmarked in Diigo)

not sure what you mean. these numbers are fully online students.

Are these students that solely attend online classes?  Do they attend classes on campus as well?

Me too!

BRILLIANT!!!

Faulkner  welcomes the students and talks about  the day's task as he puts a couple of  key problems on the electronic whiteboard to check for understanding on  last night's video lesson.

I think it's crucial that instructors teaching distant eduation courses are aware that they will need to use very different teaching methods and tools than they used in thier traditional f2f classes.

self assessment???

While educators wonder if it is possible to create good online learning communities, game  designers create virtual societies with their own cultures, languages, political systems, and  economies (Kolbert 2001; Steinkuehler, forthcoming)

In short, while e-learning has a reputation for being dull and ineffective, games  have developed a reputation for being fun, engaging, and immersive, requiring deep thinking and  complex problem solving (Gee 2003)

Given emerging research on how video games and associated pedagogies work in designed  settings (Shaffer 2005), it seems the important question is not whether educators can use games  to support learning, but how we can use games most effectively as educational tools