The proliferation of information and the paradigm shifts occurring with technology have various impacts on learners in informal and formal education, respectively.
With technology evolutions and various uses in education, it is sometimes difficult to determine which technologies are beneficial to learners.
In order to implement these technologies’ use in adult education, we need to break out of the mindset that technology is for online courses only, specially-designed for university students.
Even if a class meets in a traditional format, that learning management system is still a useful communication tool that adult education promoters can use to upload documents and post grades for adult learners, and this can avail a space for adult learners to work in teams outside the classroom.
It’s advanceable to practice multimedia actively to engage learning and allow adult learners to use their own skills to navigate the learning pyramid, and to create the necessary skills that will allow them to engage their critical thinking.
However, this assumes that the adult learning and technology available are not customised for adult education, as adult education promoters use video and multimedia content on full-screen view, and have adult learners huddle around the one screen.
Use this content to demonstrate a concept, introduce background knowledge, or make a point.
Consider adult learners’ ability to see details in such a situation.
Send them home with the Web address so that they can watch the clip again in their own time, with better viewing capacity.
This exercise is coupled with challenges of a lack of infrastructure, connectivity and funds to digitise adult education.
Nevertheless, adult education has been delivered on traditional blended methods.
Thus, the implementation of smart boards has a wide range of functions, from projecting presentation slides and internet sites, to serving as an interactive surface that gets adult learners working together, solving mutual problems.
One of the best features is the ability to print the screen so that all work related to a lesson is saved for later discussion.
They are great for showing editing, sentence combining, graphic organisers, planning and revising, which eventually will assist to build optimal numeracy and literacy skills amongst adult learners.
Adult education promoters, education planners and education officers arguably consider the ELMOs - the projectors - that do not require a laptop; they simply project onto the wall or screen, whatever is put under the lens.
One can project adult learners’ work samples, writing taken from magazines, photos, a notebook page with annotations, anything.
When they are connected to laptops, ELMOs can project anything on the screen. They are great for showing editing, sentence combining, graphic organisers, planning and revising.
These could be coupled with smart phones with cameras and recorders to get learners out in the community, and bring the community back into the classroom with digital stories.
All these could possibly contribute to the effective use of technologies in adult education.
Furthermore, these could be essential components for high-quality adult education programmes with the integration of technology into curricula and instruction designs, providing opportunities for adult learners to explore, experiment, and develop expertise by using real-world applications while building the needed skills to prepare them for success in our digitally-connected world.
The ministry of education will as well benefit as these activities shall continue enriching teaching and learning, while the benefits of digital literacy proficiency are too numerous to capture by extending ongoing and self-directed learning through a wealth of distance learning, online platforms and other interactive multimedia.
* Shilongo Eliphas Shilongo’s credentials are in education and Business Management, currently doing a PhD with a focus on the digitalisation of adult education at the University of Namibia. Views expressed are his own, and hecan be reached at: eshilongo53@gmail.com