Adult Learning in the Digital Age: Information Technology and the Learning Society

by Neil Selwyn, Stephen Gorard, John Furlong

Overview

This engaging book sheds light on the ways in which adults in the twenty-first century interact with technology in different learning environments. Based on one of the first large-scale academic research projects in this area, the authors present their findings and offer practical recommendations for the use of new technology in a learning society. They invite debate on:

• why ICTs are believed to be capable of affecting positive change in adult learning
• the drawbacks and limits of ICT in adult education
• what makes a lifelong learner
• the wider social, economic, cultural and political realities of the information age and the learning society.

Adult Learning addresses key questions and provides a sound empirical foundation to the existing debate, highlighting the complex realities of the learning society and e-learning rhetoric. It tells the story of those who are excluded from the learning society, and offers a set of strong recommendations for practitioners, policy-makers, and politicians, as well as researchers and students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415356985
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/22/2005
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Neil Selwyn, Stephen Gorard, John Furlong

Table of Contents

1. The Promise of the Learning Society 2. The Perils of the Learning Society 3. Researching the Learning Society 4. What Makes a Lifelong Learner? 5. What Do People Use ICT For? 6. Learning and ICT in the Home 7. Learning and ICT at Work 8. Learning and ICT in the Community 9. The Reality of the Learning Society 10. What Should We Do?

Editorial Reviews

'This book will give readers much to think about in relation to the political agenda but it should also provide a rich grounding of fieldwork data from which to appreciate the present relationship between beyond-school learning and new technology... An excellent read: a stimulating interpretation of findings from a timely and elegant piece of research. I strongly recommend it.' - Journal of Adult and Continuing Education

"It is a well-organized and well-written volume that should appeal to adult educators with an interest in technology-based learning." — The Canadian Journal for The Study of Adult Education, November 2007.

From the Publisher