Читать книгу Online Learning For Dummies - Susan Manning - Страница 58

Senior citizens and retirees enjoy active lifestyles these days. That includes using the Internet. Don’t let granny fool you: As the Pew Research group reports, technology adoption among seniors has never been higher. Some seniors are taking online courses for personal enjoyment or to “retool” for careers after retirement.

Seniors benefit from online education for the same reasons everyone else does (see the previous sections for examples), but convenience and not having to deal with transportation issues rise to the top. In addition, seniors have an advantage over most others in that they seem to be better at managing their time.

For young retirees, online learning could provide an avenue to retrain for a new career. In particular, military personnel who find themselves looking for work in their 40s can begin to prepare for their future without having to leave base. For example, First Sergeant Earl earned a special endorsement for teaching while stationed in South Korea; the university was in the United States. After he was discharged and returned to the States, he had the credentials he needed for a successful job search.

Teachers, especially college faculty, like to retrofit themselves for teaching through retirement as well. By enrolling in online courses, retiring faculty can update skills and acquire new understandings of the teaching and learning processes so that they’re more marketable as part-timers or adjuncts. A retiree can still travel and teach (with a stable Internet connection, of course).