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Lifelong Learning

Technology Forever

10/1/2008

By Matt Villano

Higher education's lifelong learning programs for the 50-plus student are embracing online presentation tools, vodcasting, peer-to-peer file sharing, and more.

Technology Forever Who says classroom learning has to end with a formal degree? Probably not many college graduates going back to school to earn additional certifications or to retool their careers. And certainly not any of the non-traditional students involved in non-credit lifelong learning programs at colleges and universities across the country.

Today, "lifelong learning" encompasses a wide range of student profiles and curricular designs, but a growing subset of the nation's lifelong learning programs are non-credit and designed specifically for students over the age of 50. The good news is that "over 50" doesn't mean "out of the technology loop." Most of the lifelong learning programs-- especially those at schools such as Berkshire Community College (MA), Duke University (NC), Emory University (GA), and the University of Southern Maine-- are now embracing tools such as videoconferencing and vodcasting, in new and innovative ways.

Generally speaking, few of the technologies in these programs are what academic technologists would consider cutting-edge; certainly some have been eclipsed by snazzier emerging technologies on traditional and virtual campuses. But to serve those lifelong learning students who may not be as familiar with technology, program coordinators have selected those tools that are relatively easy to learn and even easier to use.

That doesn't mean the efforts are not significant: In building tech-enabled curricula for older students, these programs are enabling their constituents to learn a host of worthwhile skills and, at the same time, are providing a valuable revenue stream for the institution. To get a snapshot of some of the technologies in use right now (and to uncover tools and approaches you could be instituting in your school's lifelong learning program), scan the rundown of well-thought-out and innovative programs that follow.

Viva the Videoconference

AT BERKSHIRE Community College, lifelong learning students in Professor Applebaum's course on Joseph Stalin have the option of attending live lectures or viewing them via video feed.

In the mountains of western Massachusetts, lifelong learning students at Berkshire Community College are abuzz over videoconferencing. The learning program, which launched during the spring semester of the 2007-2008 school year as a joint venture with two other Massachusetts institutions, Williams College and Bard College at Simon's Rock, connects students at Berkshire's main campus in Pittsfield with students at Berkshire's Great Barrington campus, about 25 miles away. The goal: to enable students to learn without requiring them to travel considerable distances.

The program's initial course, "Uncle Joe: Not Your Average Joe and Not Your Average Uncle," was constructed around the topic of the former Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin. During the six-lecture class, Professor Stanley Applebaum divided his time between both campuses, giving three lectures in Pittsfield and three in Great Barrington. When he spoke in Pittsfield, the talk was broadcast via live video feed in Great Barrington. When he spoke in Great Barrington, it was broadcast back to Pittsfield. A total of 31 students had the option of attending the live lectures or attending the lectures in the room with the video feed, whichever was more convenient for them.

"With gas prices going through the roof, students absolutely loved the flexibility," says Barbara Hochberg, executive director of the school's lifelong learning program, which technically is an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (see "Founding Funders"). "Some of the people in Great Barrington said they wouldn't have signed up for the class if they had to drive all the way to Pittsfield."