Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner, and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.
A learning management system (LMS) or virtual learning environment (VLE) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Learning management systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s. LMSs have been adopted by almost all higher education institutions in the English-speaking world. Learning management systems have faced a massive growth in usage due to the emphasis on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech", it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology. In EdTech Inc.: Selling, Automating and Globalizing Higher Education in the Digital Age, Tanner Mirrlees and Shahid Alvi (2019) argue "EdTech is no exception to industry ownership and market rules" and "define the EdTech industries as all the privately owned companies currently involved in the financing, production and distribution of commercial hardware, software, cultural goods, services and platforms for the educational market with the goal of turning a profit. Many of these companies are US-based and rapidly expanding into educational markets across North America, and increasingly growing all over the world."
Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to take a critical stance or attitude towards one's own practice and that of one's peers, engaging in a process of continuous adaptation and learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight". A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential.
The scholarship of teaching and learning is often defined as systematic inquiry into student learning which advances the practice of teaching in higher education by making inquiry findings public. Building on this definition, Peter Felten identified 5 principles for good practice in SOTL: (1) inquiry focused on student learning, (2) grounded in context, (3) methodologically sound, (4) conducted in partnership with students, (5) appropriately public.
Open learning is an innovative movement in education that emerged in the 1970s and evolved into fields of practice and study. The term refers generally to activities that either enhance learning opportunities within formal education systems or broaden learning opportunities beyond formal education systems. Open learning involves but is not limited to: classroom teaching methods, approaches to interactive learning, formats in work-related education and training, the cultures and ecologies of learning communities, and the development and use of open educational resources. While there is no agreed-upon, comprehensive definition of open learning, central focus is commonly placed on the "needs of the learner as perceived by the learner." Case studies illustrate open learning as an innovation both within and across academic disciplines, professions, social sectors and national boundaries, and in business and industry, higher education institutions, collaborative initiatives between institutions, and schooling for young learners.
Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and their knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem-solving skills.
Academic analytics is defined as the process of evaluating and analyzing organizational data received from university systems for reporting and decision making reasons. Academic analytics will help student and faculty to track their career and professional paths. According to Campbell & Oblinger (2007), accrediting agencies, governments, parents and students are all calling for the adoption of new modern and efficient ways of improving and monitoring student success. This has ushered the higher education system into an era characterized by increased scrutiny from the various stakeholders. For instance, the Bradley review acknowledges that benchmarking activities such as student engagement serve as indicators for gauging the institution's quality.
Alan Amory is a Senior Programme Specialist at SAIDEPreviously, Alan was a professor of educational technologies at the University of Johannesburg, where he promotes and drives the use of educational technologies. He has contributed to numerous fields of research, including information and communication technologies in education, video games and learning, tool-mediated knowledge construction, authentic learning, and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT).
Viviane Marcelle Joan Robinson is an emeritus distinguished professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in organisational and educational psychology.
Nancy Rachel November is a New Zealand academic, and is professor of musicology at the University of Auckland, specialising in late 18th- and 19th-century chamber music.
Mistilina Sato is Professor of Education in the School of Teacher Education at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She researches educational policy, teacher recruitment and training, leadership and performance assessment. She was part of a team who won the US National Staff Development Council's Best Research Award for a three-year project on the impacts of teacher certification. She has published on the educational policies and systems in China.
Deidre Marjorie Le Fevre is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in educational leadership, teacher training and education improvement.
Carol Anne Mutch, also known by the nickname Dr Disaster, is a New Zealand academic, and is Professor of Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland, specialising in disaster management and recovery in educational settings, and the role of schools during crises.
Cheryl Lee Brown is a South African–New Zealand education academic who has worked in education in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. She is a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in the use of technology in education, digital literacy and access to technology.
Jocelyn "Joce" Grace Nuttall is a New Zealand education academic, and is a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in teacher education, early childhood curriculum policy and workforce capacity-building.
Vivienne Ruth Anderson is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in the interface of education policy and practice, and issues around accessibility of education.
Fiona Peterson is an Australian academic, and is a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology, specialising in transdisciplinary education and digital education.
Susan Elaine Sandretto is an American–New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in working with teachers to develop critical literacy in primary and secondary school pupils. Sandretto also works on unintended consequences of educational policy, such as changes to active transport.
Helen Stapylton Timperley is a New Zealand education academic, and is professor emerita of education, learning and professional practice at the University of Auckland. In 2010, Timperley was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to education.
