Why is continuous learning important as we age?

Yes, it is true that now a days many jobs demand continuous learning. If for no other reason we need to learn just to keep up with technology and not to become irrelevant or ineffective but there is another reason. Even after retirement it is important for adults to continue to learn because the process of learning keeps the brain young.

Learning causes the brain to build new internal connections between cell assemblies. The more we learn the more connection we create the more agile the brain becomes making us able not just to recall what we have learned but to make new associations among concepts and develop new ideas.

The more we learn the more complex the brain connections become including more complex cell groupings, as well as, electrical and chemical transfers between those cells. It is the creation of these association and the increased electrical energy facilitated by chemical reactions that keep the brain agile. If for some reason one pathway become impassable others exist or are developed.

So keep your brain young! Keep learning. Its not just rewarding and increases your quality of life, it keeps you more mentally agile and younger.

More information about adult learning. There you will find a number of questions answered as well as a page full of links to articles on adult learning.

Adult e-learning expectations vs. reality.

Expectations of e-learning complementing and even substituting traditional education have been high, however, as mentioned in and articles entitled “An Integrative Model to Predict the Continuance Use of Electronic Learning Systems” reality has fallen short of expectations.

In this writers opinion, the reason is that very often current e-learning is made of adaptations of print or traditional classroom learning. Even the most innovative of teachers has trouble thinking a new.

Adults want freedom and efficiency. They want just what then are looking for, when they needed, very focused, and “right sized”. One way of providing such learning is via the use of learning object focused knowledge on demand as opposed to traditional formats.

The idea being that I want to find what I need, when I needed, in digestible chunks, that I can navigate through at my convenience. That is very different from traditional learning or what is being pushed in many e-learning environments.

Hints for adult learning:

• Create learning object based instruction.


• Have each learning object be of manageable size (digestible and less than 5 minute per object).


• Allow the learner to assess him/her self if desired and provide links from remediation to relevant learning objects.


• Let the learner decide whether to follow the outline or search-and-learn by him/her self.


• Pay attention to the interaction design and provide a reasonable degree of interactivity (leave the cute in favor of the effective).