2016 Annual Conference

Successful distance education in the 21st century requires that adult educators use technologies and autonomous learning strategies. The psychological and communication spaces in an online environment are never the same between any two adult learners and instructors. This transaction distance is what deeply impacts learning and teaching.

The target audience for this session includes adult educators that teach or mentor adult learners in an online environment. These adult educators encapsulate the importance of technologies, such as online conferencing tools, to enhance learning and teaching in an online environment. The target audience will include adult educators that are interested in learning how to use two online conferencing tools, Zoom and Skype, so they can improve learning and teaching.

This session derives from the theory of transactional distance to enhance distance education and adult learning and teaching by increasing communication and autonomy in an online learning environment. The online conferencing tools, Zoom and Skype, shared in this session provide the ability to enrich the learner and teacher experience. Some online conferencing strategies that adult educators can use to improve communication and autonomy include one-on-one meetings, coaching, mentoring or tutoring, small group meetings, and oral presentations. This session will showcase the theory of transactional distance via two online conferencing tools, Zoom and Skype, and provide a variety of online conferencing strategies for adult educators. The session will also include information about Zoom and Skype, instructions on how to use these online conferencing tools, a demonstration on how easy it is to use these valuable online conferencing tools, and a small group activity.