Personal Development

The following activity describes several situations that adults in different stages (early, mid, older, and wisdom) encounter in the digital age. These situations focus on times when people urgently seek to better address personal needs (Bee & Bjorklund, 2008).

Similar to Rachel and Jerri, adults in the digital age have a plethora of demands related to their personal lives that encourage them to gather new information and learn new functions. Yet, one quickly discovers that “one size does not fit all”! Unfortunately, the solutions adults use to find assisted living or critical care living services for their elders are not entirely transferable to learning about medical treatment options. There are differences on the many levels needed to succeed in finding this information, including the varying technology skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, and more.

Several of these personal life examples have been related to health issues, because by definition adults are moving across a continuum of aging. Nevertheless, there can also be health crises (acute instances of health-related matters). For instance, when diagnosed with cancer much learning needs to occur rapidly. Because of extreme stress or physiological damage, the adult's cognitive functions may be impaired.

There is no one script of action for people diagnosed with cancer; however, the need for information is clear. At the hospital, doctor's office, or treatment center, this point is underscored by the abundance of available leaflets, booklets, video clips, and onsite presentations. These materials cover a wide range of subjects that patients need to learn about including diagnoses, terms and definitions, treatments options, recovery, rehabilitation, and so on. In addition, these resources introduce patients to online resources for more in-depth information to accompany their treatment including on-demand video clips, articles, and communities to support the essential learning.

Wellness

Western medicine and epistemology hold a dichotomous view of the mind and body (Begley, 2007a, Jan. 19). The Western medical orientation of a deficit model heralds from this perspective as well. With the deficit model, not only is a human being sick or healthy (therefore another dichotomy) but also health care providers focus on treating immediate physical symptoms.

In comparison, many aboriginal traditions (e.g., Eastern Indians, Native Americans, First Nations people of Canada, and ancient Chinese tribes) daily recognize and serve the needs of not only mind and body but also the soul or spirit (Kabat-Zinn, 2011, 2013). These three areas are conceptualized and interact with interconnected entities and are not isolated. Mindfulness practices demonstrate that an integrated view of mind, body, and spirit has been internalized. As adopted currently in Western cultures, mindfulness is demonstrated by greater integration of peaceful mind and spirit and the mindful spirit in one's life.

In the 21st century, stresses, demands, and complications may lead adults to the point where mindfulness training is advised by a health professional. Many times these suggestions may be related to (1) ongoing physical pain that does not respond well or to conventional Western medical treatments or (2) the need for peace from traumatic or chronic distressing situations (emotional relief), for instance (Kabat-Zinn, 2011, 2013).

Kinesthetic learning may be a combination of physical stretches, guided concentration or relaxation, and ambient music (Begley, 2007b; Hanh & Vo, 1987; Kabat-Zinn, 2011, 2013). The literature on mindfulness indicates that modeling is a strong means of teaching it, as is the need for guided concentration. (Begley, 2007b; Hanh & Vo, 1987; Kabat-Zinn, 2011, 2013). As explained eloquently by Kegan in 1994, adult learning in the digital age needs to leverage all abilities to manage the many demands and conflicts of our complex lives. Bridging the mind, body, and spirit enables adults to cultivate all their capabilities to reach these goals.

The Workplace

Workplace preparation and training is one of the strongest advocates for adult learning in the digital age. In order to stay abreast of the demands of the organization, workers must continually learn how to operate and troubleshoot new equipment and their related platforms.

In the digital age, the workplace is a prime example of the urgency for adult learning as well as learning's shifting needs and ubiquity. As discussed, the digital age has increased technology innovation, integration, and adoption at its core. Specifically, as technology continues to rapidly change the ways in which we do our work, demands also increase for adults to scaffold their prior skills and paradigms to learn new skills.

Consider the standard, small office (fewer than 25 people) that provides customer service. The manner in which much of the work is now completed is extraordinarily different than it was 30 years ago (circa the 1980s). Instead of the fax machine being a new addition, it has largely been replaced by e-mail, scanning, and electronic faxes. The importance of this shift for business lies in the fact that information remains in a digital format. Therefore, physical storage demands are less and is freed up for other uses, and there is less risk of losing critical personal information through casual interaction (e.g., seeing paperwork lying on a desk or opening metal file cabinets, etc.).

However, there are drawbacks with most technology solutions. First, when the power is out or the technology otherwise malfunctions, unless you have redundant equipment, a worker must move on to another task, leaving the first incomplete. Table 3.1 in Activity 3.4 will help you to review other innovations that have changed the way in which we conduct our work.

How do adults learn in the workplace? What strategies or programs are available to them? In these contexts, not only do adults need materials to learn about the new equipment they are learning but also they need cognitive skills and learning strategies. Vital skills for the 21st-century workplace include (1) critical thinking skills, (2) problem-solving skills, and (3) technology literacy skills.

Entertainment

Consider an evening at home in the digital age. Heather, a middle-aged single woman, arrives home after having dinner with friends and decides to watch television for a while before resuming her recreational reading. She picks up the master remote control to turn on the television, sound system, and entertainment console. This remote connects her TV to her wireless network so she can access movies and network shows on-demand.

She decides to watch last week's episode of her favorite talent show and last night's episode of the new mystery series. Later, she receives an alert that a storm warning is in effect, so she turns to the local weather channel and selects the option to restart the most recent weather report.

To children and young adults of the digital age, searching the newspaper or television guide for the day and time to watch a specific movie is an inconceivable activity. They belong to an on-demand generation and are used to being in control of their entertainment choices to an extent never imagined by others. In the digital age, people's entertainment interests determine the time of delivery; the networks no longer determine the time line.

Yet in the midst of on-demand entertainment, a great deal of learning occurs. People have to learn a variety of technology interfaces to access programming schedules and the programs. Moreover, other levels of learning are expected in many of these entertainment applications. Consider the following examples:

• Computer-based and online multiuser role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft and SimCity, are two examples of extensive webs of strategy and culture learning in which people become deeply involved to advance their status.
• Social media applications, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and so on, require users to learn the culture and mores of their online communities in addition to the technology interfaces. Moreover, each online community has a unique set of attributes and applying assumptions. These variations make moving among social media environments fraught with potential difficulties and embarrassment.
• Guitar Hero represents a class of programs that is available on many platforms (from computers to cell phones) and facilitates learning music. Users can also use them to play electronic guitar, drums, and sing with other Guitar Hero owners around the world.
• There are many popular online games that can be played independently on cell phones, computers, or through the Facebook community. Group play or competitions afford a different level of motivation for many users. A few examples of such games include these:
  • Scrabble: The board game's online version in which players earn varying numbers of points for strategically forming words with tiles that have one letter on them, on a 15 × 15 grid of squares.
  • Candy Crush: A video game in which users race against time to match specific combinations of four or five candies. These candies appear, move, and disappear rapidly across the screen and offer opportunities to build high-point-value “composite candies.”
  • Tetris: A visual, spatial game in which players quickly fit geometric shapes together in a confined space while they are falling down the screen. The speed at which the blocks appear increases as the user reaches higher levels of proficiency.
• Games such as Words with Friends (another word-based game) and Farmville (a role-simulation game based on farm life) can be played on a Facebook platform. In such a forum one identifies playing partners, and collaboratively play.

These are few examples of entertainment in the digital age, but each of them includes a heavy element of ongoing learning in adults compared to the more analog entertainment in which we engaged in previous decades.

Edutainment is the term for another category of learning through entertainment, but it is distinctive in that education is an explicit goal of the entertainment product or service. Examples of edutainment focused on adults are products that are now popularly classified as brain games. Early edutainment products date back to the 1960s or earlier. The concept was introduced by McLuhan (1964) and coined by Heyman in 1973 (Rey-López, Fernández-Vilas, & Díaz-Redondo, 2006). By the 1970s, television was the medium of choice and Gerald Lesser, a psychologist and teacher, had produced Sesame Street as an educational television program with a heavy emphasis on entertainment for engagement for children (Corona, Cozzarelli, Palumbo, & Sibilio, 2013).

In the midst of the growing development and adoption of edutainment, learning in adulthood has gained mainstream attention. There exist many free sources of smartphone; computer; TV-, Wii-, and X-box-based; and online games available. Lumosity (www.lumosity.com) was among the first companies to develop online and mobile applications for brain games focused on adult use; BrainHQ (www.BrainHQ.com) is another major source. However, adults now have access to free games from many other reputable sources, such as health providers, nonprofit organizations, and AARP. All of these sources provide links to sites that are supposed to support continued development and optimal function of the user's brain. (See http://www.brainline.org and https://stayingsharp.aarp.org/games?intcmp=RDRCT-HEA-BH-BG-SS-070116.)

At the same time, scholars are engaged in a debate about the benefits of technology-based brain training. Although many studies have been conducted that demonstrate the improvement of learning, recall, and understanding through these tools, the literature raises questions about the nature of those studies and their findings (Hambrick, 2014; Pan, 2015, Sept. 3). The educational and scientific community is still mostly undecided about the exact nature of the benefits of technology-based brain-training games and efforts. However, researchers continue to emphasize that learning new information and skills is beneficial in expanding all people's crystallized intelligence (the body of knowledge and skills we know) and keeping the older adult's mind sharp (Hambrick, 2014).

In the field of P–12 education, computer gaming as education has been heavily researched; however, fewer researchers have investigated the impact of entertainment learning among adults. The science of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis have revealed that adults continue to develop new neuropathways for learning as long as they keep using those portions of their brain (Begley, 2007a, Jan. 19, 2007b). Therefore, it stands to reason that adults engaged in digital entertainment, which incorporates ongoing learning, will benefit with continued brain development (Doidge, 2007). Entertainment in the digital age takes on entirely new possibilities, meaning, and importance when leveraged as learning opportunities.

Spirituality

Although many Westerners think of spiritual learning as formal instruction provided by a house of worship on a specific day (e.g., Sunday school, Sabbath services, etc.), individuals have the capacity to be self-directed learners in this area. As illustrated in Sheila's scenario, some people find that the digital age creates a new urgency for spiritual development to balance the deluge of information, communication requests, and commitment demands. At the same time, because of their prior experience in Western cultures, many adults appear to be unprepared to explore this area independent of formal learning.

Exploring strategies and activities for spiritual growth may assist individuals and groups in considering their situation and options from different vantage points. By participating in such activities, people may discover that their spiritual study and growth may provide new ways to comprehend and cope with the demands they experience.

The following brief list provides examples of activities that offer opportunities to explore different spiritual understanding and meaning. Based on preferences, need, and availability, users may decide to use one or more of these suggestions. The activities are left nonspecific in order to enable learners to choose which spiritual opportunities to explore.

• Participating in formal instruction at houses of worship or with study groups
• Engaging in interdenominational or denominational specific peer or study groups
• Learning new or advanced meditation, devotional reading, and prayer practices
• Introducing or advancing skills in body-mind-spirit exercise to connect physical, mental, and spiritual concentration, freedom, and clarity

Groff and Smoker (1996) discussed Sorokin's (1957) model of understanding changes in several dimensions of cultures across the centuries. The model and discussion provide a historical perspective of social, philosophical, and spiritual thought and practice quite relevant to this chapter's focus.

In this research, Sorokin and his colleagues documented and analyzed a tremendous volume of data regarding different aspects of Western culture across disparate indicators of innovation, philosophy, law, the arts, and so on. Sorokin's model recognized “two opposite types of cultures—sensate/materialistically based cultures, and ideational/spiritually based cultures—and his thesis that Western history has alternated back and forth between these two extreme cultural types, with periods of balance between them during certain transitional times” (Groff & Smoker, 1996, p. 80). Relevant to our discussion is their evidence that as Western civilization continues to focus heavily on materialism (sensate status), there will be a crisis and corresponding swing toward spirituality (ideation).

Groff and Smoker's (1996) as well as Sorokin's (1957) seminal work on ideation and spirituality support the thesis that a technological age can result in people of all ages searching beyond the materialistic technical world for meaning. Thus, people in the digital age may seek mindfulness, spiritual, and other practices that can facilitate or renew mind, body, and spirit connections. Certainly this research and literature provide a different vantage point for examining our individual and societal perspectives and actions in the digital age.

Informal and Formal Education

Informal education is an area that most people outside of the adult learning arena are less familiar with than formal education. Certainly, this trend is to be expected because our P–12 and higher education experiences primarily have been focused on scheduled, instructor-led classes. However, similar to mist creeping across a field as the cool evening air sweeps in, in the digital age informal learning has been quietly, but persistently, infiltrating most parts of our lives.

Pablo's experiences highlight his engagement in informal learning as a self-directed learner. Informal learning does not usually take place in formal educational settings and at discrete, scheduled times. Instead informal learning is education that occurs in the midst of our lives and work (Tough, 1967, 2002). Rather than halting his projects to register for a class and learn how to paint or repair his home, Pablo used technology resources to meet his learning needs while continuing his work. Very often adults engage in informal learning in the midst of other pursuits and activities. In Pablo's situation, it is clear that his primary goal was to repair his porch, and learning the detailed skills for the projects was a secondary goal.

Just as adult engagement in informal learning has accelerated in the digital age, so has adult involvement in formal education. There are two major areas in which adults engage in formal education: workplace training and higher education. Based on a recent report from the Association of Talent Development (ATD, formerly known as American Society for Training and Development), the average employee engaged in 31.5 hours of learning hours per year, 70% of which were instructor led. (This portion of the report was based on research with a sampling of 340 businesses from across the United States.) In addition, the report revealed that from 2006 to 2013, the expenditure on employee training increased from $1,040 to $1,208 per person per year (ATD, 2014).

Although those figures are substantial, the focus of training is even more telling. The impact of innovation and rapid changes in economic regulations and policies is seen in the focus of the reported training. The top three areas of training were (1) mandatory compliance, (2) managerial and supervisory, and (3) profession and industry specific. Rather than optional programs, training is focused on demands created by changing and highly competitive industries. These topics are clearly strategic in building leadership and capacity for organizational excellence.

Information about postsecondary enrollments creates a complex picture. From 1992 to 2012 enrollment in degree-granting institutions has increased greatly; however, the two decades had different patterns. From 1992 and 2002, enrollment increased 15%, but from 2002 through 2012, it leaped another 24% (from 16.6 million to 20.6 million) (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2015a). However, these numbers do not describe the complexity of the situation.

Over time, as illustrated in Table 3.2, at the undergraduate and post-baccalaureate levels, enrollment trends have not experienced a steady incline but varied substantially (NCES, 2015b).

Source: NCES (2015b).

In addition, another great shift emerged in that a large part of this growth is in the number of nontraditional (adult) students enrolled in higher education. In 2014, 40% of the undergraduate population was over the age of 25, and over 51% of all undergraduates were classified as independent (Center for Law and Social Policy [CLASP], 2015). Based on trends for the last several decades, NCES has indicated that 2012 to 2022 growth in numbers of undergraduates students will be only 8% among traditional age students and 21.7% among nontraditional students (age 25 or older) (CLASP, 2015).

How do these trends of increases in workplace training and nontraditional students attending US higher education relate to the digital age? Both reflect the changing economy and nature of work and the increased speed of technology innovation. Such rapid innovation first affects industry and commerce, which then need to offer immediate opportunities for their employees to upgrade their skills in order to cope with the changes in-house. However, in order to secure or advance their careers adults realize they need to keep abreast of changes in the field at large. From technicians to designers, engineers to physicians, researchers to financers, teachers to nurses, more and more employees need to continue to advance their formal credentials by pursuing advanced certificates or degrees. These are all contributors to the increasing enrollments of adults in higher education.

Conclusion

This chapter has presented an in-depth discussion and many illustrations of the importance and expansiveness of adult learning in the digital age. I hope you recognize some of your experiences or those of the learners with whom you might work. Building on this understanding of adult learning as central in our daily lives and work provides an essential foundation for understanding details of the skills that are needed for adults to be successful in our changing world. Chapter 4 completes this foundation by exploring the biological foundations of adult learning as they relate to the digital age.