What upgrades or changes are necessary to provide better technology integration for adult learning opportunities

With the fast moving and increasing techincal methods of learning, students as well as instructors need to keep up with all of the new and improved Web 2.0 tools that are available for their use. The University of Phoenix is one of the fastest growing, online educational instutions offering educational instruction to students all over the United States and all around the world.
"Students enrolled in the University of Phoenix, can tap into leading educational technologies with a variety of software that they have available" (University of Phoenix, 2013). With techonolgy rapidly growing, the school has intergrated several upgrades for students as well as instructors. The following are examples of some of the upgrades the university has or will put in place for students and instructors.

                                                          Upgrades and Changes:

1.  "Every year the courses at the university are reviewed, fine-tuned, or rewritten, based on extensive data from faculty and student surverys, and because of the constant changes in information techonlogy, courses in the techonlogy programs are reviewed twice a year" (Olsen, F. 2002)

2.  The university requires all instructors to take an online training refresher course yearly, and new staff must take a four-week online course about the university and their programs, and must work for two weeks under an experienced instructor on how to develop a syllabus and course outline. All staff needs to be familar with all of the new Web 2.0 tools and programs, and how to operate them.

3.."Simulations are a new teaching tool at the university to teach students how to handle difficult situations when they don't have all the information they require to make a decision, where the information they acquire is changing or where they constantly face new circumstances that is out of their control" (Olsen, F. 2002). "simulations are multimedia software program that helps students learn the more diffcult and complex concepts that are part of the curriculm" (Olsen, F. 2002).

4.  Another program was added to the university, The Apollo Group (APOL) awared a patent to assist develop the University' Academic Activity Stream, the program willconsolidate student activities, engagement, and interaction into one unified learning space (PR Newswire, 2013). "The Academic Activity Stream is one of the many ways the University is improving our online platform, and providing a digital classroom catered to the specific needs of working adult learners" (Cappelli, G. 2013). This tool allows students to sort data by upcoming tasks, activities, and assignments, and develop events that effect them personlly. This feature enables the learning environment to adapt to the changing technology space where more students can work from their phones and tablets as opposed to a computer. The Academic Activity Stream will be implemented in phases over the coming months (University of Phoenix, 2013)

5.  The university has introduced the Phoenix Mobile 3.0, in which students can access and communicate with their instructors and obtain assignments and othermaterials through their smart phone, and Iphines, The Phoenix Mobile 3.0 can be accessed offline. The university needs to offer training sessions on all of the new Web 2.0 tools in order for students under their function.

6.  Lectures on the live site by using Webcasts and video presentations on the internet.

                                                              References

Apollo Group, Inc. (2004) Anual Report: 1-43.

Cappelli, G., Chief executive officer of Apollo Group Inc.( Jan., 25, 2013).

Olsen, F. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 49, pp. A29-A31, (2002.)

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/214697323

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.appololibrary.com/docview/1273813828
http://www.phoenix.edu/about_us_university_of_phoenix/technology_in_the_classroom.html