This paper reviews the foundational literature of contemporary e-learning, with a focus on scaffolding, instructional design, and engagement. These concepts are then considered in two limited case studies, each involving e-learning and adult learners--in particular, nurse-learners. The first case study describes the use of a scaffolding model…

The convenience and flexibility of online learning clearly make it an attractive option for learners in professional development contexts. There is less clarity, however, about how it fares as a vehicle for enabling the applied, practice-oriented outcomes typically associated with professional development learning. This paper presents a case study…

The Native Species and Natural Processes certificate at the University of Victoria is an advanced-level online program of four courses to introduce students to state-of-the-art topics in the field of ecological restoration. The program posed some unique challenges for course developers. The development team needed to find ways to create online…

As Canadian universities are pressured to exhibit a range of organizational accountabilities, their various academic, administrative, and support units are required to adopt more integrated and inclusive approaches to assessment and planning. Within the purview of university continuing education units, individual program areas are expected to not…

Universities in Canada and elsewhere are recognizing the importance of being more engaged with their communities. Indeed, the president of the University of Alberta made engaging with external communities one of the cornerstones of her vision for the institution. So how are universities meeting this challenge? In his book, Managing Civic and…

Leaders of university continuing education units frequently dedicate significant energy to managing relationships between their units and senior university administrators. Many CJUCE readers know of cases where a particularly sympathetic (or unsympathetic) university president or provost has substantially changed the trajectory of a continuing…

This article explores the similarities and differences between Canadian and Australian university teachers' face-to-face and online teaching approaches and philosophies. It presents perspectives on teaching face-to-face and online in two comparable Canadian and Australian universities, both of which offer instruction in these two modes. The key…

This article presents the findings of a study that explored the role and impact of continuing education on rural revitalization. A community development approach, academic expertise, and a university's resources were used to assist the citizens of Montmartre, Saskatchewan, to establish Centre 48, an arts and continuing education centre. Courses…

The limited research that exists in the area of prior learning assessment (PLA) has tended to be descriptive and conceptual in nature. Where empirical studies have been done, they have focussed mainly on PLA as a means of credentialing rather than as a learning experience. Furthermore, there has been very little empirical research into the…

Institutional continuing education practices have received widespread attention in literature on adult and continuing education. However, the research community seems to restrict continuing education to universities. This paper reviews the contribution of non-university tertiary institutions to continuing education in Nigeria, using the Federal…

In this paper, we describe the outreach and engagement movement in the United States and explore the implications of this movement for university continuing education units in Canada. Across the United States, major universities have adopted the vocabulary of "outreach and engagement" to foster a shift in the relationships of those universities…

Peer evaluation has been criticized as a threat to academic freedom and has been used, usually erroneously, as a justification for academic reappointment, tenure promotion, and merit pay. In recent years, scholars have recommended that peer consultation, which is primarily designed to improve teaching, be honored, but apart from evaluation. In…

Changes in university extension/continuing education require a new type of research that is more appropriate for emerging practice. An online database of case studies of continuing education programs and projects could help improve practice and supply the knowledge base for graduate programs. (SK)

The Canada-Asia Partnership, a community development project of Canadian, Thai, and Filipino universities, included continuing education workshops. Their cross-cultural, participatory nature successfully promoted learning and skill development and resulted in holistic knowledge production. (SK)