Meeting The Online Needs Of Part Time Postgraduate Engineering Students

This research paper investigates how online resources and blended learning can meet the needs of part time adult learners studying or a post graduate qualification in Engineering. There are many reasons why students in industry undertake a postgraduate qualification in part time mode, namely:-They need the work to support themselves through further study Their company wants them to undertake continual and professional development They wish to become a Chartered Engineer ie a member of a professional body These reasons are very commendable and these student set off with a view to completion with an air of optimism and excitement. However, a combination of work / life demands and the rigors of academia can quickly take the shine off the optimism. As full time employed adult learners, there are many obstacles that will interfere with their academic life, for example employer demands ie having to go overseas to work or an urgent need to be at work, family demands ie a new baby or caring for a family member, other demands include jury service. Therefore one of the main design criteria for these type of Post graduate courses was to improve the flexibility of delivery and to generate as many different types of support for these students as possible. An adult learner will more likely seize the opportunity to learn, even in the face of adversity. Self-regulation means that they will seek help if they lack understanding, they also believe more in their own capabilities and are probably more organised, (Boekaerts, Pintrich, & Zeidner, 2000; Schunk & Zimmerman, 1998). This is contradictory to Prensky (2001) who developed the title "Digital Immigrants" for adult learners as opposed to "Digital Natives" for the younger learner. Many other papers show that what the adult learner lacks in online skills he makes up in terms of resilience, experience and organisation. Therefore, this paper examines how online resource, tools and delivery methods were part of the course design in order to overcome some of the difficulties that these adult learners encountered.