Design of an Authentic E-Learning Environment

The increasing necessity of a lifelong learning attitude has its influence on the ageing population in Western societies. Employees nowadays cannot rely on their skills once learned in school. Most, also older, employees have to keep up by learning new insights, new skills, and new knowledge. A lot of money is invested in training and further education. New technology can play an important role here. This chapter will give an insight into the development of an authentic multimedia learning environment to support lifelong learners. More specifically, it has been developed in order to improve learning materials in terms of giving the right amount of scaffolding at the time when it is needed to increase the motivation and the performance of the (older) learner. A design that adapts cognitive load theory to minimise cognitive overload was embedded in an authentic context that, as a result, provided a fruitful basis for authentic and simulated learning environments addressing both younger and older adults.