Abstract
This research set out to identify the factors that need to be considered when designing e-learning environments to engage elderly learners. Thematic analysis of the data extracted from observations, oral reports and interviews enabled the generation of codes and initial themes from which three overarching themes were identified. These three themes are: capacity, sense of control and reminiscence. Thematic analysis at a latent level allowed the themes to be examined within the contexts of an elderly learner’s psychosocial status, physical, sensory and cognitive capacities as well as in the context of the learner’s intellectual, emotional and psychological needs within an e-learning environment. The inductive nature of the research proved particularly compatible with the participatory iterative process employed, which established itself as the backbone of the study and provided a practical configuration from which data were drawn. The iterative process of design involved a small number of elderly learners interacting with Web-based language learning activities. These activities had been specifically created for the purposes of this study, and were further improved iteratively as directed by analysis of the data set. This process permitted data drawn from a case within one iteration to be re-examined in relation to the data drawn from the case within the next iteration. In effect, although the research was primarily inductive, this system incorporated both an inductive and deductive logic. The process of analysis enabled themes to be evaluated for significance within and across all iterations. In addition, it permitted an exploration of secondary sources within the contexts of identified themes. The findings from the secondary sources contribute further insights to the findings from the empirical research. Ultimately, the analytic process enabled the identification of the factors that need to be considered when designing e-learning environments to engage elderly learners.