Nurses are expected to participate in ongoing professional development, whether that is higher education to obtain another degree or continuing nursing education (CNE) to enhance knowledge or skills, maintain licensure, and/or maintain certification. Because there are generational differences that can affect adult education, learning preferences according to each current generation should be considered when developing CNE activities. There is documented consideration of generational differences in higher education, but limited evidence that the same consideration occurs regarding CNE. Current generations in the nursing workforce include the silent generation, baby boomers, generation X, millennials, and the iGeneration. The problem identified for this qualitative study was that online CNE might be ineffective for meeting the learning needs of multigenerational nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the learning preferences associated with online CNE to understand if applying generational theory to online CNE could better meet the learning needs of multigenerational nurses. Strauss and Howe's generational theory was used to guide this qualitative multiple case research study. Research questions included learning preferences of the baby boomer, generation X, millennial, and iGeneration according to the generational theory in online CNE activity development and the preferences the four generations considered most meaningful in online CNE activities. The study participants included five RNs with no higher than a baccalaureate degree from each generation of baby boomers, generation Y, and millennials, and one iGeneration RN that worked within the U.S. and completed at least one online CNE activity between December 1, 2014 and December 1, 2016. An open-ended interview tool based on the generational theory and developed by the researcher was used during semi-structured interviews via telephone, Skype™, and Facetime. Interview data were coded, recoded, categorized into themes, and depicted in tables. Because findings that multigenerational learning preferences are inconsistently and sometimes minimally used in current online CNE activities, the study participants recommended specific learning preferences for consideration in development of future online CNE activities. Educators are encouraged to incorporate the identified meaningful learning preferences of baby boomers, generation X, and millennials to achieve the most effective online CNE activities and associated outcomes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]