Social Learning

There can be no doubt that technology today is a true-enabler. Cisco last year estimated that by 2050, there would be 50 billion (internet-)connected devices. Some say, based on estimates today of 8.7 billion for 2012 and the historical rate of exponential growth capable in tech, this would seem even conservative. By 2020, the number of internet users would reach 5 billion.

And by 2020, it is estimated that at least 2 billion smart handheld devices will be in use with direct, immediate and constant access to the internet or the "cloud". Almost all of your employees have one now already - just observe the BYOD discussions and early adoption attempts today, let alone in 6 years time.

Hence it is an opportune time for organisations to review how they are "learning".

The trend of moving away from formal, face-to-face trainings/learning to more technology-based, informal ways of exchanging information, ways to store/extract/analyze data, social learning etc can only accelerate.

In my work as a facilitator, I am seeing more organisations harnessing informal social learning like Communities of Practice, Learning Circles and adopting blended and/or E-learning approaches for better employee engagement, better learning outcomes, better time management etc.

Many are even creating internal Knowledge Management (KM) approaches like internal blogs, forums for social sharing, knowledge capture - from the mundane of best caterers to use for office functions to more cutting edge innovation / idea sharing of best practices or tried practices.

 



Jane Hart's work on the Social Workplace Learning Continuum will help  organisations understand where they are in their evolution, where some of their current or planned future interventions are on the scale, and perhaps ascertain if they need to be even bolder in their transitioning away from their formal learning processes.

 

Where are You in your social learning journey?