Red Rover

17 November 2011

All Learning is Social (Part 1)

In the ongoing dialogue about creating more productive and satisfying work experiences, it’s really easy to throw around buzz words like engagement, collaboration, and social learning without actually defining what these things mean to the organization and the people in it. Far too often, people wave their hands when talking about social learning and say things like, “Oh, you know… it’s about community building, knowledge sharing, blah blah blah…”. This info graphic does just that.

The fact of the matter is that all learning is social. Being in a classroom and learning among others is a social behavior. Reading a book is social; someone else wrote that for you to read, enjoy, and learn from. Searching for information online is social; someone uploaded that data knowing another person would benefit from having access to it. “Social learning” is just a buzzword to describe methods and practices that broaden and reinforce the social experiences that underpin all learning.

Glazing over the things that actually make learning more social, or avoiding definitive answers as to what it’s about (er, see infographic above), can be a costly mistake for any organization. Using social technology is rarely a plug-in-and-play experience; it takes time to foster a work environment in which your users will thrive. So, if you don’t take it seriously, it’s can turn into an expense that won’t deliver the ROI you were hoping for, guaranteeing disappointment in the results. However, when done properly its effects on the workplace are thoroughly rewarding.

Let’s get into some real talk about the very elusive term “social learning”, which is simply a reference to the types of technology that make learning even more social. Of course, this list is by no means complete, but it will hopefully begin an honest conversation about what it social learning and isn’t.

5 Things You Need to Know About “Social Learning”

1. It empowers people to recognize their own capacity to teach, and be taught by, others.
2. It reveals hidden talent and suppressed knowledge in the organization. It places the spotlight on individuals who may have never before seen their personal or professional experiences as having value to others, or the power to affect those around them.
3. It humanizes. Seeing your colleagues as fellow human beings maximizes team rapport and productivity by creating a new dynamic of professional accountability that could not have been generated through polices and procedures implemented by management.
4. It provides a set of tools that allow employees to contribute in ways they may not have otherwise considered. It inspires them to ask, “What skills/knowledge do I have to offer that will help my team complete this project? What might these people have to offer that could make me better at what I do?”
5. It promotes different styles of teaching and learning, allowing people to share and digest knowledge in ways that are most fitting for them.