Without a doubt, the topic of social media/Web 2.0 tools continues to be the hottest topic in our industry today. For starters, Jay Cross has long been pushing learning leaders to mature in their scope, and better focus on and enable informal learning in their organizations. His latest column for Chief Learning Officer magazine, "Informal Learning 2.0: Sustaining the Corporation in the Network Era," is as always a good read. And the same issue also includes "When the Bird Tweets, Does Anyone Learn?" by Bill Sherman, who, amongst other points, presents the rise of social media for learning in the context of a third-generation instructional design model.
Recent issues of T+D magazine have also focused on this critical area. The July issue included "Social Networking: A Force for Development?" (login required) by Marjorie Derven. Then the August issue takes it up a notch with "Learning Gets Social" by ASTD President and CEO Tony Bingham (also available as a podcast.) The subtitle for this article conveys the message nicely: "A powerful force—unlike any in history—is altering the learning profession's landscape." After spending time reviewing what he considers to be aspects of the Gen Yers/Millennials, Bingham focuses on the disconnect between informal learning's prevalence and the L&D budget dollars spent on enabling it. And he correctly notes that utilizing Web 2.0/Social Media tools is one way to enable informal learning. Full of great quotes from others in the industry and research results, this article is a must-read for learning leaders in the industry, particularly those who are not yet convinced of the importance of social media for their organization. Indeed he closes with the following rallying cry:
This is the learning profession’s opportunity to be a game-changer—a paradigm shifter—and in the process, successfully position our organizations and ourselves for future success. …In the learning profession, we’ve never had the opportunity to broaden our impact as we do today through informal learning. People are demanding it, the technology is driving it, and the economy is requiring it. The pieces are there, and now is the time to connect those pieces to create a learning masterpiece that meaningfully demonstrates the critical importance of each and every one of your roles.
See also the ASTD news release (PDF) by Bingham, dated July 30, which includes a summary of key takeaways from the recent ASTD report “Transforming Learning with Web 2.0 Technologies."
It is great to see ASTD, "the world’s largest association dedicated to the training and development field," encouraging its members to understand the importance and impact of social learning.
And finally, here are some other highlights from the many industry leaders and experts talking and writing about web 2.0 / social media's increasing importance:
- Tony Karrer is paraphrased in Bingham's T+D article, and for more of his thoughts on this subject, see his posting on the need for learning professionals to avoid becoming marginalized in their organizations.
- An exciting video, Social Media Revolution, made the rounds recently on YouTube. You can see this video, along with some key points and commentary, at Tony Karrer's posting about it.
- Clive Shepherd provides key takeaways from Jakob Nielsen's research on the use of social media in enterprises—so-called "Enterprise 2.0." Both Clive's posting and the original research summary by Nielsen are worth reading.
— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com)
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