Formalizing Informal Learning
Candyce Robb
Interesting article in CLO magazine this month re above subject.
http://www.clomedia.com/features/2010/March/2870/index.php
"Recent research from ASTD and i4cp...indicates organizations are looking to informal learning as the next big thing (my emphasis). Some estimates even indicate that 70 to 80 percent of all learning in organizations is already informal...". "But what is the informal learning they are talking about? ....doesn't matter".
Karie Willyerd, CLO of Sun doesn't use the term 'informal learning' she says it and 'formal learning' are not adequate. So she uses "the language her organization understands (my emphasis) --"leverage the power of social media, user-generated content and open content development-- to describe how I will solve their specific problem (me again)."
Isn't that what it is all about this social and informal (or not) learning...getting answers. Learning, whether it is to gain knowledge for professional or personal use, is about answering a question, solving a problem, sating a hunger. But today our means, methods, tools, are more substantial than they were just a few short months/years ago. Through Web 2.0 platforms we now have the capability to learn from the masses using as many or as few tools as we want. In business we leverage the tool(s), we pull (to leverage) from the pools at the most opportune moment (when we want or need the information) in order to gain information to begin, continue or complete.
The author Lance Dublin shares a story about Genentech (a biotechnology company) developed several methods for information sharing. One of them was called Genepool, “a social networking platform and online workplace community. ….learning professionals use it to plan companywide learning events and archive discussions and decisions as they work (transparency)…employees use it to engage with the content before, during and after the event” and all employees have access to it so they can connect with their peers in a community established for a particular business need or issue.
How does this help us in learning? How does this affect performance? Think about the power SM has, it can close the gap in distance learning; it can increase individual, group and organizational performance. We no longer have to wait until someone who knows the answer is available to ask, or is in their office ½ way around the globe or in the next cubicle, it’s in the cloud available to us when we need it. Therefore, we aren’t worried about how to get the information when we need it we are working on what we need to work on now without the fear that we should be second-guessing what we’ll need in an hour, later in the afternoon or tomorrow. We know what the business issues are and we are engaged with others who have the same concerns, we have the leverage (force) of like-minded stakeholders to solve the problem, create and launch.
Ahhhhhh, so much learning to do, so little time!