Jane Hart is an independent advisor on Workplace Learning & Collaboration, and Founder of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. Here she writes about how to support learning, performance and collaboration in the social workplace.
On 7 February 2013, at the Learning Awards 2013, the Learning & Performance Institute presented Jane with the Colin Corder Award for Outstanding Contribution to Learning.
Contact Jane at jane.hart@C4LPT.co.uk
Last week I was in New York City where I gave the keynote at the International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace. The title was Social learning; the changing face of workplace learning. Embedded below is the slideset I used, and beneath it are some further notes and commets on the slides.
Notes on slides
4-7 Social learning is NOT new; it’s the continuous process of learning from one another that we has happened since we were children. But social media can make it a more powerful experience.
8-28 The Top 100 Tools for Learning survey has shown that people are using a variety of new tools to learn in many different ways ..
29 .. Which has meant that individuals and teams are now bypassing IT and L&D to solve their own learning and performance problems much more quickly and more easily.
30 – Continuous, self-organised, social learning is becoming the key way that many people (prefer to) learn nowadays – rather than intermittent training.
31-32 Although, as Josh Bersin’s Continuous Learning Model diagram shows, e-learning might be used to start the process of continuous learning within an organisation, coaching, mentoring, communities of practice and social networks are much more significant. Harold Jarche’s chart shows that learning within work teams – as a part of getting work done – is also key.
33 – 45 The growth of enterprise social networks and collaboration platforms now offers big opportunities for L&D to widen their scope and support continuous learning within teams, groups and communities in the workplace. But supporting social collaboration requires a different approach for L&D. It’s not about packaging up courses or resources FOR teams, but working in partnership with team leaders to “scaffold” the opportunities for learning to take place
46-47 – And for effective collaborative working and learning to take place, it won’t be just about implementing the technology, but also about helping the team members acquire a range of new personal and social skills (for more on this, see Connected Worker)
48 -52 For those in L&D who don’t feel ready or able to work directly with teams, then they can support more social approaches through Social Onboarding or Social Mentoring, or even through organising formal social online learning experiences
53 There are therefore a number of “levels” of application of social tools for learning.
54 -62 But one significant way L&D can begin to join up learning and working is through enterprise community management, and some of the activities involved are mentioned in the slideset.
Your employer will train you to do your existing job (e.g. how to use IT systems or carry out company processes) but is unlikely to develop you professionally.
“Taking charge of your professional development has become even more important since the recession, because some companies no longer have the funds to help employees grow beyond their basic duties. And since employees tend to have shorter stays with companies than they did years ago, companies may not see the value in training an employee they could lose.” Take Charge of Your Professional Development, Alexis Grant, US News, 17 August 2011
Your current skills will be out of date in 5 years. What you learned yesterday is already the past.
“A bachelor’s degree used to provide enough basic training to last a career. Yet today, the skills college graduates acquire during college have an expected shelf life of only five years according to extensive work we’ve done in conjunction with Deloitte’s Shift Index. The key takeaway? The lessons learned in school can become outdated long before student loans are paid off.” Mind the (skills) gap, William D. Eggers, John Hagel and Owen Sanderson, HBR Blog Network, 22 September 2012
What this means for Knowledge Workers
It means you need to take charge of your own professional development to ensure you are ready and marketable for your next job.
“There are many barriers to directing your professional development from inside your organization, but almost none outside the workplace, other than time and motivation. Do not wait to take control of your professional development, Harold Jarche, 24 September 2012
This doesn’t just mean attending a conference every year or taking a course from time to time, professional learning and development needs to be an ongoing process.
“Commit yourself to lifelong learning and you’ll be prepared for that next job, as well as the decisions you’ll need to make about which job to take. It’s all about the adventure.”5 ways to prep for you next, better job, Alice Korngold, Fast Company 23 May 2013
It’s also not just about learning “the old” – i.e. existing bodies of knowledge or skills, but learning “the new” – keeping up to speed with the new thinking and ideas in an industry and profession.
“Unless you are actively (and constantly) seeking to learn something new, you will not be ready for the transition which is just down the road. And by new, I don’t just mean that next version of software that just came out, or the new accounting regulation that FASB just passed. I mean something entirely new. Something outside of your comfort zone.”The Job of a Lifetime, No Longer Lasts a Lifetime, Social-Hire.com, 23 May 2013
Immersing yourself in the constant flow of new ideas requires a new set of personal knowledge management (PKM) skills …
“At its core, PKM is a way to deal with an ever-increasing amount of digital information. It requires an open attitude toward learning and finding new things. Each person needs to develop individualized processes of filing, classifying and annotating information for later retrieval.” Harold Jarche, Jarche.com
… as well as a personal toolkit of online social media tools, networks and services.
At the Connected Knowledge Lab we can help you develop these new personal skills and build your toolset, so that you can
seek out opportunities to keep up to date with what is happening in your industry or profession
make sense of what you find
share what you know with others; as well as
develop an online presence to promote yourself to future employers
“Learning the new is therefore a very different “learning” experience; it is about being in the flow of new ideas, making sense of what we hear and find out, ie by “joining the dots” ourselves, and by sharing our thoughts, experiences, etc with others in our teams, groups, communities and networks. It’s not about waiting for someone to come along to teach us this new knowledge or new skills; but rather to continuously learn for ourselves.” “ “Learning the new” vs ” the old”, Jane Hart, 15 November 2012
As a member of the Connected Knowledge Lab you will be able to …
participate in monthly online mini-workshops and web meetings on a variety of topics
access a growing collection of online resources on personal knowledge management, online tools and services, and more
join a trusted space to converse with the Lab hosts and other members
as well as benefit from reduced rates for one-to-one coaching from the Lab hosts, Harold Jarche and Jane Hart.
Come and join us! You can find out how to become a member here.
Here’s my pick of the resources from May 2013 – and this month it is quite an eclectic bunch! I’ve listed them in chronological order, and once again, I’ve provided a short quote to give a flavour of the article where I’ve not embedded the resource itself. You can find others in my 2013 Reading List.
“Today, people are not necessarily considered knowledgeable based on how much information they know, but by how much facility they have with that information. As teachers in the discipline of history we have to own the idea that teaching students how to analyze and evaluate the information they find is more important than gathering that information together in one place.”
“Start becoming un-busy. Create the capacity to use your creativity, to build strong relationships, to coach and mentor others, and to anticipate and deal with the inevitable troubles that come your way.”
“Customized work is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the ability of an individual employee to shape their career path within an organization and allows them to navigate to the roles they are best at and most passionate about. Employees no longer need to focus on ascending the corporate ladder, they are now building their corporate ladder.”
“Recent research shows that conference organizers should focus their conference education efforts more on learning design and less on delivery of information. Too often, conference organizers and meeting professionals secure speakers to present specific topics and then think their job is done. Their focus is completely on the content and the delivery of the information. Research is showing that those steps are not enough.”
“… most adults aren’t very good learners. In order to become the best leader (or, actually, the best anything) you’re capable of being, you have to become a great learner.”
“In every group there are a minority of people who find better solutions to the challenges at hand…even though they have access to exactly the same resources as the rest of the group, their uncommon practices or behaviors allow them to flourish.”—Jerry Sternin
“I want to suggest that a better classification of MOOCs is in terms of a set of twelve dimensions: the degree of openness, the scale of participation (massification), the amount of use of multimedia, the amount of communication, the extent to which collaboration is included, the type of learner pathway (from learner centred to teacher-centred and highly structured), the level of quality assurance, the extent to which reflection is encouraged, the level of assessment, how informal or formal it is, autonomy, and diversity.”
“We have heard plenty from teachers. We have heard plenty from educational “gurus” and theorists what students should/shouldn’t be learning and how we should/shouldn’t be teaching … It is time to hear from students!”
“Discover new ways to navigate the world around you with Google Maps and Google Earth. Improve your use of new and existing features of Google’s mapping tools. Choose your own path. Complete a project using Google Maps, Google Earth, or both, and earn a certificate of completion.”
“The latest edition of the annual Internet Trends report finds continued robust online growth. There are now 2.4 billion Internet users around the world, and the total continues to grow apace. Mobile usage is expanding rapidly, while the mobile advertising opportunity remains largely untapped. The report reviews the shifting online landscape, which has become more social and content rich, with expanded use of photos, video and audio. Looking ahead, the report finds early signs of growth for wearable computing devices, like glasses, connected wrist bands and watches – and the emergence of connected cars, drones and other new platforms.”
Note: Slide 108: “Re-imagination” of learning tools displays the Top 100 Tools for Learning.
All of the stuff that people do on the internet in the span of 1 minute. Including emails, Google searches, tweets, Facebook likes, Instagram uploads, Amazon purchases, porn viewing, and more. Published 24 May on YouTube by BuzzFeed
Social Tools in the Workplace is a recent Microsoft survey that reveals how information workers around the world view social tools. You can see the results in overview in this infographic below or read the survey results as a PDF.
And, if you want to discuss workplace collaboration – and the social tools to enable it, then visit the Worldwide Water Cooler, where you will also find a PDF of the infographic
Organising a formal online social learning experience for the workplace is much more than just requiring people to use some social media tools in an online course, rather it means applying 5 fundamental pedagogical principles:
1 – scaffolding the social learning experience
2 – offering as much autonomy as possible
3 – focusing on enabling the social interaction
4 – supporting the experience with content as appropriate
5 – and driving it with a performance outcome in mind
This workshop will help you plan a formal online social learning experience as well as scaffold its framework. It will also provide the opportunity for you to run a short session yourself with the other participants. Although this workshop is primarily aimed at those active in workplace learning, it will also be suitable for those in education.
AGENDA:
Part 1 : 27 MAY – 7 JUNE
Week 1: Planning your workshop
Weeks 2-3: Scaffolding the framework
Break to allow time for you to work on your own online social learning experience
Part 2 : 15 JULY – 7 AUGUST
Weeks 4-5: Running your own mini online social learning session. Members are encouraged to participate in as many as of the other online social expereinces they can.
Week 6: Review: reflections on your own experience both as an organiser and participant.
Book a place
To register for this online social workshop, please complete the registration form HERE
I’m constantly asked by Learning & Development professionals where they can learn more about social learning.
First of all I guess we need to be quite clear what we mean by the term “social learning:
that it is not just something that just happens when people study together but is also something that happens continuously in the flow of work as people work together; and
that it doesn’t require social tools for it to happen, although they can make it a more powerful experience, but that the presence of social tools doesn’t necessarily mean people will learn socially.
In other words we need to differentiate between learning about social tools, and learning about the use of social tools (both public and private, internal and external) to enable, enhance and support social learning – both for formal learning as well as an integral part of collaborative working.
So with that out of the way I think that Professional Development covers 3 main areas – which I briefly explain below.
1 – Understanding the Social Web and the new skills required to use social media and networks effectively for one’s own personal and professional learning and development.
Understanding social media is not just about learning how to use the tools themselves, it’s about understanding the whole ethos of the Social Web, as well as developing a new set of personal skills to thrive there. It’s also about building a Personal Learning Network of colleagues and other contacts that bring you value – both personally and professionally.
How can YOU learn about this.?
By doing it yourself - that’s how most of us have learned about social media and networks, just by being immersed in the Social Web and what it has to offer. So jump in and try things out – there are no rules and you’ll learn all about it, just by being there!
If you need some guidance: Then take a social media course, or even better get yourself a personal social media coach who will help you in the way you need it – but make sure it covers the key elements mentioned above. For example:
The Connected Worker site offers individual and small group coaching as well as workshops for larger groups in Personal Knowledge Management. This approach will ensure you develop the new skills alongside a understanding of the use of social tools.
Remember too that although this is a good starting point, this will NOT provide you with all the skills you need to enable and support social learning in your organisation.
2 – Understanding social learning pedagogy to enable and support successful formal social learning experiences
Formal social learning is not just about using social media tools in a training environment nor about adding them onto an online course, it is about scaffolding a learning experience that encourages and supports a deeper social learning experience, and one where individuals can also make use of (public and private) social tools in the ways that work best for them. (See my previous post, 5 principles for successful formal social learning experiences, for more on this).
How can YOU learn about this?
By doing it yourself: Participate in a “true” formal online social learning experience yourself – and learn from it, For example:
If you need some guidance: Find someone who can help you understand the social learning pedagogy involved; and if you take a “course” or “workshop” make sure it is one that uses the very same pedagogical approach. For example,
3 – Understanding how to support the continuous social learning and performance improvement of teams and individuals in the workplace
Yet again it’s not about the tools themselves. As people are already learning from one another as they work together, social and collaboration tools can play a part here to enhance this natural social learning. So it’s about helping teams use (probably primarily enterprise) social technologies to work (and learn) purposefully and productively together
How can YOU learn about this?
By doing it yourself: Use some social tools with your own team and help to build and support the knowledge sharing and collaborative practices of your team. Doing so you will develop your own understanding of the new social workplace skills that are required.
If you need some guidance: Find an organization that can ideally work with your whole team to understand their specific needs as well as ”model” the new collaborative skills involved. (“You can’t train people to be social; only show them what it is like to be social”)
If you are looking for accreditation by a professional body in this area: The Learning & Performance Institute has just launched its Diploma in Workplace Learning & Collaboration, which offers a series of online social workshops certified by successul submission of a portfolio of work-based evidence. This is aimed at helping L&D professionals understand and apply these new skills in their organisation. Here’s a brief overview video.
There has been a lot of talk about the use of social media tools in formal workplace learning; and I am regularly asked to review initiatives of this kind. In many instances, the use of social tools has simply been “bolted-on” or “shoe-horned” into existing training or e-learning practices, in which case it doesn’t tend to work very well at all. Firstly, those who are very Social Web-aware don’t like to be forced to “be social” in a way that has been defined for them, and those who are not yet familiar with the Social Web, don’t like to be forced to use unfamiliar tools they are not comfortable with.
The whole point about social tools is that they are fundamentally “enabling” tools not “command and control” tools. So any formal social learning experience shouldn’t focus on the use of social media tools to perpetuate the command-and-control training model, but on enabling a deeper “social learning experience” – and to do this it needs to embody the underlying ideas and concepts of the Social Web that people enjoy.
“Organising” – and I use that word loosely – a formal social learning experience therefore involves 5 key principles”
scaffolding the learning experience – enabling a framework for learning to take place – both in terms of the infrastructure (technology) but also in terms of providing the right conditions for learning to take place. The framework should give just enough structure, without constraining personal and social learning
offering as much autonomy as possible – it should allow people to participate in the ways that they feel most comfortable and best suits them, and it doing so take responsibility for their own learning
focusing on enabling the social interaction – whether it be discussion between the group, knowledge sharing, or collaboration in some other way, e.g. co-creation of content or co-solving a business problem
supporting the experience with content as appropriate – it shouldn’t be driven by the content – but rather supported by essential resources on the topic to get people thinking or conversing or doing, and it should also encourage participants to provide content (links or their own resources) in whatever format they prefer. Tthe workshop leader/organiser’s role is much more about guiding the learning experience, than dominating it.
and of course driving it with a performance outcome in mind– it needs to be focused around what participants will be able to do as a result, and, ideally, at the end there should be some form of peer-assessment, so that it is their colleagues who rate their performance.
So what’s the best name for this type of formal online social learning experience?
In the educational world, the term MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) has been associated with a similar, connectivist pedagogical approach – although unfortunately that term is now being applied to the delivery of large-scale online courses rather than to the adoption of the underlying philosophy. At the Social Learning Centre, we have used this approach, and call our activities “online social workshops”.
It is clear that both the words “course” and “workshop” conjure up images of training rooms and classes – and are therefore not ideal. So, if you do use them it undoubtedly means you are going to have to explain that your initiative is not the same as the “courses” and “workshops” individuals are used to, as we constantly have to do – at least until people have experienced them! However, on the plus side, it does means you are still using the traditional terminology that organisations are happy with!
But, as the future workplace necessitates a move towards continuous team and professional learning (as I outlined in my mini eBook, The Workplace Learning Revolution), this type of semi-organised social learning experience might well be a useful “half-way house” for those organisations which find it too big a leap to take in one go. So it might be a useful way of kick-starting a mindset that values self-organised learning and performance improvement through knowledge sharing and collaboration within teams. Sometimes you have to start by modifying a format that people know – before you can move them onto a new format. So looking at it from that perspective, this approach could well be seen as a stepping stone to the future …
Finally, If you’d like to find out more about how to organise and run an Online Social Workshop (OSW for short), then I am running one on this topic at the Social Learning Centre over the summer. This workshop will help you to plan an online social workshop, and scaffold its framework, and you will also have the opportunity to run a short session yourself during that time with the other participants. Find out how to join up HERE.
I just read a blog post from Slideshare to mark the fact it has reached 10 million uploads. Impressive! But I was absolutely delighted to see that my own Top 100 Tools for Learning 2012 slideset was featured in the Education category – not only in the post itself but in the supporting infographic (embedded below). Just for information, this year’s slideset has to date had 438K views and last year’s 2011 slideset has over 844K views.
“A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.” (Wikipedia)
I’ve had such a lot of interest in the new book I’m working on, The Workplace Learning Revolution, that I decided to create a free mini e-book version.
This 24 page document provides an overview of how the Internet is changing the way we learn at work and how organisations can support these new ways of learning. It also provides links to the more comprehensive version that I am building online.
I’ve put the document on Slideshare, where you can also download a copy, but below is the embedded version.
I’m constantly asked by Learning & Development professionals where they can learn more about social learning.
There has been a lot of talk about the use of social media tools in formal workplace learning; and I am regularly asked to review initiatives of this kind. In many instances, the use of social tools has simply been “bolted-on” or “shoe-horned” into existing training or e-learning practices, in which case it doesn’t tend to work very well at all. Firstly, those who are very Social Web-aware don’t like to be forced to “be social” in a way that has been defined for them, and those who are not yet familiar with the Social Web, don’t like to be forced to use unfamiliar tools they are not comfortable with.
ideal. So, if you do use them it undoubtedly means you are going to have to explain that your initiative is not the same as the “courses” and “workshops” individuals are used to, as 
“A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.” (
Connect!