Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2014 - (Page 20)

Enhancing LEARNING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA by KAPIL B H AS IN Social media is a multifaceted tool. Besides connecting us with friends and colleagues, it can facilitate the exchange of information in the workplace. But, the popularity of social media has made it difficult to sort through all the clutter and see how it can be leveraged to enhance organizational learning. The confusion around social media is exacerbated in the learning sphere because social media and social learning are often assumed to be aspects of the same phenomena. But, long before the Internet was even a gleam in history's eye, what we now call social learning was a fundamental part of human interaction. So, before we attempt to shed any light on how we can utilize social media to enhance learning in the workplace, it's important to distinguish between the various elements involved. WHAT IS SOCIAL LEARNING? Within the field of instructional design, social learning theory, begun by Albert Bandura, is dedicated to studying the process and effectiveness of how people learn in groups. Effective social learning involves several steps: * Attention: Focusing on the features of the modeled behavior * Retention: Remembering the details of the modeled behavior * Reproduction: Organizing responses in accordance with the modeled behavior * Motivation: Encouraging the individual's or group's reproduction of the modeled behavior 20 According to the theory, these steps are present regardless of the setting, which means that they would be present within the context of social media in the work environment. Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner, authors of "The New Social Learning" said, "Social learning is a fundamental shift in how people work - leveraging how we have always worked, but now with new tools to accelerate and broaden individual and organizational reach." WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL LEARNING VIEWED WITH SKEPTICISM IN THE WORKPLACE? Despite the inroads that social media has made in our educational systems, traditional forms of learning still dominate. Traditional learning involves organized courses presented in a linear fashion, followed by an assessment. Games may be included for younger learners, but a certain level of seriousness is the norm for older learners. CAN FUN CONTRIBUTE TO LEARNING? The apprehension of learning traditionalists toward fun learning experiences, such as social media, is expressed in many ways: * "Our management team will never sign off on this." * "People will waste precious time, which isn't good for business or the bottom line." * "Employees will give away company secrets." * "Some people will just watch and not participate." * "People will post inappropriate videos." * "The value of media sharing can't be measured." * "Finished content is more valuable than works in progress." continued on pg. 22 http://www.thenewsociallearning.com/the-book/chapter-1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2014

From Where I Sit
Table of Contents
Contents
Guest Editor: Do You Feel Lucky?
Network Performance: The Power of Social Learning and Behavior
Meaningful Work: Not Just for Millennials
Four Levels of Engagement
What L&D Professionals Need to Know about Gamification
Enhancing Learning with Social Media
Gamification in Sales Training: Seven Critical Considerations Before the Games Begin
Let the Disruption Begin: Social Media and the Great Expansion of Enterprise Learning
Learning Made Fun: Gadgets, Games and a Safe Place to Explore
How Silicon Valley Inspired an Era of Social Learning
How Games Drive Learning
Roll the Dice: Learning with Board Games
Casebook: BAE Systems: Speeding the Business of Learning through Collaboration and Knowledge Management
Salespeople, Coaching and Gamification
Three Ways to Make Learning More Engaging
Stop Creating Dysfunctional Relationships with Employees
What's Online
Company News

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2014