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Building the social learning highways

Social learning or learning from peers or from the community is not a new phenomenon.

Social learning or learning from peers or from the community is not a new phenomenon. There has been a considerable research on the subject of social learning and how consciously and unconsciously we learn from one another. The social scientist Bandura who is well known for his social learning theory states, ?Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.?

Thus not only the natural tendencies of human beings wanting to connect with one another supports the case for social learning but the social theories have also provided insights into the effectiveness of social learning processes. The importance of social learning has increased substantially lately which can be evinced from the discipline of knowledge management that has been shifting focus towards dynamic knowledge creation and updation and identifying sources and processes involved with this facet of learning. Systematically architected social learning networks are enabling just-in-time solutions to complex problems, fostering innovation and co-creation of knowledge by removing the constraints of space, time and rare expertise.

It is important to recognise that social learning is much more than social media. Social learning is at times confused with the conditions or the methods used for learning. According to Reed et al (2010), social learning is the learning that results in the change in behaviour of individuals or it goes beyond the individuals to cover the community that the individual is part of or it occurs through social interactions or processes between various stakeholders. Some aspects of social learning have been incorporated into organisational learning and organisations have started putting in place formal mechanisms to nurture this type of learning.

Social media provides the tools and the channels that could be used smartly by training managers and trainers to transform the learning process. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other

social media tools have been built around the instinct of human

beings to interact with each other and be part of groups of like minded individuals.

While employees use social media for informal interactions, training programmes could be made far more interesting by adding social media components with introduction to role plays or use of video clips ensuring that learners are provided just-in-time learning and they are in control of their own learning. Thus social media tools provide the opportunity to the trainers to move away from directing the employees to partnering with them in sharing and learning together. Social learning platforms could be through closed platforms such as corporate learning networks or through open platforms such as Facebook. The choice of platforms will depend upon the purpose of learning and the audience it is intended for.

Use of games or gamification is another trend that is welcomed by organisations as it not only adds fun element to learning but increases participant engagement and the overall learning experience. Instead of using gamification only as a method of testing knowledge and giving rewards, when used in the context of storytelling it brings out the curiosity and the quest for real understanding of the subject. This could be tremendously helpful in sharpening the individual and collaborative skills in problem solving as well as facilitate instantaneous feedback and creativity at workplace.

Social learning augmented by the right mix of social media comprising of blogs, rating tools, shared workspaces and social networks that support content of various kinds?video, games, interactive data capture, simulation, virtual sessions etc can deliver rich dividends for the organisation provided the strategy for social learning is developed around the business goals. Social media provides opportunities to enhance the processes related to communication, interaction and discovery and appropriate media should be chosen to address each of these strands. For instance, in after-sales servicing scenarios, the customer service team can access the experts real time to get solutions to fix the problem and at the same time, new issues discovered at the customer site and systematically captured through video and documentation can lead to changes in the design or the manufacturing process that could deliver competitive advantage to the business. Later through simulation and gamification, competency of the team can be enhanced for better preparedness for dealing with problem situations as well as for remotely guiding customers.

In the emerging scenario of high magnitude, machine to machine and machine to person to machine interfaces are aimed at transforming businesses. Learning will no longer be constrained by the knowledge and speed of assimilation of individuals. Organisations that recognise the value of knowledge and experience residing not only with the individuals within the organisation but the knowhow that gets created because of long use of the product or service at the customer end would be constructing new learning highways by opening up the boundaries of learning and inviting new participants.

The ideal road map for social learning to take deep roots in the organisation is to first develop the two or three year plan, develop a few pilots in different functions using different social media tools, measure the success and in due course expand the scope such that social learning gets integrated with the day to day functioning of the organisation. In order for

social learning to start delivering impact, there is a need to change the perception of social media as the channel solely meant for marketing and brand building. It is also required of training and development teams to get familiar with the tools and change the traditional mode of training delivery.

Further, there is a need to change the mindset of the employees who have become used to social media for informal exchanges to become conscious of the potential of social media tools to build the entire ecosystem for social learning. Thus sharing, learning and discovery on a real time mode make a strong case for social learning to be accorded importance in the knowledge management practice and to be closely aligned with the organisation strategy.

The writer is CEO, Global Talent Track, a corporate training solutions company

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First published on: 31-03-2014 at 02:53 IST
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