At DevLearn, many people lamented the difficulty of explaining the benefits of social media to their managers and peers. Jane mined the submissions of her delightful tools database and came up with 100+ ways to use social media for learning. Next, Jane details using social media for different types of learning. IOL – Intra-Organisational Learning – how social media can be used to keep the employees up to date and up to speed on strategic and other internal initiatives and activities. Tags: social tools learning applications. This is awesome. MORE >>

He opined that the new ‘cigarette’ break was the social media break where employees will stand outside with their mobile phone and check in on their social networks.  The reason, of course, being that their companies block social media access via their IT infrastructure. I remember this because the company asked that the vendor turn off the email system as they didn’t want folks frittering away time being social.  Yet that same mentality of not trusting employees to use resources responsibly comes in with social networks.  MORE >>

Jones and I are doing a session at Training 2010 titled  Defining Your Social Learning Strategy. As prep for this, we’ve put together a comprehensive checklist of Social Learning Strategy topics that learning professionals and executives should consider when thinking through their objectives and plans. Introduction to Social Learning Strategies. Organizational adoption of social media as a comprehensive learning strategy is one part software rollout, one part transformational change, and one part large scale corporate initiative.  Social Learning Planning. MORE >>

I write this as I travel to Birmingham to participate in a panel discussion with Nick Shackleton-Jones and Robin Hoyle on the role of social media in learning. There is no question whatsoever that social media is transforming our personal and business lives. Whether or not l&d professionals or senior managers embrace social media doesn't really matter in the long run, because there is no turning back, only futile resistance. Tags: social networking Anyway, this post provides me with an opportunity to clarify my thoughts in preparation for the discussion. MORE >>

Tom Werner, Chief Research Officer, Brandon Hall [link] LMSs are adding social features – including RSS feeds, peer ratings of content. Social media allow: Conversations to continue after training Peer-to-peer interaction in groups – so learners can continue to learn Find individualized answers (by approaching instructors and fellow learners) Share your own content Makes training more efficient Can shorten formal training, because the conversation continues. Social media communities can now create communities for external learners – customers, resellers, technicians. MORE >>