Social learning: Getting from “we push” to “you pull” — from hrtimesblog.com (Deloitte) by Jennifer Stempel and Amy A. Titus

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

It’s tempting to think that social learning is about technology — after all, social media platforms and the Web 2.0 technologies that enable them are virtually inseparable. But as our recent overview (Social Learning: Empowering employees to learn from one another) points out, social learning is different: more about people than technology. Specifically, social learning is about people sharing knowledge to learn from and with one another. Technology might be involved, or it might not. A more important characteristic is that it provides learners the ability to pull the information they need, when and where they need it. That’s the ideal “teachable moment” and when learning can be most valuable and productive.

This “pull” way of learning is quite a departure from traditional learning and development (L&D) offerings that push learning out via classes, eLearning, or other types of training events. But it directly reflects the way people get information in general today, thanks to the Web and the proliferation of ways to access it from anywhere, anytime.

Rather than focusing solely on creating and pushing content to learners, L&D is having to figure out how to enable and encourage the free-flowing exchange of information among learners.

 

The new lifelong learners — from slate.com by Jeff Selingo

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

But do the numbers of students in college really tell us that we’re on our way to living in a less educated country? Not at all. The official higher-education enrollment figures fail to capture a shift in how more of us are locating educational opportunities every day in short spurts, online or face to face, and for hundreds of dollars or at no cost.

At a time when the economy is changing at a rapid pace, education has truly become a lifelong pursuit—not just for your own edification, but by necessity. And in a hyper-connected, wireless, mobile world, learning happens everywhere, at anytime. We can’t expect to go to college at 18, graduate at 22, and then remain employed for the next 40-plus years with that foundation of knowledge alone.

 

 

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