Tag Archives: social learning

Competition Finalist 3: Social Learning Applied

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This post was submitted by Kalliopi Sigala.

Social Learning. Buzz word, right? Well, yes and no. The truth is somewhere in the middle. To get down to it, let’s see some actual facts and concepts that can be useful in the real world, and not just for the hype of it.

First, a quick recap. Social Learning is one of the four trending topics in the e-Learning industry right now (others being Mobile, Gamification and Bit-Size eLearning). Sure, these are buzzwords also, but the truth is that these three are easily digestible when it comes to thinking applications to learning processes and e-learning technologies. Social Learning is vague. Roberta Gogos previously posted a great definition of what social learning is, but where do we go from here? How can we use Social Learning concepts to leverage the learning process and improve the average learning curve? Continue reading →

What is social learning?

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‘Social learning’ has been the elearning buzzword du jour for a couple of years now and people often ask us exactly what social learning is. I think Marcia Conner captures it perfectly in her definition as follows:

Social learning is learning that takes place through social interaction between peers and it may or may not lead to a change in attitudes and/or behavior. More specifically, to be considered social learning, a process must: (1) demonstrate that a change in understanding has taken place in the individuals involved; (2) demonstrate that this change goes beyond the individual and becomes situated within wider social units or communities of practice; and (3) occur through social interactions and processes between actors within a social network (Reed et al., 2010). Continue reading →

The Democratic Workplace

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When we hear the word “democracy” we usually think “politics.” So how is organizational politics different? Worldblu.com (a global network of organizations committed to practicing freedom and democracy in the workplace) explains the difference perfectly: “Organizational democracy is a system of organization that is based on freedom, instead of fear and control. It’s a way of designing organizations to amplify the possibilities of human potential — and the organization as a whole. The concept of democracy comes from the Greek words “demos” and “kratein” which mean “the people rule”. So the core of organizational democracy and political democracy is the same — allowing people to self-govern and determine their own destiny. What is different is the context — one is in the political arena, the other is in the realm of organizations.” Continue reading →