The Learner: The four generations in the modern workplace exhibit a wide range of cultural styles. With in-person sensitivity and technical savvy, a workplace performance leader can help people learn and work in productive harmony. 

The Classroom: From avatars to social learning, things ain’t how they used to be. It’s not just a new vocabulary to learn, it’s a way of thinking about how learning occurs and how it can best be encouraged in a timely, cost-effective way.

The Organization: Everyone knows that churn is the order of the day, but who can help employees cope with a smaller workforce and ever-larger workloads? What can help groups be successful in crafting strategies to meet the unknown? 

The Learning Professional: Acquiring competency as well as knowledge, using influence with skill, developing respectful relationships with peers and superiors – these are just a few of the ways today’s learning professional can evolve for success.

Do you have any of these issues on your multi-modal mind at present? If so, you’ll be glad to learn they’re at the heart of programming for The Evolution of Learning, the ASTD-Cascadia 2009 Regional Conference set for Sept. 23-24 in Salem, Oregon, with a pre-conference program on Sept. 22. 

http://www.astdcascadia.org/conference/2009/index.html

Who is the workplace learner today? And how is learning changing not only for that person, but as regards classrooms literal or virtual, organizations of every stripe, and the people who support on-the-job development in all its forms – workplace learning professionals?  The Evolution of Learning, the ASTD-Cascadia Regional Conference for 2009, will address those questions at the Salem Conference Center September 23 and 24. There’s also a pre-conference workshop on Sept. 22. (Go “Home” and click The Evolution of Learning logo to find out more.)

Right now, the question at hand is: What do you think are ”Three R’s” vital for learning in the 21st-century workplace? Greg Bell, conference keynote speaker, has three words picked out for your consideration in a workshop he’ll present in Salem, but that would be telling.

So here it is: What “R” you thinking of when you reflect on what makes workplace learning successful? Just lift up that index finger on your left hand and tell everybody now!

And be sure to visit Greg’s website to get a sense of the humor, skill and wisdom he’ll bring to The Evolution of Learning:

www.waterthebamboo.com

Join us again at Lucky Lab NW for another evening of socializing with your PDX-area training colleagues.  As aways, these functions are open - so all persons interested in adult learning or wanting to learn more about the ASTD Cascadia chapter are encouraged to attend.

Location:Lucky Lab Northwest: 1945 NW Quimby
Time:  anytime between 5 and 7pm

Look for the First Friday signs on the table!  Hope to see you there - Gina

B.F. Skinner

I’m taking a course at Portland State on Course Design. I opened the text last week and found it chalk full of theoretical information… My first though was - egad. I just want to learn about how to create better eLearning content.

After forcing myself to read several chapters of Designing Effective Instruction, I’ve come around. I realize that, even after many years of course design, I still sometimes forget that the content itself isn’t the instructional design - its the result of instructional design, and that instructional design (good design) is done, in part, using what you know about learning theories 

I’m curious to know if my colleagues out here really do use learning theory as one of the foundations for their instructional design. 

What do you use as your foundation? Is that based on the type of content to be delivered? Which learning theories would you recommend for others in training who may not be familiar yet with learning theory? B. F. Skinner? Jean Piaget?

In January, First Friday (January 2nd) will take place in Northwest Portland - on 23rd Street. Here are the particulars - hope to see you there!

Location: Uptown Billiards Club in NW Portland on 23rd. (120 NW 23rd) Here’s a map of the area

Time: anytime between 5 and 7pm

Parking: street parking only, unless you get there after 6. In that case, the Uptown Cleaners lot on the south side of the building is available for use.

RSVP: Due to the short notice on this posting, no RSVP is necessary. Feel free to just come on by.

Hoping you’ve all had relaxing holidays - we’ll see you in the new year! Gina

Another characteristic is that we can choose when to learn - it is not time bound.  There are three aspects to time.  Before now - now / this moment - later.

Email is timeless on two fronts – it satisfies the need of now and later, but not before now. Before email, there isn’t a discussion.  You start at now.

Books are on two fronts as well – before now and now, but not later.  There is not a discussion afterward.  For example, the book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell was just republished.  Why did he republish it? Because he wanted to update it, something that an author cannot do easily.  Once you write it, it is written and done.

An instructor-led training class is usually just a now.  There isn’t a lot of before, nor is there a lot of later except for the notes you took.

Social learning has a history, as we have pointed out, a now and a future all combined into one.  You learn from what others in the past have made for you and you discuss it further to further expand on it.

What I have casually observed is that because the information is available whenever we want it, employees are more willing to learn on their own time, which is a great PRO when you are talking to executives.  They choose to listen to podcasts when they are going home.  They choose to log in at home and learn something really quickly because they have a question now.

I don’t have to sign up for this learning.   There isn’t a schedule or registration.  It just happens.

There are three aspects to time: Past, Present and Future.

Email is timeless on 1.5 fronts – it satisfies the need of the Present.  Future? If you can find the email.  And it does not satisfy the Past. With email you start at now.

Books are on two fronts – Past and Present, but not Future.  There is not a discussion afterward.  For example, the book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell was recently republished.  Why?  Because he wanted to update it, a characteristic of books that cannot be done once it is printed.  Once you write it, it is written and done.

An instructor-led training class is usually just Present.  There isn’t a lot of Past, nor is there a lot of Future except for the notes you took.

Social learning has a history, as we have pointed out, a Past and a Future all combined into one.  You learn from what others in the Past have made for you and you discuss it further to further expand on it.  And it is there for you in the Present.

What I have casually observed is that because the information is available whenever we want it, employees are more willing to learn on their own time, which is a great pro when you are talking to executives.  They choose to listen to podcasts when they are going home.  They choose to log in at home and learn something really quickly because they have a question now.

I don’t have to sign up for this type of learning.   There isn’t a schedule or registration.  It just happens.  And I get to choose when it happens.

Image by DavidErickson via Flickr

(Continuing a series I have not updated in too long… The “Why’s” of Social Learning.)

WHY #6: Liberating Knowledge

There are reasons, but for the most part, why stick perfectly good information in email? No one else can learn from what you just learned when it is in email. Here is a simple example. I know one person who was looking for a corporate template. He was about to email the marketing department and knew it might take a couple days and a few routed emails before he saw it. Instead, he did a quick search and found that someone had shared it with everyone. Problem solved.

What if we could do that with other knowledge? As a general rule, I use email only when it needs to be 1:1 or is sensitive. Other than that I try to use anything but email.

Next time, instead of asking a question in email, ask a question using a forum, or a blog, for exameple. When you do, the question doesn’t go to just one person, it goes to potentially thousands of people. Anyone can answer it. And the beauty of this is that everyone has a different perspective. Sure, there may be one basic answer to a question, but we all have our own view. My view of it may not match yours - it may be just a bit off. But someone else may share your view and give you the exact answer you are looking for. Also, if the answer can be debated, you get a wealth of knowledge in the exchange of ideas.

Make it your quest - make it easy to for others to find information and learn – the easier the better. If the process is difficult others will either 1) not use it or 2) put up with it and grumble the whole time.

Social Learning liberates knowledge.

Related Posts:

Why #5: Adapting to a New Learning Structure
Why #4: Distributing Ownership (Cont’)
Why #3: Discovering Experts
Why #2: Personalizing Learning
Why #1: Focusing on People (Part 1) (Part 2)

For those of you who have not heard, the Social Learning Question of the Day was created this Tuesday on Twitter.  In only three days we already have 148 tweeples chiming in on the discussion.

Each day a new question is asked.  Everyone can tweet in and give your two-cents or start a conversation with another twitter-er.

Here are the questions we have started with:

1. What are the most valuable characteristics of social learning (eLearning 2.0) for you - and why?
   
2. How will SL change traditional, formal organizational training? Or will it?
3. How do we ensure accuracy of information in a social learning model?

The answers?  Varied and very valuable.  We have had some fabulous conversations and expect to have many more.

Come an join us!  Follow @slqotd on Twitter.