Random Mind

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80%

informal learning

Before I was an instructional designer, I worked as a training coordinator. Among other things, it’s the job of a training coordinator to work with businesses and organizations to deliver workplace training. Most times these are short sessions where employees take some time off work to come to a classroom and devote themselves to learning something that will help them do their job. However, that just isn’t the way of the world anymore, a point that Lance Dublin drove home in a webinar I participated in on Friday.

Lance has great credentials. He consults with organizations on how to use technology to support informal learning and he co-authored Implementing E-Learning with Jay Cross. According to Lance, only a small amount of learning involves classrooms or teachers or formal objectives or learning management systems (hallelujiah). A whopping 80% is done informally — for example, when you do a Google search or email a question to a colleague.

How can organizations support informal learning? Technology gives us all kinds of options to allow people to learn while they work. Lance made the point again and again that no one solution is the answer. We have to look at the range (although Lance seemed to be a particular fan of simulations and game-based learning). This could mean m-learning — putting instructions, directions, or checklists on mobile devices. Lance also mentioned rapid e-learning, or learning materials that are created quickly and with few resources — podcasts or vodcasts, powerpoints with audio. These things don’t have to be prepared by an instructional designer or a subject matter expert. They can be done by anyone in the workplace using templates we design to help people do a professional job.

As Lance said, our approaches to learning haven’t really changed, but the context has. The world is faster and more competitive. Training programs need to adapt. We need to move away from scheduled learning to and more towards giving people the tools that help them connect and learn from one another.

(The photo, Informal Learning, comes from Casey Bisson. You can access the nice, big, poster-size version at http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=157410289&size=o.)

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2 responses to “80%”

  1. sarus Avatar
    sarus

    Thanks for sharing with us the key highlights of Lance’s webinar. As rightly suggested, the hot buzz today is how organizations can support informal learning. The importance of workplace learning, non-formal and informal learning is increasing, influencing more and more the culture of learning. The key emphasis is on Quality – recognition– assessment – accreditation, together with competences. Rapid e-learning facilitates a non technical subject matter expert and learners to contribute and make use of multimedia learning content and that too with great ease & shortest time spans. Going further mobile learning provides the opportunity to connect informal learning experiences that happen organically in our day’s routine with formal learning experience. Today organizations are paying high emphasis on rapid e-learning tools like Raptivity and primarily talking high about creating learning interactions. The focus today is on the use of technology in informal learning opportunities which mean web, online reference materials, online communities, discussion groups etc. and certainly as Lance rightly mentioned “our approaches to learning haven’t really changed, but the context has!”

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  2. randommind Avatar
    randommind

    The emphasis on informal learning is just starting to creep into the consciousness of educational institutions. So many of us still think in terms of the traditional full-time learner. However, with so many participatory tools available to us now, we’re forced to rethink things we’ve taken for granted about learning. It seems silly but how did we ever believe that learning switches off when learners leave a classroom or log off from a learning management system?? A lot of what Lance says makes sense. Thanks for the comment & I’ll check out Raptivity.

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