I recently read some posts on LinkedIn in response to the question of whether sites like Facebook and Twitter would improve e-learning.

I was surprised to see the results. What do you in this ASTD forum think? Do you see short term value in integrating traditional classroom and/or self-paced e-learning with social networks?

Since that discussion provoked all positive responses, let's clear the slate and agree that it's okay to buck the trend here.

Thanks,

Sheldon

I like the idea of using social networking tools for e-learning. I think its use could have the potential to manage "informal" learning, which I think is the most difficult kind of learning to understand, lead, manage, etc.

The fear for many employers seems to be the inability to/lack of control in their environment. Examples they would cite for not using it would include: reduced work efforts by employees, the possibility that confidential information about the company could be inadvertantly shared on a public forum, and misinformation.

This is something we've been talking about at Coggno recently. Although many schools continue to prohibit (or use filtering products which do so) the use of Web 2.0 technologies including social networking sites, podcasts and wikis, more educators are coming to embrace them. In fact, the use of collaborative technologies is now included in many IT learning systems for educators, such as ITQ Learning & Skills, which is emerging in the UK as the IT qualification for practitioners in the Learning & Skills sector.

The change from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 is from one-way internet usage to a more interactive and democratic web environment. It makes perfect sense that educators dedicated to engaging students and promoting collaboration and critical thinking are integrating Web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms.

As Web 2.0 becomes more accepted in the education community, student work and its role in a learning system changes profoundly. When a student's work is seen, commented on, and collaboratively enriched by a participative audience, the students are able to get caught up in the material. By allowing students to engage in educational "conversations," guiding only when necessary, educators are able to allow students to solve problems and discuss issues themselves.

But educators who teach children should discuss with students such issues as predators and cyberbullying, appropriate online behavior, and managing personal information. Products such as Open DNS and Panda Internet Security 2008 with built-in parental controls are also helpful. And for more information educators might pick up the books, MySpace Unraveled and Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learning to Use the Internet Safely and Responsibility.

We use Sharepoint in blended learning. Each person can create a "mysite" page that has a profile, etc. In addition they can create a blog, wiki, and we can do threaded discussions. We use a sharepoint site for many of our major training initiatives.

I'm sure that the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc., is affecting learning at schools and universities much more quickly than it is affecting corporate learning. I worked for a company that did some experimenting with social networking tools, both for learning and for internal communication, so I can speak best about the corporate side of things.

If we in the corporate learning world are going to look for innovative and effective ways to use social networking for learning (and I think we should), we need to keep in mind that many of our users/learners are already familiar with popular social networking sites. Therefore, they have certain expectations as far as usability and functionality. If a corporate social networking application is difficult to use, if there are burdensome restrictions due to its being inside a firewall, or if employees simply don't feel free to express their views without fear of retaliation, they are unlikely to use it.