By Roberta Gogos

As social learning grows does the requirement for traditional training departments shrink? U.K.-based eLearning development firm Epic asks this very question in its fourth E-learning Debate – and this Epic debate is being hosted only online.

The motion presented for discussion: This house believes that as social learning grows, so the requirement for traditional training departments shrinks. Those arguing in favor include Donna Hamilton, Head of Group Learning at Royal Bank of Scotland and Jane Hart, founder of C4LPT. Those arguing against the motion: Melissa Highton, Head of the Learning Technologies Group at the University of Oxford, and Clive Shepherd, Chair of the UK’s eLearning Network.

The debate is engaging people in an important discussion about topics that are vital to anyone working in L&D, with participants on both sides making some excellent points. Read more…

Technorati Tags: elearning, formal learning, Social Learning, social media

Sarah Danzl L&D, Social Learning elearning, formal learning, Social Learning, social media

Last week, I had the good fortune to speak with George Siemens for an upcoming Xyleme Voices podcast. The opportunity to speak one-on-one with so many industry luminaries is easily the best part of my job given the lively debates that often flow from these discussions. My conversation with George was no exception as we spoke at length about Connectivism, social learning networks, and the future of current learning technologies (LMS, LCMS, etc.) in light of social media. It was this last point where our discussion got quite animated.

While there are countless articles about the future of the LMS, it was arguably George’s blog post titled Future of learning: LMS or SNS? which kicked this discussion into high gear. So, I was not going to let the opportunity to debate this topic pass me by.
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Technorati Tags: Connectivism, Dan Pontefract, Gartner, George Siemens, LCMS, LMS, Social Learning

Dawn Learning Technologies, Social Learning Connectivism, Dan Pontefract, Gartner, George Siemens, LCMS, LMS, Social Learning

This past week, I’ve been reading and referring to Jane Hart’s article The State of Social Learning Today and some Thoughts for the Future of L&D in 2010 quite a bit. As always, Jane combines a wealth of information with some remarkable insights on where organizational learning is (or should be) headed.

One thing that has always been of great interest to me is what I’ll refer to as the integration of social and formal learning content. So when I got to the part of Jane’s article that said it’s time to re-think the design and delivery of formal learning initiatives, I felt we were on to something. Jane nails it when she says:
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Technorati Tags: formal learning, learning content management, Social Learning, subject matter networks, user generated content

Dawn Learning Content Management, Social Learning formal learning, learning content management, Social Learning, subject matter networks, user generated content

There is no question that the rise of social networks is creating a profound shift in the way training departments are delivering knowledge to their employees, partners, and customers. According to a McKinsey executive survey, a whopping 71% of enterprises are using Web 2.0 tools for training purposes and this figure is rising fast. While I could write an entire blog post on the reasons for this, I think Clark Quinn summarizes it quite nicely:
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Technorati Tags: LCMS, learning objects, LMS, Social Learning, social media, social networks

Dawn Social Learning LCMS, learning objects, LMS, Social Learning, social media, social networks

I’m going to gloat a little bit. Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with training industry luminaries Jay Cross, Charles Jennings, Harold Jarche, and Clark Quinn of the Internet Time Alliance or ITA (formerly known as TogetherLearn) to record a podcast on collaborative and social learning in the workplace (if you would like to listen to the podcast, here it is in its 5 parts: part I – managing collaboration, part II – CLO’s and the needs of business, part III – collaborative learning in a corporate setting, part IV – social media in corporations, and part V – integrating learning in the enterprise).
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Technorati Tags: Charles Jennings, Clark Quinn, CLO, collaborative learning, Harold Jarche, informal learning, Jay Cross, Social Learning

Dawn Social Learning Charles Jennings, Clark Quinn, CLO, collaborative learning, Harold Jarche, informal learning, Jay Cross, Social Learning