Happy Social Media Day! That’s right. There is a day dedicated social media. It’s here to stay folks. And that brings me right back to the profound influence social media has had on the way we learn.
Enter Social Media
Google recently put together a list of the 1,000 most visited websites. Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, WordPress and Twitter ranked in the top 20. Each of these popular sites represents a different facet of social media that many training and education professionals are using as part of their learning programs.
While using open social media tools for learning is progressive (and just cool), there are a few challenges. Sharing digital assets (blog posts, articles, videos, documents and others) can be scattered and the conversation unfocused. It’s a little hard for a learner to keep track of everything, let alone to measure how effective this spontaneous learning is.
We can go on about security too, but let’s not make our heads explode.
Formal Training, Meet Informal Learning
If you ask any training professional or educator about formal vs. informal learning, you are sure to get an eye-roll full of contempt. While we can quantify and qualify formal training, thanks largely to traditional learning management systems, doing the same for informal learning eludes many of us.
Is it possible to measure informal learning? Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus. It’s name is ‘social learning management system (LMS)’. While the theory of social learning has been around for quite some time, the technology is a relatively new concept. A social LMS is where formal training and informal learning intersect.
What’s great about using a social LMS, you can control access, guide the learners measure the effectiveness formal training and informal learning in a single platform. Depending on your organization’s needs, this may be the way to go.
A Little About Us
At Interactyx, we believe in virtual learning. We have developed the best value in social learning management system software, TOPYX, to make award-winning tools available for any business, academic institution or association. Get a free demonstration of social LMS software, TOPYX, and see what virtual learning is all about!
