CorpU Weekly Digest: Social Learning (2012-July-09)

Topics: Social Learning

Here are this past week's headlines in social learning: 

• (1) Sumeet Moghe on the Next Big Thing in Enterprise Social Learning: Simplicity ; 
• (2) GP Strategies' Julian Stodd offers some context for those still struggling with technology-enabled social learning ; 
• Books: Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World ;  
• Webinars ; 
• Conferences

 Sumeet Moghe on the Next Big Thing in Enterprise Social Learning: Simplicity
It has taken a long time for this to catch on, but many people are starting to come around to the idea that having lots of options isn't always a good thing. Latest to join the club is Sumeet Moghe, who writes from Bangalore that "One of the features of consumer social software which in turn encourages enterprise use cases is the fact that most of these tools do one thing and they do it well." It's an important message, and one that is starting to gain wider acceptance. Read Sumeet Moghe's blog posting, "Next big innovation for Enterprise Social Software – Simplicity"

 GP Strategies' Julian Stodd offers some context for those still struggling with technology-enabled social learning
We used to live in two worlds: the enterprise workplace, which was a formal and restricted environment, typified by moderated messages and codified behaviors that fitted within defined parameters of 'acceptable', and then the social world, which was unrestricted, personal, and expressive. Over the past five years, the lines between these two worlds have become fuzzy and blurred. As the blurring continues, the meaning of social enterprise — and, by extension, technology-enabled social learning — continues to evolve. Practitioners have rubbed their hands in anticipation of enhanced engagement and  performance, to say nothing of the enriched possibilities of a social element of formal learning. To put it simply, it's an incredible opportunity to engage, in parallel with incredible potential to misjudge things. When we get it right, creating social spaces for learning, and supporting individuals and groups in the right way creates spaces that are challenging and supportive, productive and dynamic. When we get it wrong, we produce wastelands of derelict hyperlinks and gated communities of stultified guidance and rules. Even though the two worlds have collided, we still differentiate how we behave in different contexts. The conversations that we have on Facebook differ from the interactions on LinkedIn or in a learning forum. Whilst our worlds have become more transparent, we have become better at adapting our tone of voice to suit different situations. At a practical level, organizations need to start taking steps, but small ones. We need to be brave enough to create spaces for experimentation, spaces to make mistakes. The social enterprise may be fraught with risk, but must business people understand that one must take calculated risks to move forward. The challenge is not to avoid the risk, it's to understand it and have ways of limiting or mitigating it. Julian Stodd offers a few ideas for those of us who are still dipping our toes in the social learning pool. Read Julian Stodd's posting, "Exploring the layers of social learning"

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 The Business of Learning: New Major Products, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

No major news in mergers, acquisitions, or product releases.

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 Books To Read

Leading public figures, from President Barack Obama to Thomas Friedman, argue that innovation is the key to re-energizing national economies, like the United States', now and in the future. If the concept of innovation itself is this key, how do we prepare young people to become innovators, to participate in innovation effectively? That is the question Tony Wagner, Harvard University's first innovation education fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center, asks in his new book, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. To find the answers, Wagner profiled several young innovators, drawing on interviews with them and their parents, educators, and mentors to discover the forces that have driven them to succeed in thinking outside the box. Innovative in format as well as idea, Creating Innovators features 60 embedded videos by filmmaker Robert A. Compton that bring the innovators and others to life. Buy Now

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 Webinars 

Design Is Everything: 5 Techniques for Designing an Interactive Virtual Class
Date: July 11, 2012
Presenter: Cindy Huggett Register now

Choosing the Right Authoring Tools for eLearning Development
Presenter: CommLab India Register now

Learning Design Process
Presenter: CommLab India Register now

Gamify Your Training: Use Gamification to Increase Employee Engagement and Improve Feedback
Date: Thursday, August 2, 2012, 1pm ET
Presenter: Greg Greunke, President, Tuzooni & Greunke Register now

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 Conferences

2012 ICOI The International Conference of Organizational Innovation
Date: July 10-12, 2012
Location: Indonesia Register now

Asia HRD Congress 2012
Date: July 10-12, 2012
Location: Bengaluru, India Register now 

Attracting, Developing and Retaining World-Class Talent
Date August 6-7, 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA, US Register now

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