Hard to win informal learning support

E.learning Age, Feb 2006 by Berris, Julia

Changing the view of learning

Julia Berris reports from the Learning Technologies conference held in London at the end of January.

Gaining support for informal learning can be a difficult goal to achieve company wide. For the more traditional thinkers, knowledge and Information should be harnessed and owned in one area and given to people in ways that can be monitored and structured.

Head of strategy and operations at the BBC, Gareth Jones, argued that creating a network of informal learning using a variety of means, such as an intranet, wikis and blogs moves away from the ownership of information and therefore could be a difficult move to make.

Using the BBC's intranet as an example, Jones described a forum for employees, which allows people to seek knowledge and expertise for work and chat informally.

By sharing this knowledge and allowing people to discuss other topics not related to work, a culture of collaboration, trust and social capital Is created in which people can learn with ease and without pressure.

Jones explains that Informal conversation should be allowed because this is often how people learn the most and encourages people to use the intranet more frequently.

By including a skills directory where people can search for those with the information they need, learning becomes a constant and fluid process that is embraced by employees.

While promoting this approach, Jones argues that top level Intervention could create a kind of 'dad at the disco' atmosphere, which could stifle the growth and ultimately ruin the informal nature of the tool. By allowing the informal process to develop and grow by Itself, the network of learning will thrive and be a positive method of learning for the whole company.