Collaborative networking and learning

As stated before, we had a very interesting time at the newly restored Castle Vanenburg in Putten, NL. Here, we will go into some of what was said and concluded on the topic of Social networking & Collaboration and its application in the field of learning.

All of us agreed on the fact that Social Software solutions being offered - from e-mail, forums and web meetings to blogs and wikis - and the communities that arise from its use, are growing rapidly. We discussed the fact that corporations today cease to function if basic e-mail services cease and that organisational borders (internal and external) are more and more difficult to define and uphold in the face of spontaneous web based communication and collaboration.

Factors slowing down the growth of social software solutions are security, privacy, cultural differences and especially in larger organizations ICT policies that restrict or prohibit the use of most web based communication solutions, e.g. instant messaging, blogging, etc. The primary reason behind restrictive ICT policies is the spontaneous nature of many networks and their communication. We still cling to the old command & control adagio and favour virtual project rooms that can be closed of to the outside world and can be monitored. Whether this is sustainable or not, opinions diverged.

It was clear to all that we need to find a balance between control of the situation and room enough to manoeuvre and innovate. In other words how much free cooperation is needed to provide outside knowledge as a basis for innovation while still using structured processes to provide direction and purpose? Clear to all was the fact that cultural differences must be taken into account when designing solutions that span multiple cultures in the use of social software. For instance, Northern Europe primarily uses e-mail in its communication, while southern Europe tends to use instant messaging.

We moved on to learning at this point since we will need training and education on how to deal with the emergence of social networks. You cannot just shout anything you want on the network(s) you are part of. Many networks are self correcting, but wouldn’t it be nice if we did not have to invest a lot of energy in getting rid of back ground noise. Also, if we want to apply social software solutions in our daily business it had better be a little more structured and focused than the average social network our kids are members of. Combine the fun with the useful.

When it comes to e-learning, many programs shattered on copying existing content one on one to interactive media. Without the interaction! Folkert Castelein from the Global Learning Group proposes to re-design existing content & know-how with a Socratic & tasks based approach (coaching by asking the right questions) and design learning processes like a project scenario based on questions and choices. Provide people with a clear path to what they need at the time they need it. For this to happen we need to be able to offer little snippets of learning and access to their peers and coaches, coaches who have been there and are willing to share their experience. There was little discussion at this point, because we all agreed on the basic premise Folkert put forward.

Before running out of our allotted time, we agreed that social software solutions and learning meet at the point where experiences are shared and people start to use what they have learned in their daily routine. To be able to provide context and experience next to theory, we need to know whom to contact on what topic and we need to be able to set up a means of communication and start working together to learn together. It works both ways! How to best develop solutions to achieve this and ground the behaviour of people in these solutions is a most likely candidate for our next meeting. One we are looking forward to!