National Distance Learning Week - Expanding Role of Social Networking in Designing Learning

[Deborah]

I participated in one of the webinars for National Distance Learning Week today. The webinar was sponsored by the US Distance Learning Association. Topic: Future of Learning: Web 2.0, Gaming and Mobile Learning. It was an interesting session. I particularly liked hearing about the software from introNetworks. I signed up for a 'testdrive'. It is a powerful application. The concept is that an organization can use the software to leverage social networks that exist. I found the interface extremely easy to use. Users select keywords to describe what they value, buzzwords that are important, etc. The idea of tagging oneself so others can find you is something that really interests me.

introNetworks highlights several areas that it feels one could use the software. For example, it is suggested that an organization can work to extend the life of an event by "creating new avenues for attendees to find and coordinate with others". Sounds like that would be very valuable, especially for users that don't have regular avenues for seeing each other.

Mark Sylvester spoke about the concept that most learning takes place informally, (i.e., 75/25 Rule of Learning). I think that this is one concept that we as educators need to consider more carefully as we design learning for today's learner. introNetworks promotes their software as a tool that would help organizations allow employees to share knowledge across units, and departments. Having worked in a large urban government organization, I can see how valuable this would be.

Just this week, I spoke with an instructor who teachers career and tech courses at a local high school. Previous to that, he spent most of his career working in the local petrochemical industry. I was fascinated to listen to his ideas about how people learn. His knowledge base is so vast and yet is only being tapped by a small percentage of Louisiana students. Just think, if he could share that knowledge with all Louisiana students that were studying career and tech subjects - many more students could benefit. Software such as introNetworks could provide for such knowledge sharing.

One of the things that has most bothered me during my graduate studies is not being able to connect with my instructors and peers after a course ends. Social networking also offers great potential for changing these dynamics. However, there are obstacles to using social networks for learning in higher ed or K-12 environments. The main obstacle that I see is our reliance on learning management systems for providing online learning. As imperfect as they are, learning management systems are how we currently structure 'teaching' online. I think though, that we have a long way to go in understanding how people best 'learn' online.