Activate Learning Solutions

  • Home
  • About Helen
  • Start Here
    • Fees
    • Testimonials
  • For Teams
    • Future Skills Capability Consulting
    • Workplace Learning & Collaboration Readiness Audit
    • Show and Share Your Work Through Video
    • Twitter for Building Professional Networks
    • Showing and Sharing Your Work and Expertise
  • For Individuals
    • Network Builder Coaching Program
    • Personal Social Media Coaching Packages
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Free Resources
    • DIY Resources To Buy
    • Third Place Community
    • Activate My Learning Newsletter
    • Videos
    • Speaking Events
    • Buy Me a Cup of Coffee
    • Use of Content
  • Let’s Chat
You are here: Home / Musings / How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences

17 November 2014 by activatelearning 12 Comments

How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences

Knitters
Love
To
Share

and
Show
Their
Work

Last week I delivered a webinar for a public service organisation who requested a presentation to their Learning and Development teams on how to use social tools to create learning experiences.  I think it went well. (At least, I hope it did!  The organiser did say that the attendees were madly scribbling notes and I did get thank you tweets and requests to connect via LinkedIn – so I guess this is a positive sign!)

Before the presentation, I thought about how to plan this webinar and customise it to suit their needs.  At the same time, I was progressing through Jane Hart’s current Guided Social Learning Experience Design workshop which had me reflecting on why I had immediately taken to social tools to connect, learn and work, while to many others, social tools are a shoulder shrugging “meh, whatever!”

As I prepared my webinar presentation, I noticed that the majority of my slides related to my personal story of my knitting community and the explosion of blogs, podcasts, photos, social media accouts and apps I use to hone the skills for my craft.  I worried that my presentation was all about how knitters learn from each other with each other and not much on learning and development. Was I going to bore the audience?  But then I realised that we all have passions, interests, hobbies that inspire and enthuse us.

Maybe the answer to encourage the use of social learning and using the tools to enable new and existing connections is to inspire people to connect with others around their passions first and then, about work.  Have we got the formula the wrong way around?

The knitting community has always been “working out loud”  – but there’s no name for it – we just do it. Without fuss. Without fanfare.

To knitters, it’s all about your craft.  The tools such as your iPad, laptop, knitting stitch counter app, camera – are just enablers to show your knitting, promote your knitting, learn more about your knitting, talk about your knitting, sell your knitting.

As I’m passionate about the craft, I began to view my fellow knitters and the tools we used in a completely new light.  They enabled me to perfect my knitting and connect with other knitters here and overseas to continually learn new knitting stitches and apply new techniques that I would never had the confidence to do.  They provided a supportive environment of peers of varying experience and backgrounds who all equally shared in the responsibility of guidance, encouragement and nourishment (both in the physical kind with cakes and coffee or the mental kind with feeling good about producing something with your own hands).

They also gave me ideas to apply in my own work and in my own job role. Somehow they flicked a switch off in my head that had been ‘off’ for years.

So this got me thinking…

How do we flick that switch on for others when it comes to the seamless flow of work and learning; learning and work?

Would this be through engaging them through their own particular interests – whether it’s knitting, fishing, cooking, community service, fishing…whatever.

In my experience, the people who have “got” social are the ones who had some online community experience with tools that enabled them to learn about something else.  It’s easier to explain social learning to them in the context of their own passion.

What happens if we allow people to explore their own passions and interests first through online communities and then ask them to bring back what they learned in these communities back in their own work?

This week is International Work Out Loud Week. It’s an opportunity to work out loud and show your work.  What a better time to be able to jump in and participate in a global social learning initiative.  If you’re not comfortable showing your work out loud then show what your passion is.

Trust me, the passion comes first, then once you apply it to your work, that’s when the magic will start to happen.

 

All the tools, techniques and practices in the world don’t compensate for people who just aren’t interested.

— Bob Marshall (@flowchainsensei) November 7, 2014

 

***************************************************************************

The PROBLEM and the ANGST with my work....the cry for help.

The PROBLEM and the ANGST with my work….the cry for help.

Help comes to the rescue from my Knitting buddies (aka personal learning network)....

Help comes to the rescue from my Knitting buddies (aka personal learning network)….

Knitting C

And still, while participating in the social community, I’m APPLYING what they are suggesting and DOING the work and LEARNING new skills. I will then SHOW my work to them at a later date…

Knitting D

More suggestions from my personal learning network fellow knitters – with examples!

And all is well in the world....

And all is well in the world….

 

Filed Under: Musings, Slides Tagged With: 2014, knitting, Motivation, November, November 2014, ravelry, social learning, WOL, WOL week, Work Out Loud

About activatelearning

Helen Blunden believes that amazing things happen when people come together to learn while they work. She is passionate about helping people activate life long learning practices that express their knowledge, skills and talents openly in in their own unique ways; and to do so with courage so that they make sense of an ever changing world.

Comments

  1. @IndaloGenesis says

    17 November 2014 at 7:11 am

    ‘Passion comes first, then once you apply it to your work, that’s when the magic will start to happen’ @ActivateLearn http://t.co/BqjCmTWJMf

  2. Helen Blunden (@ActivateLearn) says

    17 November 2014 at 6:16 am

    Blogged: How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences http://t.co/QPpX9fC0Ex #WOL #wolweek #workingoutloud #knitting #ravelry

  3. @ReneeRoberz says

    17 November 2014 at 8:29 am

    Happy #wolweek!
    To celebrate read this goodie from @ActivateLearn http://t.co/WFHERDInTO on how to use #social tools to create #learning exp

  4. Marilyn Snider says

    17 November 2014 at 12:00 pm

    If social learning through 21st century tools can enhance an age old craft like knitting realise what can the process of social learning do for your passion and then your workplace?

  5. Ryan's blogroll (@r20_blogroll) says

    17 November 2014 at 1:12 pm

    How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences http://t.co/RAT6Jwac0w via @ActivateLearn

  6. activatelearning says

    17 November 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Exactly! Thanks Marilyn. There’s still so much to explore and always learning. All the best in your social journey too!

  7. @tmiket says

    18 November 2014 at 5:04 am

    How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences by @activatelearn http://t.co/tvRBUSGiC1

  8. Ryan Tracey (@ryantracey) says

    20 November 2014 at 11:00 am

    How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences http://t.co/Zsuq14DJz1 via @ActivateLearn #edtech

  9. @nidhisand says

    21 November 2014 at 12:42 pm

    How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences @nayanaprabhu @tanzhm We should also get the buy in this way http://t.co/9WBzqpMBPw

  10. @ToolClicks says

    22 November 2014 at 3:05 am

    How to Use Social Tools To Create Learning Experiences – #WOL insights from @ActivateLearn http://t.co/fbKLvVvpOG

Trackbacks

  1. My First Day of WOLWeek – Monday Mayhem says:
    17 November 2014 at 7:06 pm

    […] off and published my latest blog post: How to Use Social Tools for Learning Experiences.  It had been sitting in my draft folder for some days before I added some photos and did the final […]

  2. My Top Posts for 2014 says:
    3 January 2015 at 3:00 pm

    […] How to Use Social Tools to Create Learning Experiences (17 Nov 2014) […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pay Me With a Cup of Coffee If You Like What I Share

Basket

Never Miss a Blog Post

My Recent Posts

  • We Wrote a Book on Microsoft Teams But Who’s It For? 5 December 2019
  • Random Thoughts for LearnTec2020 Presentation 5 December 2019
  • Reflections on the Train Journey 3 December 2019
  • The Case For Social Networks 24 November 2019
  • Wrap Up from International Work Out Loud Week 23 November 2019
  • International Work Out Loud Week – Day 2 – Tuesday 19 November 2019 19 November 2019
  • Create Your Learning Playlist 16 November 2019
  • We Wrote a Book! 14 November 2019
  • Reflections of Being a Community Reporter at Microsoft Ignite 12 November 2019
  • Getting Ready for Microsoft Ignite 27 October 2019
  • What I’ve Been Learning About This Week – Using a Hand Held Microphone 20 October 2019
  • What We Can Learn from The Joker 20 October 2019
  • Working Through My Process of A Presentation 13 October 2019
  • How I’m Using Session Builder for Microsoft Ignite 6 October 2019
  • Experiment With Your Art 6 October 2019
  • Bits and Bobs of Different Projects I’m Working On 28 September 2019
  • What I’m Doing to Prepare for Microsoft Ignite 21 September 2019
  • My Top 10 Tools for Learning 30 August 2019
  • Lessons in Social Media Life 19 August 2019
  • Submitting for Community Reporter at Microsoft Ignite 2 August 2019

Categories

Top 50 Global Learning & Development Sites

I AM A MEMBER OF…

Copyright © 2019 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in