2009.10.09 social media as a learning tool

S o c ia l M e d ia a s Le a r n in gTo o l

Mike VandallEVP, Business Development

RedVector.com, Inc.

Le a r n in g O b je c t iv e s

• D e f in e S o c ia lLe a r n in g

• M it ig a t in g t h e R is k s As s o c ia t e d w it h

S o c ia l Le a r n in g

• Id e n t if y S o c ia l Le a r n in g M e t h o d s &

To o ls

• E x a m in e h o w t o Ap p ly S o c ia l Le a r n in g in t h e / / t y p ic a l A E C F irm

What is Social Learning

Social learning: Learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling.

- J.E. Ormond, “Human Learning”, 1999

• It is not ‘Casual learning’

• It is inherently informal

• It requires communication

S o c ia l Le a r n in g in t h eWo r k p la c e

According to Albert Banura, Social Learning Theorist:

4 conditions for Actual Learning to occur:

• Attention to the Subject• Retention of the Material• Behavioral Replication• Motivation to Participate/Demonstrate

Examples of Social Learning in the workplace:

•Water cooler conversations•Lunch/Break Time•Mentoring an employee•Shadowing a co-worker

•After hours social events•Sharepoint•Role Playing•Practicing Skills

S o c ia l Le a r n in g Im p a c t s a n d R is k s

Im p a c t s o f S o c ia lLe a r n in g

+ _• Builds Morale

• Rapid Knowledge Transfer

• Fosters Research

• Inherently Scalable

• Timely, Immediate

• Low Cost

• Voluntary

• Measurable

• Productive

• Privacy

• Inaccuracies

• Tangential

• Unstructured

• Good News is not News

• Voluntary

• Litigation

? Th e N e x t S t e p f o r S o c ia l Le a r n in g !S o c ia l N e t w o r k in g

: S o c ia l N e t w o r k in g R is k s!Wh o o p s

• 9/17/2009 NPR - A juror posted several messages to Twitter’s website... The trial resulted in a $12.6 million verdict against the building materials company…

• 8/19/2009 NBC Chicago - The SEC (sports) bans twitter and Facebook at games…

• 2/18/2009 CNN - Users of social-networking sites such as Facebook risk losing control of their personal information….

• 9/27/2009 Workforce Management - Discriminatory Twist in Networking Sites Puts Recruiters in Peril!

Financial

Intellectual Property

Privacy

Human Resources

“ C o a c h in g ” t o m in im iz eR is k

• Set written ground rules

• Separate personal & business accounts

• Document Activity• Consider internal

systems for highly sensitive info

• Use Common Sense

?Wh y R is k it

I don’t use it

It’s a fad

I DON’T CARE!

There are too many

Security

I don’t want my colleagues to see those pictures!

Waste of time

It’s for narcissists

Claims

? Wh y s h o u ld y o u c a r e #1R e a s o n

Because 3 out of 4 Americans use Social Technology! Forrester, The Growth of Social Technology Adoption, 2008

? Wh y s h o u ld y o u c a r e # 2R e a s o n

Time Spent on Social Networks Accounts for Approximately

10% Of All Internet TimeNielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009

? Wh y s h o u ld y o u c a r e # 3R e a s o n

Social Media gives the individual the remote!

Green Building

BIM

Customer Views

Networking

Leads

Risk Management

? Wh y s h o u ld y o u c a r e # 4R e a s o n

For companies, resistance to social media is futile.

-Millions of people are creating content for the social Web.

-Your competitors are already there.

-Your customers (employees) have been there for a long time.

BusinessWeek, February 19, 2009

M a jo r S o c ia l N e t w o r k in g( ) Le a r n in g S it e s

’ S o c ia l M e d ia s v a lu e a s a Le a r n in g To o l

• Group Discussions• Great Networking Vehicle• Search, Internal & External• Application Widgets are useful

• Easy to upload video• Can support many

users• Promotes alternative

Discussion

• Personal = Trust• Realtime Chat/Messanger• Average Networking• Needs separation between

personal and corporate use

G o o g le w a v e

Is t h is a le a r n in g t o o l o r? !w h a t

Tw it t e r a s a Le a r n in g To o l

• Short 140 byte statements• Ability to choose only subjects you are

interested in• Great for technical research topics,

information sharing• Feedback given when convenient• Direct and Broadcast Messaging enabled• Email alerts • Cost: $0 + your time

I p r e s s e d t h e “ g r e e n ” b u t t o n !o n m y R e m o t e

: ’ C a s e S t u d y B e s t B u y s Tw e lp f o r c e

• Online Customer Service• Company Promotions• Technical Question

Documentation• Direct Customer Feedback• Transparency of Customer

and Employee views

Tw e lp f o r c e In A c t io n

M a k e S o c ia l M e d ia S o c ia lLe a r n in g

2. A t t e n t io n t o t h eS u b je c t

3. R e t e n t io n o f t h eM a t e r ia l

4. B e h a v io r a l R e p lic a t io n

5. M o t iv a t io n t o/P a r t ic ip a t e D e m o n s t r a

t e

Remember the 4 conditions for Social Learning to occur?

1 : S t e p P la n n in g

• A t t e n t io n t oS u b je c t

– ID t h e t o p ic s

– ID s o c ia l m e d iu m( )s

– S e t s o m e g r o u n dr u le s

• R e t e n t io n o fM a t e r ia l

– C r e a t e f o rm a l/a s s e s s m e n t s e x a

m s

– S e t p a r t ic ip a t io nm e t r ic s

– ID u s e f u l le a r n in g m a n a g e m e n t

( ) LM S r e p o r t s

– In c o r p o r a t e in t o p e r f o rm a n c e

r e v ie w s

• B e h a v io r a lR e p lic a t io n

– B e n c h m a r kb e h a v io r s

– S e t p a r t ic ip a t io nm e t r ic s

– ID w a y s t o o b s e r v e O TJ

– B e n c h m a r kP r o f ic ie n c ie s

• /M o t iv a t io n P a r t icip a t io n

– D e v e lo p ab u d g e t

– ID a r e c o g n it io np r o g r a m

– ID LM S a c t iv it y t o b e p u b lis h e d

– G e t f e e d b a c k f r o m k e y t e a m

m e m b e r s

S u g g e s t e d P r o g r a mO u t c o m e s

2 : S t e p Im p le m e n t a t io n

• A t t e n t io n t oS u b je c t

– G ET EXEC S TOC O MM IT

– R e c r u it s o m ee x p e r t s

• S u b je c t M a t t e r• Te c h n o lo g y

S a v v y• D iv e r s it y

• R e t e n t io n o fM a t e r ia l

– G ET EXEC S TOC O MM IT

– S e t a p r o je c ts c h e d u le

• As s ig n a P M

– A s s e s s y o u rc a p a b il i t ie s

• / /IT Ac c e s s R e c o rd s

• Le a r n in gM a n a g e m e n t

• H u m a n C a p it a l

– C o m m u n ic a t e p la n t o k e y

m a n a g e r s &in f lu e n c e r s

• B e h a v io r a lR e p lic a t io n

– G ET EXEC S TOC O MM IT

– F ie ldO b s e r v a t io n s

– C r e a t e P r o f ic ie n c y

E x a m s

– C o n f ir m M e t r ic s

• /M o t iv a t io n P a r t icip a t io n

– G e t B u d g e tAp p r o v e d

– G ET EXEC S TOC O MM IT

– “ B U ZZ ” t h ep r o je c t

– P u b lis h/o b je c t iv e s

– G e t f e e d b a c k f r o m k e y t e a m

m e m b e r s

3 : S t e p P a r t ic ip a t io n

• A t t e n t io n t oS u b je c t

– U p d a t e p o s t sr e g u la r ly

– S e t a s id e t im e

– As k q u e s t io n s

– G iv e y o u r R EALo p in io n

• R e t e n t io n o fM a t e r ia l

– C h a lle n g ea s s e s s m e n t s

– H o w d id y o u ?a p p ly t h is

– R e v ie w LM S r e p o r t s & p r o v id e f e e d b a c k

– M o n it o r p o s t s f o r‘ in t e l l ig e n t

’g r o w t h

• B e h a v io r a lR e p lic a t io n

– As k q u e s t io n s inf ie ld

– M o n it o r a c t iv it ym e t r ic s

– P e r f o rm O TJo b s e r v a t io n s

– C o n d u c t p r o f ic ie n c y t e s t s

• /M o t iv a t io n P a r t icip a t io n

– C o m m u n ic a t e r e c o g n it io n

p r o g r a m s

– P u b lis h LM Sa c t iv it y

– E n g a g e in C o n v e r s a t io n

a b o u t p o s t e dt o p ic s

– G e t f e e d b a c k f r o m AN Y t e a m

m e m b e r s

4 : S t e p Ap p ly M e t r ic s

• A t t e n t io n t oS u b je c t

– R e c o r d/p o s t s t o p ic

– /P u b lis h m e t r ic st o p ic

• R e t e n t io n o fM a t e r ia l

– R e v ie w a s s e s s m e n t

s c o r e s a n d c o m p a r e b y/ /in d iv id u a l u n it f i

r m– R e c o r d p o s t s &

/t im e e m p lo y e e– In c o r p o r a t e

in t o p e r f o rm a n c e

r e v ie w s

• B e h a v io r a lR e p lic a t io n

– R e v ie w p o s t s

– C o m p a r e b e n c h m a r k d a t a

– D o c u m e n t O TJo b s e r v a t io n s

– R e v ie w p r o f ic ie n c y p a s s

r a t e s

• /M o t iv a t io n P a r t icip a t io n

– R e c o g n iz e‘ ’ s t a r s & w h y

– B r o a d c a s t y o u rw in s

• In t e r n a lly

• E x t e r n a lly

– C o u n t t h e s m ile s

M e a s u r in g t h e R O TI o fTw it t e r

• Identify your users• Track & record ‘tweet’ activity & time of tweets

(you might be surprised)• Compare activity by Tweet threads (requires

tweetdeck)• Count your followers & who you follow• Meet with your team regularly to discuss what

they learned and how they applied it• The Smile Test

5 : S t e p L is t e n

Observe

Acknowledge

Document

Communicate

ASK

6 : S t e p R in s e & R e p e a t

C o n c lu s io n s

Social Learning is a learning process that is rapidly evolving as a direct result of internet based social networking sites and collaboration technologies. While there are risks associated with embracing these technologies, they can be readily mitigated through careful planning and active communication.

An A/E/C firm that implements a Social Learning program will see gains in productivity, knowledge transfer, OTJ Performance and morale.

A Social Learning program does not just happen. A firm must commit time, resources and technology to get a program launched. In addition, buy-in from senior leadership is critical for Social Learning to be an ongoing success to an A/E/C firms learning organization.

Q u e s t io n s

H o w t o f in d m e

Mike VandallEVP, Business Development

(813) 864-2663

vandall@redvector.com www.redvectorsolutions.com