AET/562-Social Media for Professional Learning

Social Learning

To understand the effect of social learning within an organization, we must first establish and understanding of what social learning is.  Simply put, social learning is the idea that individuals in a community learn from one another, something biologists would define as “learned behavior”.  In the case of learned behavior, animals learn by imitating other members of their group.  In the Human context, it is the basis of our education system.  “Humans are by nature social animals, which is why social interactions are crucial to our development at every stage of our lives. Observational learning is all about the interactions we have across all facets of our lives: we talk to people, we listen to what they’re saying, and then aim to apply or consider the insights that person is bestowing upon us (and vice-versa).” (Powell, 2021)  People who need new knowledge or skills seek the advice of subject-matter experts, either in formal or informal settings.

Effects in an organization

Some organizations such as schools and universities, make social learning their primary mission.  Students learn from their instructors, and faculty and staff use social learning to further their professional development.  In addition, businesses use social learning for all levels of training, from new-hire orientation to professional certifications, to professional development. 

Social learning tools can have numerous effects on an enterprise environment, including decreasing the acclimation period for hew hires, promoting constructivism, and improving workplace communication. (Powell, 2021)  Using these tools, trainers could develop a deeper sense of community with their students.  Indeed, in many cases the trainer may be a supervisor, team leader, or simply a senior employee providing a mentorship role.

Abuses and Accountability

Social media can be a powerful tool for training and professional development, but like any tool it can be abused.  Irresponsible or malicious use can cause irreparable damage both to the organization and the employees themselves.  In a recent blog post, we covered some strategies suggested by Nussbaum-Beach and Hall in order to protect one’s online reputation: building one’s own professional website/blog, maintaining multiple online profiles, contributing to reputable blogs, and publishing articles related to their field of expertise. (Jones, 2021)  In addition to protecting its online reputation, an organization should also construct a robust social media policy before ever launching a social media platform.  In an article for Archbright, Rainge provides some examples of best practices for social media policies. (Rainge, 2020)

Benefits

Interpersonal Relationships and Productivity:

Social learning tools can provide many benefits for an organization, especially in the realms of interpersonal relationships and productivity.  Firstly, they can help build a sense of community between stakeholders and improve communication flow between the various layers of the organization’s hierarchy.  Relationships between management and employees often improve when both side sees the other as human beings.  As a result, productivity can improve when the workers feel more emotionally invested in the organization’s objectives.

Social Learning Environment Benefits and Challenges:

In addition to the above, a social learning environment can improve the organization’s collective knowledge base by improving collaboration and building a repository of skills and information.  Challenges could include not only irresponsible use as defined above, but also finding a balance between utility and distraction.  The organization needs to establish clear boundaries between asking legitimate business questions and becoming distracted by socializing.  One example of this occurred when the author was working as a Material Handler in a warehouse distribution center.  Our supervisor obtained 2-way radios to improve communication between the department’s leadership and industrial truck operators working elsewhere in the building.  While instant communication vastly improved our productivity, there were workers who constantly clogged the channel with irrelevant chatter, ranging from discussing sporting events to making unprofessional comments regarding legitimate requests.

Summary

In short, social learning occurs when Humans in a community learn from one another, either by teaching new skills or emulating behavior.  While educators and professional trainers can provide formal education, social learning can also occur between colleagues and other peers within an organization.  Finally, establishing a robust social media policy that protects the users’ rights is an invaluable tool for protecting both the organization and the individual users.

References