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Personal Learning Networks

Keywords: Personal learning networks, RSS feeds, so-

cial media, Online learning, and pass it along to co-workers.

Informal learning with web-based technology has been prov-

en to increase workplace collaboration and the free exchange

of ideas to improve work team effectiveness; however, the

use of objectives-driven online learning coupled with social,

informal learning platforms can provide comprehensive

training capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional

stand-up classroom instruction.

Online training that is objectives driven allows knowledge to

be broken down in small manageable chunks. The student

can then take one lesson at a time and digest this learning at

his or her own pace. Gone are the days when a student was

required to sit in the classroom for hours at a time; instead,

training can be readily accessible 24/7. Each learning objec-

tive can be developed into a 20-30 minute learning module

that can be quickly consumed by the learner with testing as-

sessments at the end for a knowledge check.

Online learning can take many forms, from posted articles to

interactive courseware to three-dimensional simulations.

Most online learning companies house their courseware

within a learning management system (LMS) so that scoring,

communication, transcripts, and reporting features are con-

nected to the learning process. Many online companies have

communication tools that provide webinars, online chat, fo-

rums, and interactive digital white boards to enhance the

online learning experience. Some web-based training can be

asynchronous allowing the user to receive instruction when

convenient. Other training options are collaborative, allow-

ing learners to maintain the connection between themselves

and the instructor, as well as benefit from the participation of

other learners.

One example of such learning is the webinar. A webinar al-

lows for real human interaction within the training program.

Subject matter experts can address questions through live

chat, phone, or video conferencing and social media plat-

forms. Webinars normally last 45-75 minutes in length and

allow for more question and answer sessions. Live web

With today’s fast paced work environment, employee learning

must meet the challenges of constantly changing technology.

Regular training enhances employee understanding of this tech-

nology and improves work performance.

However, an economic recession and tighter budgets have

caused many organizations to reduce their professional devel-

opment and job training capabilities. Therefore, at the very

moment organizations need to learn more to stay ahead of the

game, they have fewer resources for their employees to seek

the needed knowledge to stay on the cutting edge.

Forty cents of every dollar spent on professional development

training goes towards travel and lodging costs. That equates to

$52 billion in expenses annually in the U.S. This does not in-

clude the opportunity cost and salary expenses for employees

while they are attending this training. Nor does it include the

cost of renting facilities and providing food for attendees. An

estimated 80% of executives polled stated their primary reason

for employing web-based training was the reduction of travel

costs.

For these reasons, the number of students who participate in

online learning has increased 20% every year since 2002. This

represents a total of 22 million learners in the U.S. who have

taken at least one online course. At the current projected

growth rate, an estimated 50% of all Americans will be en-

rolled in online learning programs by 2019. Institutions sur-

veyed from across the country indicate that 63% believe online

learning is a critical part of their long term strategy.

A new trend in corporate America is the emphasis on informal

learning, often called just-in-time learning. Informal learning is

nothing new but with training budgets being slashed, a renewed

focus on how organizational knowledge transfer occurs is caus-

ing many to better appreciate that most people learn through

informal social networks and web-based tools. For example,

the use of Wikipedia, search engines, and social media plat-

forms is a common way for employees to access information

An information Series by Smart Horizons

Technical Commentary

Technical Commentary

events combine the benefits of having an instructor onsite,

without incurring the travel costs and lost productivity of

classroom instruction. Web conference tools allow for

blended learning solutions by video conferencing co-

existing with interactive courseware. A survey conducted

by Citrix Systems, Inc. indicated that 82% of respondents

preferred webinars for training due to the convenience.

When learning management systems are coupled with com-

munication tools, there is the powerful connection to both

synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Learning Achievement

Research from neuroscience indicates that information pre-

sented in lecture/reading format has a 10% memory reten-

tion rate within 72 hours. That means that 90% of what

employees learn in a classroom seminar is forgotten in just

a few days. Organizations that spend thousands of dollars

training employees sometimes find that most of that ex-

pense was wasted.

A recommended guideline suggests an individual needs to

repeat a procedure seven times before they remember how

to do something; therefore, repetition is essential for long-

term memory. Information is retained at a higher rate the

more it is reviewed. The problem with most traditional

classroom training seminars is that there is rarely follow up

with students to provide a memory check. Providing a

twelve-month subscription to online training lessons allows

students to continuously review the information thus

providing a higher potential for learning retention.

While traditional classroom instruction provides a better

means of hands-on skills development, not all information

can be presented in a manner that allows for hands-on

training. Therefore, a successful training strategy is to pro-

vide fundamental information in an online, multi-media

format and reinforce that information with hands-on train-

ing exercises. Providing additional knowledge checks eve-

ry 30 days, 90 days, and 180 days through test assessments

built into the learning management system can significant-

ly increase retention. This blended learning approach is the

most successful strategy for long-term learning achieve-

ment and has been proven by research conducted by the

U.S. Department of Education.

Personal Learning Networks

In the last ten years, wireless internet connections, mobile

technology, and social media platforms have revolutionized

information access. This phenomenon is often called Web

2.0 and it is a reference to how the internet has become a

more collaborative virtual community. Examples of Web

2.0 are blogs, wikis, video sharing, and social media sites.

These technologies provide a new user-centric information

infrastructure that emphasizes participation and encourages

focused conversation. It also changes the way we think

about education.

The emergence of open participatory information technolo-

gy allows for each individual to create a personal learning eco

-system that supports self-directed learning goals. For exam-

ple, say you want to know how to fix a leaky faucet. Any indi-

vidual with internet access can type this question into their

web browser and receive a plethora of information options. A

wiki site will detail the steps in fixing a leaky faucet along

with photos and diagrams. A series of videos on YouTube

will demonstrate the process. Blogs and discussion forums

allow posted questions and any number of individuals will

respond with a solution. This is an unprecedented level of

information flow and a unique learning opportunity that has

never existed before.

Such learning is very informal and not connected directly to

any school or degree-granting institution, but each individual

can chart their own learning path based on their specific needs

and learning style. Therefore, information is more meaningful

and relevant. The younger generation has caught on to this

idea of self-directed learning and is pushing back against the

traditional learning models. In a recent survey of both high

school and college students, the majority indicated they want

more technology in class and fewer lectures. The prevalence

of online learning courseware coupled with Web 2.0 technolo-

gy has begun a paradigm shift in education that has even

reached elite Ivy League universities. Harvard University and

MIT offer a joint education venture consisting of free online

classes to anyone in the world. These collections of video

lectures do not provide a degree, but the concept opens up the

classroom and democratizes knowledge sharing.

To participate fully in this exciting educational experience,

each individual must create a personal learning network. Such

networks will enhance one’s ability to become a lifelong, self-

directed learner. But where does one start this process with all

of the options available?

The first important tool in a personal learning network is the

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed. An RSS feed is a tool

for accessing information from blogs, websites, and news

sources that works by pulling information into a “news aggre-

gator” or “feed reader” site. The RSS reader allows a user to

access multiple sites from one location thus saving time and

effort. Once a user subscribes to a blog or website RSS feed,

they will receive automatic updates to their feed reader. These

readers can be organized by topic or category, so as to filter

information based on interests. Therefore, the RSS feed can

be a great tool for obtaining large amounts of information on

targeted subject matter. Common feed readers are Netvibes,

or Bloglines. News aggregators and feed readers can also pull

postings from your social media platforms so that all of your

information is centralized for easy access.

Some news aggregators take the form of online newspapers

by pulling in information from your sources and organizing it

in a familiar and useful way. An example of this type of ag-

gregator is the site paper.li. Many of these feed readers and

news aggregators can be shared with others, thereby allowing

co-workers, friends, and clients to benefit from your collected

information.

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cussion on lessons learned without risking public disclosure

and privacy issues.

Your organization may have a policy on employee use of social

media, RSS feeds and other related online tools. However, this

does not stop employees from establishing personal learning

networks at home. Collaboration can still occur even if strin-

gent internet policies exist at work due to security concerns.

The goal of any training program should be to look at all ave-

nues to better enhance the learning experience. .

As twenty-first century technology continues to change a wid-

ening digital divide is occurring between those that understand

and participate with this technology and those that do not. In-

dividuals who establish personal learning networks and become

comfortable with new online technology increase their overall

digital literacy and can therefore help others who lack these

skills. The future of learning is increasingly requiring digital

literacy skills. Establishing your personal leaning network that

incorporates informal learning networks, curation tools, and

online learning programs should be part of your overall training

strategy.

For more information contact Smart Horizons Lifetime Train-

ing Solutions at 855-777-8032 or visit website at

www.mytrainingnow.com

Another tool closely related to the RSS feed is the web crawl-

er or spider bot. These are programs that automatically scan

the internet search engines and find information based on top-

ics or keywords. For example, if you wanted to find out any

information on the subject of at-risk youth, a web crawler

such as Google Alerts could be set up to scan all sites, articles,

or blogs related to the topic and send an alert with links to this

information daily, weekly, or as often as you determine neces-

sary. The web crawler is constantly searching – even when

you are not online – thus saving you time and effort to find the

information you need.

Within one’s personal learning network, there is the oppor-

tunity to archive and share information with others. Curation

tools allow learners to share information internally or exter-

nally and to customize who receives this information. Cura-

tion tools allow one to collect, organize, and share information

efficiently by tagging and grouping the information. Addition-

ally, users can digitally highlight text within collected articles,

photos, or websites. Tools exist to post digital sticky notes,

thus adding value and commentary to the information. A good

curation tool is a cloud-based system that allows users to ac-

cess their information from any computer or mobile technolo-

gy device. User groups can be set up by topic and specific

individuals invited to participate within the group. As a user

finds information, he or she can save it to a group and any

member of the group will automatically receive an email with

a link to the article or content being shared. An example of a

good curation tool is diigo.com.

A blog site is another important tool in the personal learning

network, as blogs allow individuals to express themselves in

more detail and to discuss topics of interest. Individuals can

comment on blogs and share ideas, thereby increasing the

learning process.

In fact, much of the learning that takes place online is shared

and commented on by peers who provide feedback to the user.

This feedback can range from comments to ongoing chats and

forum posts. Individuals can also rank and provide in-depth

critiques of another’s work. Blogs can include photos, videos,

and graphics to enhance the learning experience. If the blog is

a good one, visitors should be allowed to subscribe to an RSS

feed of the blog. This allows them to access the blog site and

any updates to it automatically with their feed reader.

Closely related to the blog are social media platforms. Social

media sites come in many different types, such as the micro-

blogging site Twitter that only allows posts in 140 characters

or less. Facebook allows posts of all types of media in any

format or length the user wants. Linked.in is a social media

site especially for professionals and is, therefore, more formal

than Facebook. YouTube is both a social media site and a

curation site that allows individuals to store and share videos

online. Most individuals or organizations that use social media

tie these platforms to a blog site so that their personal writings

are then posted out to multiple social media platforms simulta-

neously. However, some social media sites can be private and

only accessible internally. This allows collaboration and dis-

Smart Horizons

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Pensacola, FL 32534

Office: 850-475-4000

Toll Free: 855-777-8031

Fax: 850-473-8387

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Christensen, Clayton., Disrupting Class, McGraw Hill, New York, NY 2011.

Gardner, Howard., Intelligence Reframed, Basic Books, New York, NY 1999.

Ito, Mizuko., et al, Living and Learning with New Media, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Re-

ports on Digital Media and Learning, November 2008.

Means, Barbara., et al, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning, U.S. Department of Educa-

tion, September 2010.

Medina, John., Brain Rules, Pear Press, Seattle, WA 2008.

Richardson, Will., Personal Learning Networks, Solution Tree Press, Bloomington, IN 2011.

Shirky, Clay., Cognitive Surplus, Penguin Press, New York, NY 2010.

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