Why Aren't More Companies Rushing to Learning 2.0?

Learning 2.0 has officially arrived. However, there's debate over whether it's a legitimate evolution of existing e-learning paradigms, a convenient way to group learning-enabling technologies together under one umbrella, or a cynical attempt to distance ourselves from what we view as the failures of "learning 1.0."

In talking with corporate practitioners, learning 2.0 hasn't really taken hold in mainstream corporate learning environments. Given the excitement learning 2.0 tools generate, that may come as a bit of a surprise. The two main reasons for the slow adoption of learning 2.0 are about volume and control.

Volume

One aspect of learning 2.0 that proponents frequently tout is the amount of information that is freely available to anyone who wants to take advantage of it. But for folks who are tasked with running corporate learning organizations, this abundance of information can be intimidating, if not downright terrifying. While many learning executives say that they know they should be paying attention to and taking advantage of new technologies offered by learning 2.0, they're simply too overwhelmed with information to spend time sifting through even more.

Control

The other aspect of learning 2.0 that makes organizations a little uncomfortable is the openness of the tools. Ironically, of course, that's the very characteristic that gets many practitioners excited: the notion that this technology is the great equalizer; that everyone can now access and disseminate information; and that everyone can exercise a degree of control over their learning.

Is this unease with learning 2.0 tools a harbinger of a gap between corporate learning and the rest of the world? Will organizations stay mired in the e-learning (and instructor-led) paradigms that have proven less-than-successful? Or is there a way to mitigate the legitimate concerns of companies while maximizing the learning advantages of blogs, wikis, and other new-generation learning tools?

Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of the new tools available.

Establish purpose

It can be easy to fall into the trap of using new technology simply because it's new (and, in the case of learning 2.0, free). While it's true that new technology creates new opportunities for organizations and learners, not all tools equal. Ask yourself what you're trying to do and where your organization would really benefit. Do you need to share information and expand knowledge, or are you looking for better ways to create intellectual property across the organization? Do you need one-way communication, or will deep dialog better serve your needs?

Select the right tool for the task

Once you know what you're trying to do, selecting the right technology is easier. For example, if you want workers to collaboratively author documents, you need to select a tool that's optimized for that task, such as a wiki. If you are looking at ways to disseminate information without much dialogue, consider a blog.

And, if you're looking at ways to really integrate the new tools into your learning environments, consider a platform that will let you incorporate more than one tool while giving learners the sense of an integrated toolset, rather than a collection of websites and applications. If the sheer openness of learning 2.0 tools is a little disconcerting, consider using a platform that lets you exercise a degree of control over authoring and disseminating the content, one that incorporates the functionality of blogs and wikis, as well as other management capabilities, is a good choice.

Control flow

It's difficult to pay attention to everything, and easy to feel like you're missing something important. The first step towards limiting the amount of information you need is to define what's important to you and your organization.

Once you have a clear focus, limiting information and filtering ambient noise, information that may be tempting to incorporate, but not central to what you're trying to accomplish, is easy. Of course, once you know the type of information you want to assimilate, take advantage of the tools that let you compile it quickly, such as RSS aggregators, bookmarking, and so forth.

Finally, consider not only the information what you want, but also what you want to do with it. Collecting information simply for the sake of collecting is an exercise in futility. Think about how you want your organization to capitalize on the volume of information learning 2.0 tools deliver to your doorstep. Engage learners in discussions about the content that you are creating, and challenge employees to share innovative thinking by way of discussion forums and collaborative technology.

It's naive to think that learning organizations can look the other way and hope that learning 2.0 won't have a significant impact on how people will learn in the future. While the unfamiliarity of this next generation of technology is a little puzzling, organizations who take the opportunity to embrace these tools, and thereby exercise a degree of control over them, stand a greater chance of successfully incorporating learning 2.0 into their learning culture.