Six Social Media Tools that Have Specific Uses

This installment of the article series “Social Media for Informal Learning” identifies six classes of specialized social media that have specific applications training and development practitioners can use to support their informal learning efforts. 

For part 1 please click here 

1. Wikis and collaborative applications

Wiki refers to a document that is jointly created by several users.  When readers view the document, they do not see who contributed to each part, although some do provide a service for viewing who contributed. The best known document created with a wiki is the Wikipedia, named after the authoring tool (and, itself, a terrific informal learning resource—researchers have suggested that its content is usually as credible as the more traditional encyclopaedias).

Collaborative applications are a variation on wikis. These work similarly to wikis in that all users work from a centralized file and can contribute to it, but differ from wikis in that users can create also create spreadsheets, presentations, and other resources. Google Docs, Google Sheets, and the web-based versions of Microsoft applications are examples of such collaborative applications.

Training and development (T&D) professionals use specialized software to create wikis—usually to perform work associated with a project. 

In terms of informal learning, T&D practitioners can use wikis to create references and similar documents in which the expertise needed to write different parts is distributed throughout an organization, and make it available to all in the organization. Similarly, the process of creating such a shared document—even for purposes other than training—also provides a valuable learning experience within the context of a specific project and job.  

2. Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios)

E-portfolios refer to a collection of previous work presented on the web, as well as space for peers and advisors to comment. They also include reflections from the work’s creator that, at the least, describe how the work was created and, at the most, provide both a self-evaluation of the work.

As with traditional portfolios, e-portfolios “ let people showcase their work and skills in ways that aren’t possible through the mere listings of credentials permitted by résumés and curricula vitae” (Carliner 2005, p. 71). Although most workers use showcase portfolios as a tool in the job search process, process portfolios, which contain reflections on the learning process, provide a means for workers to solicit  feedback on their work.

The process portfolios—in which learners receive feedback on their work—provide some of the most powerful informal learning opportunities. T&D professionals encourage learners to create e-portfolios using a variety of web development software and online templates, including Google Sites and the European Union’s Europass curriculum vitae (which includes options for portfolios). 

Showcase and process portfolios also prove to be valuable resources in evaluating and recognizing informal learning, as they provide a means of evaluating competence acquired through informal learning efforts.

3. Mentor matching

This category of software links potential mentors to protégés. Mentor matching software works much like online dating software; mentors and protégés complete profiles, and the system matches those who have similar interests.  The software also provides a means for possible matches to interact with one another. One of the primary benefits of mentor matching software is that it promotes mentoring across geographic boundaries; traditional approaches to mentoring often focus on face-to-face relationships. Also, mentor matching can be a useful tool for facilitating relationships for protégés who might not find a suitable mentor in the location where they work. 

Most mentor matching services are provided through proprietary software that organizations must purchase.  Training and development professionals use this specialized software to determine specific matches, as well as to provide advice on how to manage the mentor-protégé relationship, including related expectations. 

4. Ratings or ranking systems

Simply stated, rating systems allows participants to provide comments about, and rankings of, material presented on a website. Some popular websites that let participants provide rankings include eBay, Amazon, and TripAdvisor. Visitors use these opinions and ratings to learn more about the subject as well as determine whether or not to use an item. 

Some enterprise learning software (learning and talent management systems) lets users provide opinions and rankings of learning resources—not only formal courses, but also e-courseware and other e-learning experiences. Rating systems provide value by enabling learners to determine for themselves which resources might best meet their needs.

5. Bookmarking and image-linking software

These types of applications allow users to identify a web-based resource of potential interest to others.  Furthermore, these applications have users categorize links, which aids other users in finding them.  Pinterest is a popular bookmarking, image-linking tool.  The former software Delicious served a similar purpose, though it only catalogued web addresses, not images. 

T&D professionals can use these tools to create recommended reading lists on topics of interest to workers so that these workers have a well-defined starting point in their learning journey.   

6. Personalized learning environments (PLE)

PLEs are comprehensive examples of social media for informal learning and are portals—or virtual gateways—that provide workers with links to a variety of informal learning resources, many of which involve social media, that workers may find helpful in their ongoing development. 

A typical PLE starts with a portal or home page, through which the worker links to other resources.  These environments allow workers to choose the social media and other resources from which they would like access from their portal or home page.  Currently, PLEs are still primarily prototypes or in early phases of testing, and most of the prototypes and test environments are intended for students in primary, secondary, or higher education, rather than adults in the workplace. 

For now, training and development professionals should follow these developments to determine whether they could help workers in their organizations. 

Table 1 summarizes the different types of social media that you can use for informal learning and suggests some of the impacts of cost and time on using them. 

**Stay Tuned...

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How do you choose social learning tools that might be useful in your organization? How might you integrate them into existing learning?  The final article in this series explores principles for using social media to promote informal learning. 

And if you missed Part 1 of the series, check it out now to review the five social tools you are probably already using.

**_Key:

_**$: Estimates of cost are relative in comparison to other items rather than pegged to a financial value

‡@: Estimates of cost are relative in comparison to other items on this list rather than pegged to a specific time range

Tip: For descriptions of technology used for informal learning, see Chapter 7 of Informal Learning Basics.  For information on how to integrate technology with particular types of informal learning, see Chapters 5 and 6 of the book.

For Part 3 please click here