What is Learning 2.0?

Seems everyone is tacking 2.0 on to indicate the latest, greatest, newest technology. It has even happened to learning.

I define Learning 2.0 as applying Web 2.0 technologies to learning. Some examples of Web 2.0 technologies include ...

• Blogs
• Vlogs and Podcasts
• Flickr (or other sites where digital images are shared)
• VoIP (such as Skype)
• Public posting and sharing of favorite links (such as Del.icio.us)
• Wikis
• Discussion Boards with group mail (such as Google Groups or Yahoo Groups)
• Webcasts (such as Microsoft On Demand)
• WebQuests (used originally in education, but not migrating to the corporate training world)

... and joining on-line social networks, the most famous (and infamous) of which is MySpace.


There are other terms for Learning 2.0. George Siemens refers to the convergence of information, elearning, and knowledge management on his blog elearnspace. Jay Cross, who blogs at Internet Time prefers the term Informl Learning for his Unworkshops and UnConferences.

The very idea of Learning 2.0 can be offputting to training traditionalists (of which I count myself) because it turns on its ear the notion that learning can occur even when training is not. Imagine -- sometimes no learning occurs during training, and quite frequently, learning occurs when there is no training.

Research suggests that learning occurs naturally in the workplace all of the time, and when compared to learning in a classroom, the workplace wins hands down. It's estimated that over 80 percent of all work-related learning happens spontaniously on the job! One can surmise that some of what is learned is right while some is not.

So the question is:

How do we training traditionalists approach our work differently so that we facilitate and improve spontaneous workplace learning?

Hum-m-m, I feel a blog coming on.