Self-Guided Social Media Training Manual



Self-Guided Social Media Training ManualSandy Calio, Danielle Himalaya, Ellen Myers, David Obiora, Angelina Russo AET 562 - Social Media for Professional LearningOctober 2, 2016Dr. Sean SpearTable of ContentOverview4 Social Learning4Role of Social Learning4Barriers5Ethical Dilemmas and Resolution5Level of Importance to Social Learning6Problem Solving Through Social Learning7The Role Social Learning Play In Addressing Business Problems7Social Learning Send the Affect It Has to an Employee’s Perception of a Problem8Problem-Solving Processes Similarities and Differences8Addressing Business Issues and Strengthening Relationships through Social Learning10How does social learning affect an organization’s goals and objectives?10What are the indicators of success when assessing the effectiveness of social learning?10How does resource allocation affect the overall effectiveness of social learning within an organization?10How is accountability handled via social learning, such as with usage or policy considerations?11How does the social learning environment establish employees’ perception of power or hierarchy?11How does the social learning environment foster richer relationships among staff with diverse skill sets?12Social Media Tools12Youtube12Twitter13Facebook14Linkedin16Conclusion16References18Overview of Social LearningSocial learning is the sharing of information and knowledge among peers through interactive discussions and computer-based methods. Such methods include blogs, instant messaging, group discussion boards, wikis, video chats and other social media applications. Social learning allows learners to explore and educate themselves on a variety of subjects from multiple perspectives. Interaction with others adds richness to the learning experience and enhancing the knowledge gained. With so much of the world's workforce connected to Social Media and technology, knowledgeable workers prefer to have a say in how companies facilitates their learning. Because organizational learning is vital to sustainability, employees need opportunity to learn as a means to improve skills and productivity and most importantly, improve professionally. Knowledge is usually transferred from facilitator to learner through strategic instruction. However, in Social learning environment, learning occurs virtually through networking which conveys its focus on the kind of learning that transpires via a social context.Social LearningRole of Social LearningThe concept and application of social learning in a workplace can have many benefits for an organization. Though, its main advantage is in the information it provides. In addition, employers can gain valuable knowledge that can help change professional development in their organization as well as how employees learn. The value of social learning increases in an environment where sharing, collaboration, and collective problem solving is a culture. To ensure an effective workforce training, employers can use social learning as an evaluation tool to determine gaps between knowledge and skills that needs to be learned. For instance, in a situation an employee continues to perform poorly can indicate the need for additional training or skills. Also, employees can use social learning as for support and as a handy resource. As, Nussbaum-Beach, (2012) puts it,” The new social learning with its emphasis on individuals learning from one another, plays up the fact that both speakers and attendees have something valuable to share”.BarriersWhilst social learning has enormous potential for organizations and businesses, it can only be viewed as a component part of creating a culture of continuous development. Individuals have different learning styles, and to ignore this simple fact would never be good for any organization. Implementing social learning in large corporations is always going to be a daunting task littered with potential pitfalls, but for those that get it right, the rewards can be huge. There’s also a tendency for organizations handling extremely sensitive and secure data to be overly cautious of using social learning tools. Other common barriers that imped the ability to access Social learning include:Social and cultural barriers: peer pressure and family background.Practical and personal barriers: transport; time; disability; caring responsibilities; childcare; finance; cost; age; language; and lack of access to information.Emotional barriers: lack of self-esteem or confidence due to low skills levels; negative personal experience of learning; previously undetected or unaddressed learning disabilities; social problems such as unemployment, abuse or bullying.Workplace: time off; access; discrimination; unsupportive managers; shift work; isolation.Ethical Dilemmas and ResolutionSome employees may be sharing sensitive and private company information outside of an organization whether intentional or not intentional, spending company time and resources on social media or other not related work material and, or even go out of their way to post or text inappropriate material/contents and, or text-chatting away their time which often, lowers productivity by employees who are spending too much time in social media. These ethical issues can be resolved with social learning policy being put to place with specific guidelines, and when employers create a safe learning environment for employees and troubleshoot their concerns. In addition to ongoing plan for continuous learning, inexperience employees need training and ongoing support from management. Establishing trust and employees need to change their attitude as well as behavior in terms of how they learn is imperative. The policy covers what is acceptable, when and how employees should behave in a workplace, with their colleagues and community and with the use of social media.Level of Importance to Social LearningBased from practical evidence and literature, the level of importance to social learning is high. Outreach and communicating knowledge to the general public is a core objective of academic institutions and organizations; and social networks can be used to facilitate these aims. Social learning, where users on the social network teach and support each other in an ad-hoc manner, encourages users to engage in the learning process to an extent that suits their interests and time restraints. The social learning process is a constant process that happens voluntarily as well as involuntarily. And today, social media sites that allow us to share and gain knowledge are a boon to both voluntary as well as involuntary learners. The popularity of social media sites corroborates the fact that we are exhibitionists and voyeurs and that we are interested in sharing knowledge (from letting people know what we are eating on a particular day, to sharing the latest news), and collecting information (by reading and retaining what we read on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Flickr, etc.), from these sites. Knowledge sharing is already happening at the grass root levels. Problem Solving through Social LearningSocial learning is the process of learning through social interaction between peers. The most common illustration of social learning in the workplace is the chance meeting others by the water cooler or the meeting outside for a smoking break. Two or more people run into each other, share ideas, and walk away a little more knowledgeable in the process. This is social learning. Social learning can take place in informal one-on-one encounters, among teams in the course of real-time problem-solving, communities of practice, through social software, expertise directories, and more. The key is that the company fosters a culture of continual learning, in which employees are empowered and encouraged to share what they know with each other and to seek out colleagues’ expertise to increase performance across the organization.The Role Social Learning Play in Addressing Business ProblemsSocial learning can play a role in addressing business problems by creating an easier and quicker access to information and people. Social learning can tackle a problem by promoting strategies as well as acquiring ideas from different sources. Social learning can be used in marketing strategies, in improving employee efficiency and productivity, which can be important to a company. Social learning can provide a boost in moral with the employees, by providing a method of acquiring information from those who have been in their place or just a method to contact someone to help them understand something better. When a problem can be addressed faster and be addressed with a multiple of ideas, the better quality of a solution can be found at a faster pace, which is good for any business.Social learning can help by:Cultivating collaborationIncreasing collaborationFinding expertise informationIdentifying in-company knowledgeImproving productivityDecrease stereotypes and bias notions (Learning Solutions Magazine, 2016)Social Learning Send the Affect It Has to an Employee’s Perception of a ProblemSocial learning can give employees a more rounded outlook of a problem if they look at different ideas and solutions of a problem by using social media to reach out to get others perceptions of a problem. Social learning can help grow the employee’s idea of what can be and bring out different solutions and more creativity within the workplace. Social learning can bring employees together by enabling “information to flow between groups with different interests, facilitating innovation through fresh perspectives, new ideas, and greater diversity” (para. 20, Learning Solutions Magazine, (2016). Being able to access employees of different perspectives, cultural backgrounds, and with different ideas, allows for an individual employee’s perspective to change into a more rounded perspective.Problem-Solving Processes Similarities and DifferencesSocial learning:Similarities:Pay by the employerProvides collaborationAllows the employee to be trainedDifferences:Can be done at home or in officeCollaboration can be done anywhereInstruction comes from employers, employees, other sources that are valuedProvides different methods for problems and looks at more problemsA more accurate idea of what the employee understandsProvides a vast amount of informationCan give an idea of real life workCost lowerQuicker accessFormal training:Similarities:Pay by employerProvides collaborationAllows employee to be trainedDifferences:Done at the officeCollaboration can only be done at the office with the members togetherInstruction provided from employers onlyGives a set method to deal with only a certain kind of problemsProvides limited information (only what the employer provides the employees)Does not always give an idea of what real life work isLittle idea of what the employees understand from the trainingCosts moreAccess is limited to the time of trainingAddressing Business Issues and Strengthening Relationships through Social LearningHow does social learning affect an organization’s goals and objectives? Social learning affects an organization’s goals and objectives in many ways. By allowing employees to engage in social learning it allows the employees to collaborate more freely and more effectively. Social learning allows employees to easily communicate with one another in many forms online and in person. Employees are able to easily use networking skills to quickly find answers to questions, brainstorm ideas, come up with solutions, and plan for future projects. These traits in turn help an organization to meet their goals and objectives and do so in timely fashion. What are the indicators of success when assessing the effectiveness of social learning?In order to know if social learning is successful it must be analyzed. The best indicators that social learning is impacting the business in a positive way is to conduct employee surveys, monitor individual learning and success, team morale, team engagement, employee engagement, and over team success. When teams are meeting their monthly numbers, improving the company’s business, and collaborating with one another easily; one can see that social learning has been successful in their organization. Social learning helps employees grow and in turn helps the company grow and become better. How does resource allocation affect the overall effectiveness of social learning within an organization?One way to ensure that social learning is successful within an organization is to make sure that resources are allocated evenly. Since social learning can be done from anywhere and across different platforms, resources allocation is important. Standard resources may not be needed when training and teaching. A traditional classroom setting may not be needed when using social learning because learning can take place just about anywhere. The best way to allocate resources is to make sure that employees understand how to use their online resources effectively and to this there must be policies in place to encourage desired behaviors and accountability. How is accountability handled via social learning, such as with usage or policy considerations?It is vital for organizations to have policies and guidelines in place when using social learning tools. Since most social learning tools are online and take place with an open social audience it is important to teach employees how to use social learning tools. The best way to do this is to set up guidelines right from the start and be transparent with expectations. Employees must understand what information can be shared and what information is proprietary. Once employees have a clear understanding of what can be shared it is important to teach them who to share the information with, when to share it, and what type of context to share information. It also important to incorporate current sexual harassment, privacy policies, and other HR conditions within social learning policies. Employees need to know that all normal rules apply to their online networking and social learning tools and if the tools are used in an inappropriate way that there can be disciplinary action. It also wise to teach employees that their reputation and the reputation of the company are exposed when using social learning tools. How does the social learning environment establish employees’ perception of power or hierarchy?The learning environment that employees use helps them to determine hierarchy by showing that every person has their place within the company and that everyone’s input is important. Employees need to feel that they are valued and encouraged to share their feedback. Social learning helps accomplish making each employee feel valued because they are able to share and learn from anyone in the company and also share their experiences for others to learn from. Social learning creates a special form social acceptance and importance and in turn helps each person feel valued while understand everyone’s unique role no matter what level they have reached in the organization. The typical feeling of undervalue ceases because each person feels like their input matters and helps improve the company overall. How does the social learning environment foster richer relationships among staff with diverse skill sets?Social learning helps enrich diverse skillsets by encouraging employees to share and learn from one another. Employees are able to network to come up with solutions to diverse problems that may occur. By using social learning tools and their environment they are not pinned down to only one person or place for an answer. Employees are able to use more resources and in turn foster richer relationships and learning experiences. Every employee is empowered to share their diversity and learn from one another. If one employee does not know the answer or where to find the answer they are able to use the knowledge and skillsets of their team members to successfully find solutions. Social Media ToolsYouTube YouTube is a free social media website that allows individuals or groups to post original videos of themselves or others for public view. “YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small” (YouTube, n.d.). These videos can be used as a teaching tool to demonstrate how to use technology incorporated in today’s workforce. Businesses and schools can include tutorial videos on their internal company website, allowing access at any time for assistance. YouTube is also a great way for students to post projects like public service announcements or videos demonstrating their knowledge of the standards.BenefitsLimitationsExamplesOpen to the publicRequires employers/students to watch a video to learnHaving students make PSA regarding dress code, bullying, other social issuesProvides training videos that can be accessed at anytimeNeed to be self-directedDeveloping a training video on how to use programsPost videos showing the community service work the company providesBecause it is open to the public, hard to monitor what gets postedPromotional videosAnother way to assess student workOthers can post bad videosTwitterAnother free social networking service is Twitter. This Short Messaging System (SMS) delivery system allows members to post “tweets” via the twitter cellphone app or website. Tweets cannot exceed more than 140 characters due to the (SMS) system however it can include hyperlinks to items such as videos. Unlike other social media platforms Twitter posts are open to the public and no friend request is needed to view tweets. Users add in hashtags or content descriptors to the thread to connect conversations. (Rouse, McMahon 2015). For all the positive aspects shared about twitter they are also twitter's drawbacks. Some feel that the character limit is not useful while others feel it makes the tweets more concise. Having the account public can have some users worrying while others find the exposure great. Using hash tags to thread ideas is helpful when you know what you are looking for but not so helpful when you don't have a particular focus. Dependent on what your goal is, Twitter has particular features that many find helpful. BenefitsLimitationsExamples Concise thought140-character limit#visiblelearning to share john Hattie IdeasStreamlined threads through hash tagsMust look up hash tag if you do not follow the tweeter#STEM to share STM activitiesLots of exposure (open to public)Lack of privacy#Kapoleihighschool to share our activities and events with othersFacebookFacebook is a social media tool that connects people through messaging, photos sharing, profiles, groups, and news feeds. It allows a person to share information as well as receive information. The mission for the Facebook company is to, “...give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected” (Facebook, 2016, para. 1). This effective social media tool can connect people or teams through social learning by promoting positive activities and messages.Why should we use Facebook?Facebook is a great way to help develop language. Because Facebook encourages people to express themselves in a written form, it helps people develop their writing skills. This can help develop written skills for employees Facebook is also great method of interpersonal communication. This means that people learn communication skills that can be important to their future employment and for their personal development. Employees need to be able to feel comfortable communicating to each other, which Facebook can help with. Facebook helps with collaboration. Collaboration is an important aspect of learning, the easier collaboration is made, the more the learners learn. Collaboration for a team of employees can be made faster and easier through Facebook. Learning through peer learning is also a helpful aspect of Facebook. Employees can learn through other employees who have worked for a while doing what the employee is being trained for. This promotes learning and helps provide real life situations for the employee to learn from. Facebook can also be restricted if necessary. The restriction can be for employees only or put to public view for all to see and use Using social media, such as Facebook helps encourage learning, which is needed in any form of trainer. It can enhance the training of an employee as well as inspire them to work hard and become better at their tasks (ICTworks, 2010). BenefitsLimitationsExamplesLearners can share information: using Facebook can help learners share what they have learned with other, such as information or experiences.Creates a distraction: Learners can be easily d into doing something not conducive to learning.An example would be using Facebook to chat with team mates on an assignmentAccess from anywhere: because most learners now are always on the go, using Facebook can help the learners learn and share information from anywherePrivacy: the learner needs to be careful with the kind of information they give out.Another example would be to use Facebook to get in contact with fellow classmates because of a lack of understanding about an assignmentHelps learners stay in contact: can provide a method for teams to chat and stay in contact with each other.Fake profiles: this means that the learner must make sure to who they are talking tooReliable and valid information: the learner needs to make sure to where the information that they are getting is from a good sourceLinkedin Linkedin, although similar to Facebook is more of a business connection site. The free site allows allows its users to upload their resumes, skills, interests, and hobbies into an online resume. It also helps them to connect with people inside their workplace or other workplaces. People have the option of sharing photos, articles, thoughts, and advice on their Linkedin pages. This site is great because it allows people to network, find new job opportunities, volunteer time, and also connect with past coworkers. There are many aspects of Linkedin that make it a great social learning tool. Some of those aspects include: encouraging learners to develop an online presence, assignments can be created based off of research done with Linkedin, activities can be developed around research found on Linkedin, people can share networking benefits, and Linkedin groups can be created in order to keep learners up to date on learning material. (Pappas, 2014).BenefitsLimitationsExamplesSocial media platform dedicated for business useNot all companies have a LinkedIn pageNeed a good head shot and catchy headlineIndividuals are able to network and make new connectionsNot all people understand the benefits of LinkedIn and in return do not have a profileList experience, contact info and Active online resume and community of endorsersConclusionSocial learning when done via social media, which include but is not limited to blogs, instant messaging, group discussion boards, wikis, video chats and other social media applications, allows learners to explore and educate themselves on a variety of subjects from multiple perspectives. When any organization and /or the users for social media delve into social learning there will always come across barriers and ethical dilemmas. Organizations need to help support its users by facilitating problem solving through social learning as well as strengthen their relationships through social media. ReferencesBingham, T., & Conner, M. (2010). The new social learning: A guide to transforming organizations through social media. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.Clark, D. (2014). Instructional Design: Social Learning and Social Media. Retrieved from . (2016). Company info. Retrieved from University. (2016). 7 great advantages of Facebook. Retrieved from . (2010). 4 Reasons why Facebook is an Educational Tool for Schools. Retrieved from Solutions Magazine. (2016). Overcoming the Challenges of Social Learning in the Workplace. Retrieved from , S., & Hall, L. R. (2012). The connected educator: Learning and leading in a digital age. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.Pappas, C. (2014). How to Use LinkedIn for Social Learning. Retrieved from , M., & McMahon, D. (2015, December). What is Twitter? - Definition from . Retrieved August 31, 2016, from YouTube. (n.d.) About YouTube. Retrieved from ................
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