Tag Archives: peer-to-peer learning
Social Learning in Financial Services – Tales from the Real World

Social Learning in Financial Services – Tales from the Real World

by on November 11, 2011 in eLearning, Informal Learning, sales, social learning, subject matter experts, Training Development, Uncategorized, user adoption

I sat down with Shane Raymond, Director of Training and Development at RBC Wealth Management, the US Wealth Management division of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, to discuss social learning. Shane, a veteran of the training industry, has encountered various levels of success with social learning and I asked him to share those experiences with us.

Rob: What is the audience you’re dealing with at RBC Wealth Management?

Shane: RBC Wealth Management has more than 2,000 Financial Advisors scattered through the country. The financial services industry has evolved a lot over the last decade. In the past, it was about stocks and bonds, now it is more complex than ever. There are many more investment vehicles out there and advisors need to be knowledgeable about areas such as life insurance, long-term care, charitable giving, trusts and estate planning, etc. Given the current economic environment and the …

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Unearthing Diamonds in Twitter

Unearthing Diamonds in Twitter

by on September 23, 2011 in Collaboration Tools, Informal Learning, mobile learning, performance support, social learning, Social Media

First, I have to confess that I am not a Twitter pro. It was only about six months ago that I set up a “business” Twitter account, and I have only a few tweets and followers to my name. My monthly Twitter stats are embarrasing, at best. I’ve had several conversations with colleagues about Twitter that end in “I just don’t get it.”

I am starting to get it, though. Partly because I haven’t given up (I skim my Twitter feed almost daily). Partly because of a few Twitter users that I’ve been following.

My Twitter breakthrough came about a month ago — along with a surprising social learning lesson. As I was preparing a talk on the trends in social learning, I promptly turned to Twitter. It was at that point that I realized Twitter was my primary source for social learning and social media news. Within few daily tweets, I was beginning to understand the impact social learning and …

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The Division of Wiki Labor: Wikis in the Working World

The Division of Wiki Labor: Wikis in the Working World

by on July 15, 2011 in Wikis

It’s often been said that one of the best ways to learn a subject is to attempt to teach it to others.  Whereas a hazy, half-developed understanding of something might be good enough to allow you to squeak by on your own, to be able to teach a topic requires all-around mastery of the material. 

While the truth behind this statement is well documented, its translation into the world of the busy worker is not always so cut-and-dried.  Every year, the number of tools and processes that the average employee is required to have some level of expertise with increases, while the amount of time devoted to training decreases.  Those subject matter experts with the inclination to pass on their knowledge to others increasingly find that their avenues to do so are either blocked or shrinking rapidly.  The result for companies can be a situation where crucial corporate know-how becomes …

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If You Keep Practicing, You Will Get the Hang of It (or Thumbs Up for Rock and Roll!)

If You Keep Practicing, You Will Get the Hang of It (or Thumbs Up for Rock and Roll!)

by on June 10, 2011 in Informal Learning, Instructional Design, performance support, social learning, system implementation training, Training Development

 

For the last couple of summers I’ve played in an “over 40” adult soccer league. Last summer, I scored my first and only goal. It’s not that I’m skilled by any means; I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time and had the presence of mind to aim and kick toward the goal.

Unfortunately, the rest of the time I run around the field like a chicken with my head cut off (a metaphor that I can picture all too well after spending summer days as a youth on my aunt’s farm).

I can’t attribute my lack of soccer skills to being unfamiliar with the game. Over the last 18 years (the age of my oldest daughter), I’ve seen over 500 games and watched countless practices. I’ve seen highly-skill players and coaches demonstrate core foot skills.

I’ve just never practiced.

Anyway, I signed up …

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Games in Learning: Review of Grockit.com

Games in Learning: Review of Grockit.com

by on June 6, 2011 in Gaming Theory

Those of you who visit the Social Learning Blog frequently will know by now that I’ve been on something of a “games-in-learning” kick for a while.  One major reason, of course, is that games represent one of the cutting-edge aspects of our industry, and our blog seeks to explore anything that’s new and exciting.  Another reason, though – and this coincidentally helps to explain the appeal of games to learners in the first place – is that it’s such a fun topic to write about.  What’s not to love about a learning strategy that is informative and empirically proven to be effective, yet engaging and entertaining at the same time?

While we at Dashe & Thomson are generally more in touch with advances in learning techniques in the corporate sphere, it’s always good to stay abreast of what’s going on in education generally (after all, the fields are related…).  With …

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