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Do Social Media Tools Make Smarter Learning Solutions?
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Do Social Media Tools Make Smarter Learning Solutions?
Learning is Important
Dr. Tracy Alloway, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, conducted a small study with 15 grade school children. Her results suggested interactive online mental exercises could improve young children`s results on generalized intelligence compared to a control group. The mental exercises shared conceptual connections with highly-interactive social networking sites such as Facebook. Yet we cannot leap to conclusions. Dr. Alloway`s study, while interesting, must be replicated before researchers can offer meaningful advice to learning and development practitioners.
At this point, we cannot make sweeping statements, and say "Twitter and YouTube weaken corporate learning programs" while "Facebook accelerates corporate learning." We do not have conclusive evidence for such claims. While academics build their carefully constructed experiments, we must actively respond to urgent needs and explore new technologies.
In this article, we will look at what we currently know about the rapidly evolving field of social learning. We also will identify current knowledge and skills gaps that must be filled within the field.
Social learning comes to the corporation
Unlike many recent technologies, social media first became popular outside of the workplace. Many employers often view social media as a temptation that lures employees away from "real work." Some companies have even banned third-party social media Websites entirely.
Source:
http://www.managesmarter.com/msg/content_display/publications/e3i422dde68f61e91f
