Self-Guided Social Media

Training Manual

Pedro Contreras, Keith Himmer, Sylvia McClung,

Sharon Nettles, Reginald Titus, Peter Yidiaris
University of Phoenix
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
AET/562
H. Garth Beerman
April 13, 2015

Social Learning overview

Social learning through media involves sharing
knowledge ad critical
information among learners by
engaging virtual discussions.

Social learning is one of the fastest growing components of

trainings and education settings.

Social learning can occur between professionals, peers, or

general experts. Individuals can provide valid input from a broad
perspective.

Today, training corporations can incorporate social learning into

their programs to motivate employees and potential clients.

Elements associated with the social learning:

Increase Collaboration:
Identify Goals:
Encourage Learning New Tools:

Social Learning
Social learning has become prevalent in education and work
environments. Working together to increase knowledge is an
essential component. However, some individuals may find it hard
to work together efficiently.
The barriers of social learning may include:
Cultural barriers:

Personal Barriers:

Emotional Barriers:

Social Learning cont.

The clear objective of social learning is to learn from one another.

Individuals can follow the following social learning practices at
work.
Encourage participation
Provide adequate tools
Clear communication lines

Problem Solving through

Social Learning
When business problem arises, social learning provides the
capability to move services, assets, and guidance closer to
where they are needed to people seeking answers, solving
problems, overcoming uncertainty, and improving how they
work, (Bingham, T., 2010, p. 8).
Social learning and social media tools help facilitate and
overcome problems.
Provides a rapid exchange of information between
organizations, employees, and clients.
New discoveries are shared instantly

Problem Solving through

Social Learning cont.
Social learning can be especially effective when helping
employees obtain perspective on a particular problem. This
can provide information within the company for the
employee to view.
Using micro sharing
Employees collaborate in the work place for different
perspectives on the problem.
Information is assembled, viewed, discussed, and possibly
resolved in most cases.

Addressing Business Issues and

Strengthening Relationships
through Social Learning

Social learning can be used to address issues in business and

strengthen professional relationships within and between
organizations both large and small.
Employees will make the best use of social media and properly
communicate between their colleagues and competitors.
If the leadership has set goals and objectives based on the
completion of the social learning, then the value added will be
commensurate with the quality of the training.

Addressing Business Issues and

Strengthening Relationships
through Social Learning cont.
The training department should produce a document with clear
guidelines for all employees with regards to the use of social media
within the organization and that information should be promulgated
well before the training begins.
Indicators of successful training could include increased productivity
or efficiency, improved quality control processes within the
manufacturing plant, or improved sales and revenue.
The organizations training coordinator will need to allocate those
resources carefully and place them where they will make the most
significant impact.
Once the training department establishes a quality social learning

Social Media Tools

By embarking on a new approach to address the development
needs of employees, the application of several popular social
media tools, will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the
learning environment. The tools selected for this initiative are a
diverse set of applications that will address various needs within
the employee development model.
Wiki: Wiki is a web-based application that enables true
collaboration by providing an on-line workspace.
Facebook: Facebook is an internet-based application that
enables the limitless creation of virtual communities.
Twitter: Twitter is a social networking tool that supports
broadcast communication and responses in short bursts of a
limit of 140 Characters (Tweet).
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a social media tool that was designed
specifically to serve the needs individuals interested in

Conclusion
The information presented in this manual provides an in depth
overview of the advantages of social learning and how this
concept is applied with social media. As previously mentioned
within this manual, social learning is a method which encourages
individuals to participate in a continuous learning process where
they have the opportunity to acquire and share new information.
It is clear that social learning is becoming one of the most popular
and effective learning methods used in different industrial and
educational institutions. Since social learning is not limited to take
place within an educational setting, it commonly takes place in
ones daily life interaction.
One of the greatest advantages of utilizing social media tools to
promote social learning is that social media tools are not
necessarily limited by geographical factors. Social media tools
allow live communication to take place between individuals in
different places and within different time zones.

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