Let s not wait until they are codified and published and the consulting firms are selling them as methodologies. We have the chance to influence collaborative learning, beginning now. Rather than go on about my fears about creating lonely learners, I d like to share a few more suggestions on how to connect real live learners to each other. Build Trust To encourage sharing between people, it s vital that they trust one another. To the extent possible, we ought to encourage learning designs that gather people together physically, in addition to virtually.
People mix, mingle, and begin to feel comfortable with one another.
After the live event, they can continue the conversations online, and branch off in new and interesting ways. Blair Sheppard, President and CEO of Duke Corporate Education , describes this live and online blend as Place and Space education, something the Fuqua School of Business has done successfully with their Global Executive MBA program and their new MBA Cross-Continent program . Set up an explicit way for people taking an online course within your organization to meet each other. You can also invite alumni of online classes to mentor people currently taking the class, and share their ideas for how to get the most out of it, and how to contextualize what they are learning to their job or to the organization. While I might not know that others in my company are taking the same online course, if someone lets me know who they are and how to reach them, I can extend my learning beyond my own keyboard, screen, and modem.