from Jay Cross and Internet Time Group

This blog is closing…

by Jay Cross on February 24, 2011

I started this blog when Informal Learning was released, November 10, 2006.

The informal learning meme has gone mainstream. I am gratified. That crusade is behind me.

Informal learning is more important than ever. It’s part of life. It no longer needs an in-your-face site to promote it.

These days I focus my energies on helping organizations work smarter. Informal learning is part of the mix, but so are social business, brain science, systems thinking, and a bunch of other things.

Join me at Internet Time Blog. That’s where I’ve blogged for more than a decade and where I engage new thoughts and interactions.

You want Jay, that’s where I’ll be. Even I was getting confused about which blog to post in.

The archives will live on. The Internet Time Search box will continue to cover both blogs.

Subscribe to Internet Time blog here (Feedburner RSS).

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Re-reading A New Culture of Learning

by Jay Cross on February 13, 2011

A New Culture of Learning by John Seely Brown and Doug Thomas

This short book (136 pages) is inspiring. I just read it a second time, something I very rarely do. These paragraphs lept out and grabbed me:

Peer-to-Peer Learning
In the new culture of learning, people learn through their interaction and participation with one another in fluid relationships that are the result of shared interests and opportunity. In this environment, the participants all stand on equal ground—no one is assigned to the traditional role of teacher or student. Instead, anyone who has particular knowledge of, or experience with, a given subject may take on the role of mentor at any time. Mentors provide a sense of structure to guide learning, which they may do by listening empathically and by reinforcing intrinsic motivation to help the student discover a voice, a calling, or a passion. Once a particular passion or interest is unleashed, constant interaction among group members, with their varying skills and talents, functions as a kind of peer amplifier, providing numerous outlets, resources, and aids to further an individual’s learning.

Learning from others is neither new nor revolutionary; it has just been ignored by most of our educational institutions. The college experience is a perfect example. When students set foot on campus in their freshman year, they begin a learning experience that is governed only in part by their classroom interactions. Assuming they live on campus, sleep eight hours a night, and attend classes three hours a day, students are immersed in a learning environment for an additional thirteen hours a day. Simply by being among the people around them—in study groups, for instance—students are learning from their environment, participating in an experience rich in resources of deep encounters.

The Emergence of the Collective
Our ability to produce, consume, and distribute knowledge in an unlimited, unfiltered, and immediate way is the primary reason for the changes we see today. One no longer needs to own a television station, a printing press, or a broadcast transmitter to disseminate information, for example. With just a computer and access to the internet, one can view or consume an almost unimaginably diverse array of information and points of view.

But equally important is the ability to add one’s own knowledge to the general mix. That contribution may be large, such as a new website, or it may be a series of smaller offerings, such as comments on a blog or a forum post. It may even be something as trivial as simply visiting a website. But in each case, the participation has an effect, both in terms of what the individual is able to draw from it and how it shapes and augments the stream of information.

This core aspect of education in the new culture of learning presents a model for understanding learning in the face of rapid change. Teachers no longer need to scramble to provide the latest up-to-date information to students because the students themselves are taking an active role in helping to create and mold it, particularly in areas of social information.

We call this environment a collective. As the name implies, it is a collection of people, skills, and talent that produces a result greater than the sum of its parts.10 For our purposes, collectives are not solely defined by shared intention, action, or purpose (though those elements may exist and often do). Rather, they are defined by an active engagement with the process of learning.

Workscapes
Here’s an important aspect of that I call a workscape:

Students learn best when they are able to follow their passion and operate within the constraints of a bounded environment. Both of those elements matter. Without the boundary set by the assignment of playing the prelude, there would be no medium for growth. But without the passion, there would be nothing to grow in the medium. Yet the process of discovering one’s passion can be complicated.

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Free webinar, Wednesday, February 16th

by Jay Cross on February 8, 2011

Training Smarter, Working Smarter

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 11 AM PST/ 2 PM EST

FREE

Considering the fast pace and super-connectedness of today’s business environment, is the old static classroom really the best place for achieving modern training objectives?

Hear Jay Cross, a leading expert on informal learning, for a far-ranging conversation about how organizations are working – and training – smarter in the network era.

Find out how smart businesses today are reaping the benefits of continuous, peer-to-peer learning and collaboration.

I prefer conversations to presentations. Bring your questions. After the introduction, I’ll be happy to let you hi-jack the session to talk about what’s on your mind.

Attend this webinar to learn how:

• Work and learning are converging.
• Informal learning often costs less and delivers more than formal class time.
• An elevator pitch will help you overcome management objections.
• Social learning can help you reach training goals faster.

Register

Three people will win copies of the new Working Smarter Fieldbook.

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Change or die

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Happy Multidisciplinary 2011!

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