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This article was downloaded by: [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign] On: 01 October 2013, At: 08:30 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Behaviour & Information Technology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbit20 Informal learning in work environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace Francisco J. García-Peñalvo a , Ricardo Colomo-Palacios b & Miltiadis D. Lytras c a Computer Science Department/Science Education Research Institute/GRIAL Research Group, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain b Computer Science Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Spain c Computer Information Systems Department, The American College of Greece, Aghia Paraskevi, Greece Accepted author version posted online: 05 Mar 2012.Published online: 19 Apr 2012. To cite this article: Francisco J. García-Peñalvo , Ricardo Colomo-Palacios & Miltiadis D. Lytras (2012) Informal learning in work environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace, Behaviour & Information Technology, 31:8, 753-755, DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2012.661548 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2012.661548 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Informal learning in work environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace

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Page 1: Informal learning in work environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace

This article was downloaded by: [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]On: 01 October 2013, At: 08:30Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Behaviour & Information TechnologyPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbit20

Informal learning in work environments: training withthe Social Web in the workplaceFrancisco J. García-Peñalvo a , Ricardo Colomo-Palacios b & Miltiadis D. Lytras ca Computer Science Department/Science Education Research Institute/GRIAL ResearchGroup, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spainb Computer Science Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Spainc Computer Information Systems Department, The American College of Greece, AghiaParaskevi, GreeceAccepted author version posted online: 05 Mar 2012.Published online: 19 Apr 2012.

To cite this article: Francisco J. García-Peñalvo , Ricardo Colomo-Palacios & Miltiadis D. Lytras (2012) Informal learning inwork environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace, Behaviour & Information Technology, 31:8, 753-755, DOI:10.1080/0144929X.2012.661548

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2012.661548

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) containedin the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon andshould be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable forany losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use ofthe Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Informal learning in work environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace

Informal learning in work environments: training with the Social Web in the workplace

Francisco J. Garcıa-Penalvoa*, Ricardo Colomo-Palaciosb and Miltiadis D. Lytrasc

aComputer Science Department/Science Education Research Institute/GRIAL Research Group, University of Salamanca,Salamanca, Spain; bComputer Science Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganes, Spain; cComputer Information

Systems Department, The American College of Greece, Aghia Paraskevi, Greece

(Received 25 January 2012; final version received 19 March 2012)

The Internet and its increasing usage has changed informal learning in depth. This change has affected young andolder adults in both the workplace and in higher education. But, in spite of this, formal and non-formal course-basedapproaches have not taken full advantage of these new informal learning scenarios and technologies. The Web 2.0 isa new way for people to communicate across the Internet. Communication is a means of transformation andknowledge exchange. These are the facts that cannot be obviated by the organisations in their training programmesand knowledge management. This special issue is devoted to investigating how informal learning changes orinfluences online information in Social Web and training strategies in institutions. In order to do so, five papers willpresent different approaches of informal learning in the workplace regarding Web 2.0 capabilities.

Keywords: informal learning; Social Web; training; workplace; competence; skill; knowledge management

1. Introduction

Web 2.0 or Social Web (O’Reilly 2007) is changing theway users express themselves on the Internet. Everyonehas the possibility to be a content author, a photo-grapher, a video maker, a blogger and a thousandother possibilities.

The social activities that occur in the Web 2.0 openand expand communication and interaction scenarios.Therefore, there is an information interchange takingplace beyond interactions, which is the perfect seed forinformal learning.

Cross (2007) states that ‘workers learn more in thecoffee room than in the classroom’. Perhaps, using thismetaphor, Web 2.0 or, more specifically, social net-works are the new coffee rooms.

However, the question resides in whether compa-nies and other kinds of institutions have discovered thepower of the Social Web for informal learning andpermanent learning, combining it with the traditionaltraining methods.

Editors aim to study successful and unsuccessfulcases of Social Web platforms used for informallearning in training processes linked to the workplace.Editors are also interested in technical concerns of theplatforms used for this purpose. In this sense,questions pile up: Are these platforms ad hoc ones?Are these platforms started from scratch? Are theseplatforms mashup applications integrated in corpo-rate portals? Do the existing learning environments

support new social tools? Do institutions bet foropening new learning environments? How about theworkers?

This special issue is devoted to dealing with thequestions above. This includes a wide range of topics,but we are especially interested in the current practicesto manage informal learning in workplaces based onWeb 2.0 solutions. This issue intends to emphasise howinformal learning changes or influences online infor-mation in Social Web and training strategies in variousinstitutions.

2. Knowing the informal learning context

The concept of informal learning was introduced byDewey (1938). This author considered that experiencearises from the interaction of two principles: continuityand interaction. Continuity is that each experience aperson has will influence his/her future, for better orfor worse, while interaction refers to the situationalinfluence on one’s experience. Malcolm Knowles isanother important reference in the origins of informallearning due to his attempts to develop a distinctiveconceptual basis for adult education and learning viathe notion of andragogy. This is based on the followingconcepts: self-concept, experience oriented, readinessto learn, orientation to learning and motivation tolearn. He refers to informal learning as the use ofinformal programmes and, to some extent, the learning

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Behaviour & Information Technology

Vol. 31, No. 8, August 2012, 753–755

ISSN 0144-929X print/ISSN 1362-3001 online

� 2012 Taylor & Francis

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2012.661548

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gained from associational or club life. According tothis author, an organised course is usually a betterinstrument for new learning of an intensive nature,while a club experience provides the best opportunityfor practising and refining the things learned (Knowles1950).

More contemporary definitions on informal learn-ing are, for example, the spontaneous and non-structured learning that occurs in our daily life thatgo by in different contexts (Coombs 1985): any activityinvolving the pursuit of understanding, knowledge orskill which occurs outside the curricula of educationalinstitutions, or the courses or workshops offered byeducational or social agencies (Livingstone 1999).Finally, Cross (2009) stated that informal learnersusually set their own learning objectives. They learnwhen they feel a need to know. The proof of theirlearning is their ability to do something they could notdo before. Informal learning is often a pastiche ofsmall chunks of observing how others do things,asking questions, trial and error, sharing stories withothers and casual conversation. Learners are pulled toinformal learning.

Nowadays, technological and organisational inno-vation and, in particular, the affordances of theInternet are facilitating an increasing access to knowl-edge and training for individuals. That ranges fromformal courses to informal ad hoc learning. However,the greater part of the informal learning remainsunacknowledged, both inside and outside institutionaland organisational contexts. Though informal learninghas always taken place, the advent of Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT), particularly so-cial media, has facilitated these processes and madethem more perceptible. Nevertheless, there is an actualneed for methodologies and tools to make visible theseactivities. Learners need to have a way to show thecompetences they have achieved by using informalenvironments along with a means to know whatcompetences are the most relevant for a giveninstitution. Moreover, they should take advantage ofinformation generated by the system to find other userswith similar interests. The information in the systemwill be useful both for users to demonstrate theirlearning and for employers and tutors to mentor theirinformal learning.

As a result of its importance, informal learning isincreasingly seen as an aspect of learning that requiresattention. For example, the CEDEFOP ‘EuropeanGuidelines for Validating Informal and Non-formalLearning’ (2009) contains experiences of more than20 countries in the validation of informal and non-formal learning. The ECOTEC European Inventory ofvalidation of non-formal and informal learning (http://www.uk.ecorys.com/europeaninventory/) provides a

catalogue of good practices in the area of validationfor policy-makers. There are also several initiativesregarding informal learning practice and recognition,such as MyElvin Social Network for language practice(Garcıa-Penalvo et al. 2012), National QualificationSystems and European Qualifications Framework,TENCompetence project (Berlanga et al. 2008) thatprovides a set of tools to support lifelong learning orFREE (Fostering Return to Employment throughEntrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity) thataimed at providing an interactive tool to be used bythose who work with the unemployed, allowingthem to gain different kinds of skills to supportindividuals who want to start a business (http://www.spi.pt/free/).

3. Contents of this special issue

In this special issue, we are glad to introduce fiveinnovative and interesting works that present differentinformal learning conceptions under the auspices ofWeb 2.0 philosophy.

Valencia-Garcıa et al., in their paper ‘InformalLearning through Expertise Mining in the Social Web’,introduce a semantic platform that allows an expertisemining from Social Web-generated content. This tool,given a topic of interest, carries out natural languageprocessing and semantically enhanced operations onblog and microblog posts to identify experts in thatspecific topic area.

Milovanovic et al.’s contribution is entitled ‘Wikias a Corporate Learning Tool: Case Study forSoftware Development Company’. In this paper,authors present the use of wikis as a knowledgeexchange tool for companies with the focus oninformal learning in a case study of a multinationalsoftware development company. Such company hasbeen successfully using wiki as a corporate tool since2001 with quite interesting results in the companyknowledge management strategy.

The paper entitled ‘Web-based Knowledge Ex-change through Social Links in the Workplace’, byFilipowski et al., underlines the huge importance ofthe knowledge exchange between employees withincompanies. Authors introduce SocLaKE, a knowledgemanagement system based on social links gathered byvarious information technology systems. Users of sucha system ask their queries and the system recommendsknown and unknown experts selected out of user’sfriends. The friends either provide the solution orforward the query to their friends. By means of theestablished social paths to experts, the system facil-itates informal learning and exchange of latentknowledge between organisation members in theirworkplace.

754 F.J. Garcıa-Penalvo et al.

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Christ et al., with their paper entitled ‘Evaluationof Fostering Students’ Creativity in Preparing AidedRecalls for Revision Courses Using Electronic Revi-sion and Recapitulation Tools 2.0 (EREP 2.0)’,introduce an evaluation of EREP 2.0. This tool wasdeveloped to foster creative moments while producingaided recalls (pictures, electronic notes, etc.). The resultof this study shows an enhancement of the experienceof creativity and thus an improvement of the synthesisand comprehension skills in an informal learningscope.

The last paper in this special issue is entitled‘Challenges of Knowledge Management and Creationin Communities of Practice Organisations of Deaf andNon-Deaf Members: Requirements for a Web Plat-form’, by Trindade et al. In this work, authors presenta very interesting case study of a community ofpractice that includes deaf members and in which theknowledge management tools play a very central role.

In conclusion, we would like to take this opportu-nity to thank authors who have contributed to thisspecial issue. We would also like to acknowledge thehelp provided by the reviewers. We also want to thankAhmet Cakir, Editor-in-Chief of Behaviour & Infor-mation Technology for his endless support during theeditorial process.

The set of papers in this issue shows the importanceof the Social Web for informal learning in workenvironments. We hope that readers find the papers ofthis volume useful and innovative.

Acknowledgements

This project has been funded with the support of theLifelong Learning Program of the European Union

TRAILER Project (Reference: 519141-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-KA3-KA3MP) and with the support from the EuropeanCommission. Also, this work is partially supported by theRegional Council of Education of Junta de Castilla y Leonthrough the project GR47. This publication only reflectsthe views of the authors, and the commission cannot beheld responsible for any use which may be made of theinformation contained therein.

References

Berlanga, A.J., et al., 2008. Towards a TENCompetenceePortfolio. International Journal of Emerging Technolo-gies in Learning, 3, 24–28.

CEDEFOP, 2009. European guidelines for validating non-formal and informal learning. Luxembourg: Office forOfficial Publications of the European Communities.

Coombs, P.H., 1985. The world crisis in education: a viewfrom the eighties. New York: Oxford University Press.

Cross, J., 2007. Informal learning. Rediscovering the naturalpathways that inspire innovation and performance. SanFrancisco, CA: John Wiley.

Cross, J., 2009. Informal Learning 2.0. Sustaining the cor-poration in the network era. Chief Learning Officer, 8 (8),16.

Dewey, J., 1938. Experience and education. New York:Collier Books (Collier edition first published 1963).

Garcıa-Penalvo, F.J., Gonzalez-Gonzalez, J.C., and Murray,M., 2012. MyElvin: a Web-based informal learning plat-form for languages practice. International Journal ofKnowledge Society Research, 3 (1), 26–39.

Knowles, M.S., 1950. Informal adult education. Chicago:Association Press.

Livingstone, D., 1999. Exploring the icebergs of adultlearning: findings of the first Canadian survey of informallearning practices. Canadian Journal for the Study ofAdult Education, 13 (2), 49–72.

O’Reilly, T., 2007. What is Web 2.0: design patterns andbusiness models for the next generation of software.International Journal of Digital Economics, 65, 17–37.

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