Facilitator-Less social learning is like curing ourselves

Michele Medved and Terrence Wing wrote on "Facilitating Learning with Social Media."

It is interesting reading and sharing of a case study. Thanks.

The article triggered some more thinking in a project I am working right now. One of its goal is to create an online learning system to help learners learn but a "Facilitator-Less Social Learning."

These are questions I ask myself.

What is the contribution of a facilitator?
It is to ask questions, primarily, to help contributors, learners to direct their efforts. Leading and coordinating is probably a secondary tasks.

What is the main asset of a facilitator?
There are many, but key is a framework to help others "think through things." Or a way to help others reflect on content, process and interaction to help learners learn.

What is the origin of facilitation?
From the human development, psychoanalytic practice popularized in group dynamics; largely a in-person or face to face event.

What I see most of the social learning networks today?
Mostly open ended and lateral learning environment where every access all content, learn, interact and collaborate -- an open space.

Why do we have the need or is there a need to facilitate in social learning?
I am guessing that perhaps we feel the need to help learners, which is laudable. But also, perhaps we see a gap in most social learning. We see a group of learner who needed to be prodded and guided to arrive at learning ends. This sounds like classroom session to me.

What social learning is and should be?
It is an open ended, self-directed, self-rewarding method of learning; unstructured. People learn the way they want to whether we call it learning or observing. This is the environment of social learning.

What is missing in social learning?
It is a facilitator? Is it a certain skill the social learners must have? I submit it is a skill that is most needed by learners. Tony Kareer and Michele Martin have been talking about work literacy skills - mostly how to learn with the new open learning tools with web 2.0.

Should we enable (enabler, not train, not facilitate) social learners to facilitate their own learning?
This is an oxymoron. How can one cure oneself? On the contrary we always cure ourselves; our own body does. Doctors and medicines act as "facilitators" of our healing. Assuming we are normal and do not have impaired organ and physical problems, we should be able to heal ourselves.

In essence the facilitator is an external "medicine" like a dose of cure to redirect our internal systems to cure. To boost our innate abilities to cure ourselves.

What form should the enabler be?
I suspect it is helping learners learn to ask really self-reflective questions on three areas: Content, Process, Application. What and how this content mean to me? How I can use it? How can I apply it to make a difference?

The project I am working right now is an experiment, and it has given me more confidence that "we may not really need to facilitate social learning" if we set up the enablers.

Time to stay out of the way?
My main concern with facilitated social learning suggests that we need to assist learners. We don't have to. They can learn by themselves. And we have a challenge to stay away from and stop their learning by facilitating them. We should enable them.

Ray Jimenez, PhD
3Minute Worlds - Learning Community Social Learning, Work and Performance
3Minute eLearning Games

"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

BP Gulf Oil Spills – a case of “be a manager, go to jail”

The news suggest that there has been early signs of the oil spill disaster. Oil rig contractors have detected earlier problems but failed to take the needed steps to avert the catastrophe.

Many years ago in my one of my first business endeavors I produced seminars on employment and safety compliance. It seems to me that one of the key issues in the BP Gulf Oil Spills goes back to the failure of companies to provide complaint systems to ensure that whistle blowers’ rights are protected. And hopefully avoid crisis like oil spills.

I am no legal expert, but I recall that some of our safety laws cover “be a manager, go to jail” requirements. These are laws that impose personal liability on managers and executives if it is proven that they failed to take necessary measures to avoid safety violations resulting to catastrophe events.

What would you do if you are the manager in an potentially disastrous environmental accident? How do you avoid going to jail?

I prepared a small exercise "Whistle Blower Rights." Your CEO wants a plan. What do would you do. Please the exercise, click here.



Ray Jimenez, PhD
3Minute Worlds - Learning Community
Social Learning, Work and Performance
3Minute eLearning Games
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

Learning Games for the "Real-World" - Alternate Reality Games - The Cookies

After or while reading, do a cookie game and you will learn and see a personal impact and meaning. Ray's request.

Jane McGonigal with Institute for the Future has researched and developed alternate games that make people move games from virtual level to real-life alternate games.

In this example, "The Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus", Jane started the game "the cookie is still rolling."

I love the inspiration of the game. And let me make a guess about what Jane is trying to accomplish (I could be wrong):

1. There are plenty of games, readings, ideas about life. In this case it is Albert Camus' essay on "Sisyphus" - which tells me the philosophy "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

2. Jane introduced the cookie rolling game for her to express her experiences, needs or concerns (existentially) and encourage others to do the same.

3. Others do the real-life game (See links to photos); organized groups of people do the game the way they best find meaningful.

4. The game has caught on and is still rolling.

I asked myself about the "Why" (see the link For Why) and it occurred to me that Jane is reminding herself and others of a personal philosophy which helps her stay focused on being "happy" in spite the "rocks we have to roll" every day.

Jane says, these games help people develop games to help them stay "happy."

Just going through the readings and photos, already made me happy -- since as a person,
I do struggle with my own rock and I, too, believe Sisyphus is happy.

Ray Jimenez, PhD www.vignettestraining.com
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

Saving the World Through Game Design

Jane McGonigal talks with Daniel Zalewski about alternate-reality gaming. From “Stories from the Near Future,” the 2008 New Yorker Conference.

Preview the video - it is inspiring to have newer ways of thinking about the future.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/mcgonigal

Ray Jimenez, PhD www.vignettestraining.com
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

Games that Social Network Members Can Play. Training please?

Mytopia http://www.mytopia.com/ is a site where social network members can play games. Please share the links if you know of sites that provide games as part of social learning.

Ray Jimenez, PhD www.vignettestraining.com
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

Who Says You Can't Do a Game on Serious Topics - from Nobelprize.org

"Trade Ruler Game" "Bertil Ohlin, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1977, showed that countries engage in and benefit from trade if their production resources differ from each other."
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/economics/trade/index.html

I find this interesting. A good example of making complex topics simple and engaging.
It is also a good design for interactive e-learning

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/economics/trade/game/ruler.html

Ray Jimenez, PhD www.vignettestraining.com
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"