Hold on, let me google this…
A human dilemma, I’m trying to stick to a healthy eating
regime, but just 2 weeks in it starts getting tough. Wanting a quick fix and dreaming
of chocolate/tangtastics/maoam/crème eggs/biscuits it is becoming difficult to
think of healthy alternatives. So, naturally as a Gen Y I turn to google. And
in front of me I have 12,500,000 different websites that share with me healthy snack
ideas. So luckily (or sadly) post-chocolate
sugar crash and carbohydrate overload can be avoided!
This gets me thinking, because this is only one example of
me using google to instantly seek information. Just as examples here are a few
of my recent searches on Google:
·
Can you eat the skin
of a Kiwi? (Yes and there is actually a dedicated Kiwi website).
·
How do I make a rainbow cake? (returns
51,300,000 results – mainly all recipes and ideas)
·
What exactly is meant by ‘hangry’? (Up comes
246,000 results and in case you’re wondering the meaning is – according to the
Collins English Dictionary – ‘irritable as a result of feeling hungry’- an
emotion I regularly experience).
I really could go on here, but you might be thinking why am
I telling you this? What I am trying to say is this, google is just one
example, but the internet, youtube, Siri, Cortana, social media (list could go
on!) all of these are gateways to knowledge and as a Gen Y having knowledge
readily available is second nature and quite frankly I’m not sure how I could
be without it. I mean how many times have you heard ‘ooo let me quickly google
it to find out’?.
If this is the way that many of us are now learning and
acquiring knowledge outside of work, why isn’t it reflected (for so many)
within the workplace? An expectation of many
(especially Gen Y and generations that follow) is that learning is on-demand,
easy-to-access, available at the point of need it, personal and relevant. So
should we be looking at ways to support this??
Continual developments of learning technology that can
support social learning it is making itself known and present as a way of
learning in the workplace environment.
A recent quote from the Towards Maturity report actually
highlights the benefits the support for this type of learning in the workplace
can bring: There is an ‘increase in employee engagement of more than 250% from
employees who engage in on-the job learning and sharing’. Although this
learning shift does require a slight change in Learning and Developments role,
so we shift from courses to resources, move from a broker of learning to a
guide and not to be forcing content on employees but rather tempt them to
engage in content. But are we afraid to make this shift?
It’s a subtle shift and certainly can be
effective when supported through technology. I’m certainly not saying that this
type of learning should replace all the formal learning that may happen with an
organisation, but it certainly is a thought for us to think about borrowing
from the concept proactively. So supplement this type learning rather than
seeing it as a replacement to what is of existence already, we know it can be
done and we know it can deliver organisational benefit and with this way of
learning being second nature to so many it’s certainly a concept we should be
thinking about implementing, not ignoring!
Sophie Cannon
Strategic Research Analyst
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