SocialLearning_Benefits_Barriers

Here are some of the questions to be answered in no more than 3 pages, normal margins and font, 1.5 spacing: >> The training options available on these sites allow instructors to establish blogs for interaction between learners and teachers, and allow users to subscribe to blogs and other articles of interest by entering keywords. The use of social networks for learning allows users to avoid the traditional learning classrooms and access the information they want exactly when they need it.
 * History of social media (from Jim's document):
 * Boyd and Ellison (2007) defined social networks as :// Web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or-semi public profile with a bounded system, articulate list of other users that share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections vary from site to site. //Social Networks began as a means for connecting people that share common interests. The very first social networking sight was titled sixdegrees. Com, and was founded in 1997.
 * Social networking appears in text, graphical, and video formats. Nielsen (2009) reports: // “the number of social networking sites has exploded recently, and now represents the fastest growing Internet segment” //(p. 199).
 * What is the intervention
 * The intervention consists of exploring learning through the use of social media, and its benefits and barriers.
 * What is it not?
 * The point of the intervention is not technology for technology's sake. However, technology is used as a means to distribute content through various social media channels.
 * How is it used?
 * Social Networking appeals to a significant percentage of the United States population because it is Internet based and can be accessed from a variety of equipment, such as cell phones and laptop computers. These services are usually provided in an asynchronous method so people can access the information where and when they want it.
 * Where is the value?
 * Social Networking usage has transitioned from people connecting to share social and recreational activities, to people using these sites to share and distribute educational content, such as but not limited to training materials, how-to demos, etc.
 * What does the literature say about it? What contributes to success here? Failure? What empirical evidence exists regarding its impact on performance?
 * What makes it work? What examples and data enlighten us as to when, how and why to use it?
 * Sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Ning, orkut, and WordPress, are some of the most popular sites, but only represent a small fraction of total social networking sites.
 * How does it work in authentic settings? How would people like us to use this in service to strategic goals?
 * What happens as organizations and individuals attempt to do this? What happens to real people who implement this intervention? What advice do they offer to us?
 * Comments from individual(s) who have actually deployed this approach?
 * APA references?
 * Can you provide a visual or graphic that makes it clear and vivid?
 * *Case study: A company who is experiencing push back and non-adoption from management due to perceived "barriers" (Erica's document)
 *  ** About Industrial Equip **** Co. **: Industrial Equip Co. is the industry leader in containment, pumping, filtration and shoring equipment rental solutions. Since its inception in 1942, the company has grown to become the largest and most experienced containment, pumping and filtration solutions provider with over 90 locations nationwide and international operations in Europe, Canada and Mexico. Industrial Equip Co. retains an extensive inventory of over 19,000 pieces of equipment including more than 17 varieties of steel tanks, roll off boxes, pumps, filtration, shoring and specialty equipment. It provides innovative solutions to an ever expanding number of markets that include: chemical, manufacturing, refining, construction, municipal, industrial services, environmental remediation, power generation, aerospace, food processing, tank terminal/pipeline operations, transportation, pulp and paper, mining, electronics, wastewater, and many others.


 * ** Social Media in the Workplace: **The Industrial Equip Co. Marketing department has been working on, among other marketing programs, a social media initiative geared towards providing a supportive, communal work environment to its employees. Since the company has locations worldwide, it is difficult for branches to be in contact with one another and therefore a challenge to share best practices. Due to the economic downturn experienced within the company’s customer base over the past 18 months, Industrial Equip Co. had to adjustment its number of employees. The intranet would serve as a portal to address the limited resources management now has to communicate to its employees, as well as the limited amount of time branch employees have to research best practices and share valuable information with fellow branches.


 * An intranet is currently used by Industrial Equip Co. to house HR and Operations documents and forms. The Marketing department is looking to expand the intranet as a social resource to include blogging features, relevant industry information, on-the-job best practices, case studies, white papers, jobsite images, and periodic messages from management. This avenue of communication would work extremely efficiently as RSS feeds would disseminate new Intranet posts in real-time.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> //**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Links **// <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">To link to a Web site outside of the PIE, use a "target=_blank" tag so the link will open in a new browser window. Click here for an example. If you are submitting your file as a Word document, simply put the link directly in the body of the document, UNDERLINE the text that you want to be the link, then put the URL in brackets just after the text. For example... A great resource for performance support is __EPSS central__ [link to http://www.pcd-innovations.com]. //**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">References **// Boyd, D.M., & Ellison, N.B. (2007). //Social Network Sites, Definition, History, and Scholarship//. // Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication //, 13. Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html Neilsen, (March 2009). //Global Faces and Networked Places. Message posted to// // http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf //
 * ** The Big Push Back: ** Aside from budgetary constraints, management is pushing back on the build and implementation of a new intranet system. Some of the key reasons expressed are:
 * -waste of work time: is the information that will be shared really be beneficial to the bottom line?
 * -lack of control over what information is posted and privacy issues
 * -field personnel should be in the “field” and not behind a computer/Blackberry spending time blogging
 * -only a select few would use it: low adoption due to lack of previous exposure to new media
 * -it would need to be translated into many languages for our international branches (French, German, Dutch, Spanish)