Workshop Four - 4.4 Dropbox Social Learning Introduction and Alignment Social media use is on the rise in society. What perplexes organizational management is that they do not know how to address the issue in the workplace. Is it an evil to be contained or the best thing to happen since ........? There are differing opinions about social media's fit in the workplace, but one thing is for certain, organizations on the cutting edge are not running from social media, they are running to it. So, shouldn't up-and-coming managers, including human resource managers and human resource directors do the same? The answer is YES!! But, where do we start? This individual assignment will provide you with an opportunity to research the use of social media as a social learning tool and your own personal need to update knowledge and skills in order to keep pace with new technological developments. One peer-reviewed article has already been preselected as required reading; at least one more peer-reviewed or popular journal article will be selected by you. You will submit a written report that is 600-900 words in length and a 200-300 word action plan. Note: One additional benefit of this assignment is that it will allow teams to individually gather data, and obtain credit for the research, that could very well serve the needs of the team project assignment: Comprehensive Recruitment Plan Presentation. Upon completion of this assignment you should be able to: Discuss theories of career development, leadership development and organizational development. Describe training program development techniques and explain how they are used to create general and specialized training programs. Identify training methods, facilitation techniques, instructional methods, and program delivery techniques, and demonstrate one method of training. Name techniques used to assess training program effectiveness, including use of applicable metrics (e.g., surveys, pre- and post-testing). Resources Textbook: Human Resource Management Article: Social Learning: A Call to Action for Learning Professionals http://tinyurl.com/45xdnll Background Information "Workplace learning and development professionals [including HRM professionals] must gain a clear understanding of how to leverage technology - especially social media tools - to facilitate learning and drive business results" (Allen & Naughton, 2011, p. 51). This assignment requires the reading and utilization of the concepts found in Allen and Naughton's (2011) scholarly article titled, "Social Learning: A Call to Action for Learning Professionals." A preview of that article is best obtained from its abstract: The article reports on the American Society for Training and Development's (ASTD) competency model and how it reflects social learning's place in the 2011 work environment. According to the author, social learning has dramatic effects on how employees engage in professional learning and development. New training tools are based heavily on technology and include wikis, virtual immersion environments, and social bookmarking. Additional topics include a discussion of the emergence of social media, how social media can be used for learning, and how being social can aid in productivity (Allen & Naughton, 2011, abstract). _______________________ Reference Allen, M., & Naughton, J. (2011, August). Social learning: A call to action for learning professionals. T+D, 65(8), 50-55. Instructions 1.Locate and read the article "Social Learning: A Call to Action for Learning Professionals" (Allen & Naughton, 2011) by going to your local library or accessing the article via electronic means at http://tinyurl.com/45xdnll or through the IWU Off-Campus Library Services (OCLS) site. 2.Also, locate one article (in addition to the article by Allen & Naughton, 2011) that is related to social media and/or social learning (e.g., social media trends, research on particular types of social media, organizational use of social media, social learning, and so forth) that will support the research effort of this assignment. The article is to be at least 3-5 pages in length and published within the last 3-5 years. 3.Read both of the research articles; then, compile a paper that is 600-900 words in length using the headings below (in APA format) to address the following: a.Social Media as Social Learning: Provide a brief summary of the Allen and Naughton (2011) article (no more than two to three paragraphs). b.What Will It Mean?: In your opinion, what will the rise of social learning mean for professionals in the field of human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD)? Be specific. c.What's In Use? What type of social media is your present organization using for learning, if any? How so? If not, why not and where would be a good place to begin using social media for learning in the organization? d.Competencies: What competencies will HRM and HRD professionals need to succeed in this new paradigm? Why? How can these competencies be obtained? e.Techniques for Overcoming Organizational Challenges: From the article section, Techniques for Overcoming Organizational Challenges, select one of the three organizational challenges listed below to explain in detail how that social media challenge might be specifically addressed in the context of your own organization. i.Types of barriers and obstacles (to social learning and social media use) within organizations ii.Influencing others (e.g., demonstrating business value, ROI) of the use of social media iii.Approaches for user adoption of social media (Allen & Naughton, 2011, p. 54) f.Social Learning Technologies Self-Assessment: Determine which topics you need to know (and to what level of depth) based on relevance to your current job and to your career. Refer to the list, Social Learning Technologies - Types of Applications and Their Limitations, on page 54 of the article written by Allen and Naughton (2011) article. Focus only on the top three to five highest priority areas based on expected benefits to your organization and to you individually. In one-two paragraphs, identify the highest priority areas and explain why becoming competent in these technologies would be of benefit to your current job and/or career. g.One-Page Action Plan: i.The written portion of the paper is to include one-two paragraphs that provide supporting information about your action plan and how it will be used. ii.The actual 200-300 word action plan is to be placed in the appendix of the paper. For the onepage action plan, you are to create a learning and development plan in graphic form (i.e., chart(s), table(s), picture(s), or other form(s) of graphics) to close the gap. The plan is to be detailed and follow the guidelines of SMART goals (i.e., Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely). Its purpose is to be a visual model or table that will help you stay on target for achieving your identified goals within the timeframe identified. A number of images of one-page action plans can be found on the Internet. 4.The paper should adhere to all APA requirements (i.e., 1" margins, 12 pt. font Times New Roman; 1/2" paragraph indention, 2 spaces between sentences, 1 space for all else; in-text citations; and so forth). Thoroughly edit the paper for mechanics (i.e., sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling) prior to submitting the paper. 5.The 200-300 word graphic action plan is in addition to the written paper. There should be a minimum of one paragraph with a proper heading for each question and a paper length of 600900 words. The graphic action plan is in addition to the written paper. Do not include the questions in the paper. 6.When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Dropbox by the end of the workshop