Although the use of Web 2.0 technologies for learning is on the up (see Learning 2.0 - an update from the eLearning Guild), it's also true to say that most employers don't know which way to start (see How are employers responding to Gen Y and Web 2.0?). It's therefore not surprising to see new tools enter the market that employers can more easily relate to.
Two examples appeared today. The first is from one of the major corporate LMS providers, Saba. According to the announcement, Saba Social will incorporate "comprehensive social networking tools - blogs, communities of practice, wikis, discussion boards and social connection capabilities will enable people to conduct informal knowledge exchange, build connected communities and extend blended learning." The new system integrates with other tools in the Saba suites, including web conferencing, performance management and other HR processes.
Saba's new offering is a leaning towards Web 2.0 from what is very much a Web 1.0 starting point. The second new offering started with very much of a Web 2.0 flavour but is now positioning itself as a corporate tool. Neulio 2.0 allows you to "tap the power of social media for your organisation." Essentially, Neulio provides a low-cost hosted platform for sharing content in a structured manner, whether that's for training, customer information or performance support. The content may be textual, video, audio or PowerPoint. You can also create 'gates' between chapters using quizzes and the suchlike.
The Web 2.0 features of Neulio seem familiar enough, but will be a radical step forward for most corporates: tagging and rating content, leaving comments, media sharing, the ability for users to add content, etc.
The bronze package costs only $49/month. The silver plan, at $149/month and gold at $249/month add extra functionality that many employers will want, including compliance reporting.
These offerings, and no doubt many more to come (and others I simply don't know about), will provide a gateway to Learning 2.0 for employers who like the idea but are lost for a starting point. Let's hope that, with bigger problems on their minds, a fair number still decide to take the plunge.
While granted stability and required functionality are the most important, I do agree their offering seems very Web 1.0 and lacking some of today’s established mediums.
ReplyDeleteTake open source LMS eFront, for example. They have been offering “social” collaborative features for a few generations now. Features like live chat, public and private messaging forums, social commenting of lesson content has been there for a while, while they just recently announced support for blogs and wikis.
The fact that the platform is Open Source means any educational (or Professional) organization can extend it to meet their specialized and evolving needs.
Thanks Clive They seem to have plenty of bells and whistles built. Knowledge wants to spread freely, between the educator and the learner, and while technology can facilitate this, technology can just as likely impeded the socially constructive nature of learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Clive,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post regarding learning 2.0 post. However we have to pay for the report. Recently, I read a book about corporate games called " No Props" from http://www.inspireyourgroup.com/noprops.htm
and most of the seminars use these games.
"No Props: Great
Games with No Equipment" Activity Book
We have just launched schooX. In shooX members can publish and attend eCourses, learn online and socially, improve their skills, manage their knowledge, organize web meetings in virtual classes, take and share notes, participate in groups and place questions. Each member has its Knowledge Box which is a central point of knowledge collection where it can store books, papers, links, files and videos. By sharing the Knowledge Box it becomes part of a collaborative Knowledge Management Tool.
ReplyDeleteschooX has a very nice UI and has a a lot of features which make online and collaborative learning very attractive. Over 500 Courses with Creative Common License from several Universities are already offered for free. In the next two months schooX will host over 2000 free Courses in a very broad range of categories. It is still in Beta Version as a lot of improvements regarding course uploading and skills management are made and a lot of new features are prepared. By the end of the year a lot of new features will make the site unique in its field for everyone who want to learn online and share its knowledge with others.
In my exposure to Saba they have supported certain Web 2.0 functionality for several years: chat, communities, wikis, discussion boards etc. are all available in Saba 5.3 and 5.4 in the Saba Collaboration module.
ReplyDelete