Mandy is now talking about learning through collaborating and lurking – at the Institute of Executive Coaching (IEC). Mandy is the GM of Learning (?) at the IEC.

Key points:
– have been experimenting with social online learning. Started the journey in 2009.
– the IEC trains coaches – about 500 a year. Many are in Australia, but some students are in China.
– students are increasingly coming from remote locations. They couldn’t keep coming back for face-to-face meetings. So they had to develop a blended learning solution.
– give students lots of practical experiences in the classroom.
– key design question, “what do you want the learner to do?’ (what’s the journey the learner should take?)
– … “what will compel the learning to log on? And learn? And come back again?”
– … … the stick – you can’t complete your certification if you don’t log in
– … … principle – don’t overwhelm the learner. What do they need at each point in time? Eg., start with filling out your profile, then the next week you’ll find readings online, etc.
– … … facilitators to model the behaviour that they want the students to do. Encouraging light-heartedness.
– … … but it still takes people a while to learn the behaviours.
– … … students were able to learn from each other. Linking comments to people.
– the IEC is using an open source product. They made it relevant to the learners. Eg., from “Friends” to “Participants.”
– not everyone is comfortable contributing in the “public space.”
– there are different kinds of learners – eg., sit and listen quietly, versus engage.
– understanding is confirmed through assignments.
– outcomes –
– … (1) far higher and measurable participation. You can see what people have done, and haven’t done.
– … (2) working across timezones and cultures requires some negotiation. They have an agreement for 24 hour turnaround in comments.
– … (3) rich interaction between faculty and students.
– … (4) students can complete their training faster. Don’t have to meet face-to-face.
– … (5) build community
– … (6) less expensive to deliver the program me.
– … (7) higher completion rates for students.