Are you ready for learning with Web 2.0?

The term Web 2.0 was coined in 2004 by Tim O'Reilly to contrast the 'push' mechanism then used by most internet applications with the collaborative way that the web seemed to be evolving and continues to evolve today.

While there is no agreed definition of Web 2.0, the term is used to describe something very real- a shift in the use of the internet. Unlike Web 1.0, Web 2.0 is participative. The two classic contrasts made are between Britannica Online (produced centrally by experts-Web 1.0) and Wikipedia ('crowd sourced' from interested individuals globally, and so Web 2.0) and between personal websites (Web 1.0) and blogging (Web 2.0). For those in Learning and Development (L&D) one of the key differences is between content created and managed centrally by an L&D department and content created by and distributed between learners.

For some in L&D the idea that content can be created outside the training department is disturbing. For others, it is liberating, making the department more effective at little cost. Others still wonder what the fuss is about when most of the daily grind of their L&D department is still about designing and delivering courses, either online or in the classroom.

Whatever the reaction, L&D cannot afford to ignore web 2.0 learning. It is happening right now in most organizations. Ignored, it will continue to flourish, but may be very ineffective - good information may be difficult to find, and poor practices inadvertently promoted. In particular, newer members of any organization, including Gen-Y employees, will naturally turn to Web 2.0 for learning, and will see any L&D department that does not embrace it as irrelevant at best.

The best way to use Web 2.0 learning is not to treat it as something to be added on the side of existing training, but to integrate it completely into the organization's current learning programs and systems.

This CERTPOINT Systems white paper explores how learning and development can benefit from Web 2.0 technologies, using the best of what is available and harnessing it to support effective learning in the workplace.

Download