Social Learning in the Association Space

Social Learning in the Association Space, sponsored by Meridian Knowledge Solutions, is packed with data on how associations are using social technologies as part of their learning initiatives. It also offers a range of brief case studies.  Get the report with no strings attached just by clicking the link below. (No strings – but we would be really grateful if you would share this page with other people.)

• www.tagoras.com/download/6126

Some quick highlights

The report draws on data collected in a survey conducted by Tagoras earlier this year. Out of 102 organizations that responded to the survey, 54.9 percent indicated their organization uses social technologies as part of at least one learning product or service it provides. An additional 25.5 percent indicate they plan to start using social technologies for learning in the coming 12 months, leaving only 16.7 percent not using social technologies for learning and with no plans to start in the coming year.

Survey respondents who reported using social technologies explicitly as part of their learning initiatives where asked to select which of 11 types of social technologies they use. Web video sites such as YouTube (70.0 percent) top the list of technologies currently in use, followed by discussion forums (65.3 percent), microblogging tools like Twitter (53.2 percent), and publicly available social networking sites (51.0 percent). Facebook (61.2 percent) and Twitter (55.1 percent) led the pack of specific technologies used by organizations for learning.

Cited by almost three-quarters of survey respondents, a place-based annual meeting of members was the number one type of learning product associated with social technologies. Webinars and Webcasts were a close second, cited by 71.4 respondents. Four other learning products and services were cited by a majority of respondents as ones with which they currently use social technologies: Online learning, excluding Webinars and Webcasts (63.8 percent), place-based meetings of members other than an annual conference (58.7 percent), place-based seminars (52.2 percent), online communities of practice (51.1 percent).