SOCIAL LEARNING IN ELEARNING: HOW TO APPLY IT?

Let us go a step further and suggest that social learning dates back to 1950, to Albert Bandura's hypothesis that individuals learn better when they work together. It's all about regular information sharing and coaching among group members, which helps students learn the content much better and faster.

In eLearning, social learning may take two forms: direct and indirect social interaction between students. Direct contact entails personal asynchronous communication (for example, a Zoom conference), whereas indirect contact entails dialogue via social media, e-mail, and so on.

What Social Learning Is All About?

This heading introduces the main topic of the section, which is social eLearning. It suggests that the following content will provide an overview or definition of what social learning entails. Social learning refers to the process of learning from others, often through observation, imitation, and social learning model. These social learning approaches are grounded in the idea that people can acquire new behaviors and knowledge by watching and interacting with others.

Main Elements of Social Learning

This subheading indicates that the section will delve into the key components or factors that constitute social learning. The main social learning elements typically include:

• Observation:

  Watching others perform a behavior.

• Imitation:

  Replicating the behavior observed.

• Modeling:

  Demonstrating behaviors for others to observe and imitate.

• Social Interaction:

  Engaging with others to facilitate learning.

• Reinforcement:

  Receiving feedback or rewards that encourage certain behaviors.

Why Should We Care About It?

This heading introduces a new major section that will discuss the significance of social learning. It will likely explain the benefits and importance of social learning in various contexts, such as education, the workplace, and everyday life. Reasons to care about social eLearning might include:

• Enhanced Learning:

  Social learning can lead to more effective and engaging learning experiences.

• Collaboration:

  It fosters teamwork and collaboration.

• Adaptability:

  Helps individuals adapt to new environments and situations by learning from others.

• Cultural Transmission:

  Plays a crucial role in passing on cultural norms and values.

By structuring the content in this way, the document provides a clear and logical progression from defining social learning, explaining its core gaming elements, to emphasizing its importance.

Benefits of Social Learning in eLearning

Building your eLearning process on social learning principles can provide you with some important benefits, making this learning style a popular eLearning trend.

1.Naturalness and Familiarity of Learning

Many students may not realize it, yet one of the most natural forms of learning is social learning. We learned in this manner thousands of years ago, and it is still effective in the present world. This style of learning does not need any planning or time constraints. Everyone utilizes it on a daily basis, both consciously and unconsciously.

For example, the student was complimented on his or her wonderful response. Following that, other students proceeded to assess which components in their classmates' comments were remarkable, and they were granted permission by the teacher to adopt these elements for themselves. And this is simply one of the most basic examples of social learning's naturalness.

2.Fluent Collaboration and Engagement of Passive Learners

The learning process is far from the only thing that occurs in collaboration with other students in social elearning. Students gradually begin to support each other more frequently, seek advice and assistance, and collaborate and learn better as a result. This coherence boosts the eLearning process's productivity and speed.

However, keep in mind that we are all unique. There will always be introverts among active students who find it difficult to integrate into such a cooperative learning process. Even if these scenarios are possible, don't assume that this training approach is just appropriate for extroverts. Listening to other individuals explain their concerns makes it simpler for introverts to learn.

3.Improved Information Assimilation

For those who are more interested in the details, let us state that data and statistics are on the side of social learning. In standard learning, for example, pupils retain around 5% of what they hear from the educator and 10% of what they read in the educational material.

These statistics, however, rise when students actively participate in the learning process, and as we all know, activity and human interaction are key components of social learning. 50% of the content is assimilated through active debate with other students. This is one of the primary reasons why the eLearning process should be built on social learning principles.

This social learning strategy is quite simple to implement in open-source LMS systems such as DrivEd. Users, for example, can utilize DrivEd's internal tools to develop content-specific or wide discussion topics that can be made public or fully anonymous. Furthermore, the publishing platform allows for the formation of divided discussions limited to students from a specified group. Flexible conversation management tools enable educators to regulate the structure of threads, attaching crucial responses and therefore make the topic more understandable to newcomers. 

Related article: The 10 best learning management systems for small businesses in 2022. 

These are just a few of the social learning and debate options available through DrivEd. You should contact a professional team that specializes in working with DrivEd for a more in-depth introduction to the issue.

4.Easier Knowledge Gaps Identification

When students study together, they cover more educational content in a shorter amount of time. Furthermore, you eliminate knowledge gaps by adding active conversations, verifying each other's assignments, and including gamification components into the learning process. If students are unsure about something, they may always seek assistance from other students, who will offer the content in an understandable format that will be rapidly absorbed.

Main Ways to Adopt Social Learning in eLearning

After hearing about the benefits of including social learning into your eLearning process, you're probably curious about the strategies that may be utilized to incorporate certain components of this learning method. We've gathered four key choices to assist you in implementing social learning for your eLearning needs.

Create Teamwork Opportunities

The first step toward social learning is to provide appropriate chances for student engagement. To begin, encourage any type of interaction amongst pupils so that they may relax and realize they are doing the correct thing.

Following that, it is worthwhile to introduce diverse activities that will require collaboration and interaction with one another. They can involve several group projects, pair work, general subject discussion, evaluating colleagues' work, and much more. It is difficult to envisage formal social learning without these components.

Implement Competition Elements

Everyone wants to compete and win, and these characteristics may be used to make social learning more informal and enjoyable. Gamification components such as leaderboards with a point system, achievements, and much more can be used. The Raccoon Gang team, for example, developed the Gamification Management Tool for the Gamma Project. We created an algorithm with changeable criteria for awarding awards, as well as tools for designing personalized badges and the ability to add additional rewardable events to the system. Related article: eLearning gamification in the workplace: benefits and examples.

Implement Q&A Sessions

Q&A sessions are a very engaging style of learning that is particularly popular with students. The LMS you choose must provide such capability in order for you to apply them. Even if you lack such features, these sessions may be arranged in any web conferencing platform.

Allow students time to select relevant questions, set a time, invite SMEs or stakeholders, and begin an organized session. Allow each student to ask pertinent questions and receive comprehensive responses. And don't be concerned if any of the responses spark a minor debate. Discussions are excellent for improving the material's digestion. Related article: 12 types of employee training that can be done using eLearning. 

Give Feedback and Ask for it

Feedback is the basis of the learning process and should never be overlooked. Praise kids for great interaction, and teach other students where their colleague did wrong and why it was worthwhile to improve this or that activity.

When providing feedback, don't forget to ask for it yourself. Allow students to evaluate the present social learning process and describe which components are effective and which need to be improved. To increase the social eLearning process, find common ground and interact.

Social Learning Theory: 3 Common Myths

1. Social learning is a trend

Many people believe that social learning is a new trend or a passing fad. However, this is a misconception. Social learning is not a recent development; it has been a fundamental aspect of human behavior and learning for centuries. The concept was popularized by Albert Bandura in the 1970s, but its roots are much deeper, as humans have always learned from observing and interacting with others. Far from being a trend, social learning is an enduring and essential part of how we acquire knowledge and skills.

2. Online social learning must involve social media

Another myth is that online social learning requires the use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. While social media can facilitate social learning by connecting people and allowing them to share knowledge, it is not the only medium through which social learning can occur online. Online forums, collaborative tools, video conferencing, and other digital platforms can also support social learning. The key aspect of social learning is the interaction and exchange of knowledge between individuals, which can happen in various online environments, not just social media.

3. Social learning is only for younger learners

There is a common belief that social learning is primarily beneficial for children and younger learners. However, social learning is valuable for people of all ages. Adults and even older adults can benefit significantly from social learning, especially in professional and continuing education contexts. For example, mentorship online learning programs, peer learning groups, and collaborative projects in the workplace are all forms of social learning that can enhance the skills and knowledge of adult learners. Social learning fosters a collaborative and engaging social learning environment, which is advantageous for learners at any stage of life.

Wrapping Up

For good reason, social learning is one of the most popular online learning trends. This eLearning trend's naturalness makes it very easy to apply, and the benefits of this learning strategy are enormous. If you require specialized tools to help you build a one-of-a-kind social learning experience, professionals can assist you in developing custom eLearning solutions.

PioGroup is a bespoke eLearning solution development firm. Our primary purpose is to assist clients in meeting all of their eLearning requirements as effectively as possible. Share your eLearning ideas and ambitions with us, and one of our staff will contact you about future opportunities for collaboration.