Social Learning Activities

We are back with an all new season of The Social Learning. The Your ID team sits down to cover some solid, actionable social learning activities that can be implemented at any place of work. The wide spectrum of approaches featured in this episode are to foster a culture of continuous learning for any business or organization.

Spoiler alert: intentional spaces for social interaction are the secret sauce to keeping that sense of community alive and kicking.

 

🧪The Social Learning Lab Facebook community.

🧪The Social Learning Lab LinkedIn community.

 

The Experiment

Click here.

 

Your Hosts

Diego Diaz, Jr Digital Designer

Rocio Granela, Jr Project Manager

Katie Hynes, Instructional Designer

Nicole Papaioannou Lugara, Founder & Learning Strategist

 

Mentioned in This Episode

📗Book: The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker

📗Book: Influence, Robert Cialdini 

👤 Co-Founder of CMX: David Spinks

 👤Social Learning Conference Speaker: David Linder

 

Check us out at

https://www.yourinstructionaldesigner.com

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You asked, and we delivered.
Hi lab mates!
Welcome to The Social Learning Lab, apodclass about social learning at work.
In today's episode, the Your ID teamdishes out some solid, actionable social
learning activities that you can implementright away at your place of work.
Spoiler alert!
Intentional spaces for social interactionare the secret sauce to keeping that

(00:22):
sense of community alive and kicking.
Let's dive in.
Welcome everyone to season twoof the Social Learning podclass.
We are really excited tobe here with everyone.
We have an amazing season planned out.
With you know, less hiccups than inseason one, so we're really excited

(00:42):
for everyone to be here with us.
My name is Rocio.
I'm the junior project manager overhere at Your Instructional Designer,
and, basically, my job is making surethat everybody's doing what they're
supposed to be doing, when they'resupposed to be doing it, and that they're
not spending a lot of money on it.
So, that's me, and, then side note,which Nicole, you know, is probably
is gonna say, so I'm gonna say it.

(01:03):
I make sure that Nicoleis on track, all the
time.
It's true.
It's true.
She's one of my main jobs shouldadd it to my resume at some point.
Not that I'm leavingNicole, just saying, joke.
Anyways, really excitedto be here with everyone.
Hi everyone.
My name's Diego.
I am one of the other co-hosts hereon the Social Learning Lab, and my

(01:25):
job, basically, is to do a lot of thepromotional content for our podcast.
So, a lot of the videos, you see, onInstagram, LinkedIn, that's where my
work is, and I do a lot of the videoediting behind the scenes, making sure
the transcript and everything is uploaded,as well as helping with the experiment
briefs and everything like that.
So, super excited for season two.
I am Nicole.
I'm the founder and learning strategisthere at Your Instructional Designer.

(01:48):
Yes, Rocio does make sure I stayon time, because, as you'll learn
pretty fast, I'm kind of an ideasperson and they come up a lot.
And so, one of the biggest ideas I'vehad is this social learning agency for
learning and development, which the folkswho are on the pod class with me right now
as co-hosts have been kind enough to sortof join me in bringing to life, and this

(02:11):
pod class has been one of our biggest,I would say, team accomplishments thus
far, and I'm really excited about it.
I'm also really excited aboutthe fact that we are officially
bringing in a new co-host thisseason, but not a new team member.
So, take it away.
Yeah, I'm Katie, so longtime listener,first time caller, and I'm really
excited to be joining in on season two.

(02:34):
I'm an instructional designer here,and I get to have the privilege of
working with the awesome people, onthis podcast, and also the people that
Nicole brings in to, you know, thinkabout different ways of designing,
learning that involves social learning.
So yeah, really excited to talk aboutsocial learning with you all this season.
Thank you.

(02:55):
We're all very excited that Katie's here.
We wanted her to be inseason one, but it's okay.
We forgive you, Katie
We had to apply everything we learned inepisode two about social influence to make
Katie get on the podcast, very influenced.
We're really excited toget this season started.

(03:16):
This obviously is the first episodeand we are gonna talk about something
that the audience from our Facebookcommunity requested, and that is social
learning activities that can be done,at any point that you are designing
some kind of learning activity orjust as a way to build comradery

(03:39):
among you know, your employees at thecompany that you work at, whatever
it is that you want to accomplish.
There's activities that can be done rightnow without spending lot of money that
are gonna create that social learningenvironment that hopefully everybody
that's listening to this podcastis trying to achieve at some level.

(04:01):
So here we go.
Let's start with you Diego.
All right.
So for my first social learningactivity that I came up with, I
chose social media communities.
For me, I have been a part of my StudentAthletic Advisory Committee and one
of the main things that I did therewas, rebrand and kind of rebuild our
social media, and, with that, it wasmore of building a community within our

(04:24):
own student athlete base and kind ofgiving student athletes their voice.
So, through it, I did a lot of like,you know, creating graphics and video
content that would go out there andpromote what we were doing on campus,
what student athletes were doingoutside of campus and stuff like that.
And, it really drove that community.
Now, moving along to that work that Iam now taking into Your Instructional
Designer, what I've been doinghere, I kind of have been taking

(04:47):
a charge on managing our Facebookcommunities both freelance IDs and
the Social Learning Lab community.
And, through this, it's a lot aboutcreating content that really engages and
drives our viewers and our audience toparticipate and interact with each other.
I think social media is one of thebiggest platforms for there to be this

(05:09):
exchange of ideas that happens around us.
And, I think with sharing it,people are able to come up with
new ideas and create things.
For me as a graphic designer, I amconstantly on social media looking at
new content and getting new ideas forwhat I wanna do in the future, and
kind of what kind of new projects Ican put into place and stuff like that.
So, it's really about using that as away to engage people and really, you

(05:31):
know, drive and inspire others to dowhat they want in their own work of line.
Heck yes.
Yeah, I think it's so interesting yousee that, 'cause, well, you know, but
Vanessa Alzate will be one of our guestsand that'll definitely be a topic that
we touch on there, but, like, I thinkof how much I learned from social media.

(05:52):
I've been able to connect with allof you, maybe Diego a little later
on social media, but, you know, Katieand Rocio, we kind of found each
other through those channels first.
And so, yeah, so much happens there.
Have any of you taken aclass through social media?
I'm just curious, like a socialmedia community turned into a class?

(06:16):
'cause I have, and I, it is kindof what it made me think of.
I've seen the ones on like LinkedInwhere you like can like kinda like
do like webinars kind of basedoff from it, but not really so
much like a full on class from it.
I've seen like TikTok series, right?
Of,
yeah,
Of things that kind of like, one topicand they're like kind of microlearning
videos, but not like in a full classformat where the intention of it

(06:41):
is like a class and a community.
I think that will be interesting though.
Our next big adventure
Stop throwing ideas in the table.
I took a dance class thatwas on Instagram once.
That was kind
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, I think that's the thing.

(07:02):
It's like there's so manydifferent platforms with just
so many like different concepts.
Because I feel like if you go to likeTikTok, it's very how, how to videos
and stuff like that, and, because of thealgorithm, because of how much technology
has advanced, I think that's why peopleare getting the content and learning so
much more, because you're given ideasand knowledge that you're looking for.
So like for, let's say me, mine is gonnabe more sports related, where most of your

(07:25):
works are probably gonna be looking for,you know, stuff involving instructional
design and stuff like that, because that'swhere your expertise are and that's where
you're probably looking for content,and so with that algorithm, they're
really targeting what you wanna see.
And, that's why I think our knowledgein those fields is growing so much
faster and more because we're exposedto it on a daily basis now, where before
it's like we were only seeing it every,you know, when we looked it up and

(07:47):
now it's like it's just thrown at us.
I think, I was in an advertising classand they talked about, we see, before
it was like we would see like 3000advertisements a day, and now we're
seeing almost a million advertisementswithin a single, single day.
So it's like one of those biggrowths is that you're seeing
this constant just content everyday that's making you learn more.
Even, if you're not really learning,it's subconsciously you're taking it

(08:08):
in and learning something from it.
That's a crazy statistic.
I can't believe we see that, but thenit makes sense 'cause like if I am, I'm
scrolling like Instagram for example,I've literally counted and sometimes
it's every second or third post is an ad,whether it's actually a, an ad ad, right?
Like they paid money to put this out, orit's like influencer product placement.

(08:32):
and, and a lot of the ads are lookinglike, you know, they don't look like ads.
It's like you start reading it andyou're like, oh wait, this is an ad, and
you just like interacted with it too.
So now it's like generating even more.
So yeah.
Well I'm gonna reel reel us back 'causeI know that like, I just took us down the

(08:52):
rabbit hole and we're gonna get really faraway from the social learning activities.
But like, I don't know what I, I thinkit's just so interesting that that was
the first one you thought of, and then, weall instantly were like, yeah, we learn.
We learned something there.
You know.
I'll go, I have one.
I think, and this one comes from,my dad, he is a master plumber.

(09:16):
He has his own like plumbing company,and, when the techs come in and they do
turn in, he does this like classes wherelike the techs If he observes something
that he thinks that was done the rightway or was done better than what he
had taught, uh, previously, then he hasthe techs come in and like kind of show
the rest of the plumbers how to do it.

(09:36):
And, I think that's a great wayof social learning, like having
people, your own employees..
come in and teach like techniquesor things, the way that
they do things to employees.
I think that's a way of social learningthat, gives a little bit of power to those
employees that usually don't feel likethey have power within the organization.
And, I like this one, because thisone works across works environment.

(09:59):
It's not just like office environment,but this is also like, you know, blue
collar, like at a construction site orif you're a plumber or an electrician.
I think it's pretty cool to have youremployees feel, I think it creates
a sense of value within them thatthe way that they do things, their
expertise, how they figure thingsout is valued within the company.

(10:22):
And, I think that goes a longway, with employees and how they
feel about the company cultureand that sense of belonging.
It's interesting 'cause there'sso many layers there, right?
So not only is there this likecollective knowledge sharing, right?
Your dad recognizessomething being done well.
So he's learning.
Mm-Hmm.

(10:42):
Maybe, then he's bringingit in so everyone can see.
So there's this big knowledge sharingmoment, but it's also interesting in
terms of like modeling and recognition,because not only making them feel good,
but he is recognizing a behavior thathe wants other people to imitate, so
like there's so many great layers tothat small, seemingly small, activity.

(11:03):
Which goes back to our social,how people get influenced, right?
We have this, he's kind of saying,this the way that I want you to
do it from now on, but not reallyimposing himself as this is the way.
I'm just gonna show you something betterand like, you choose if this is the way
that you want to go or not, but I feellike if someone that's the boss is saying

(11:25):
like, "I like the way this guy did it."
That's just the way it socially influencedeverybody to be like, oh, then we should
be doing it that way without havinglike an imposing, you know, demeanor.
So, yeah.
That's a really good one.
I like that one.
I like both of them, but so far, so good.

(11:47):
We got a lot of good stuff.
How about you, Katie?
Yeah, I wanted to talk about book clubs.
We have one here now, which I'm veryexcited about, and, you know, I love to
read and I think reading obviously you dothat often alone, but this is such a great
way to read something related to your workand then have a chance to reflect on it

(12:09):
with colleagues and hear their ideas, andit just really reinforces what I read.
So, like we talked about The Art ofGathering and we just read Influence,
so I just really have enjoyed thatand I'm looking forward to our
next selection in the new year.
So, yeah, I think coming up with likediscussion guides could be a way,

(12:30):
like just thinking of extending thisbeyond if it were more structured,
and, also, you could just leave itup to where the conversation takes
you, which is what I love about it.
It's so flexible.
Yeah, there are so manylayers to book clubs.
It's not just like a social, like we'regetting together to read, but if you're
doing it like at a company or like anorganization, and even if the reading

(12:53):
is based on, you know, informativetexts for something that you want
your people to learn, whatever it is.
There's so many things that you coulddo with that aside from reading, but
like just, it's a way to gather, right?
And, get your employees to be social witheach other, not just in a work setting.
You could also, if you use any kindof platform like Slack, there could

(13:13):
be a channel where employees canlike talk about what they're reading,
kind of have those discussions.
If anyone has questions,they can go in and ask.
If anybody has like favoritemoments from the books or quotes,
they can go in and post that.
So, there's so many things that youcould do with a book club that's just not
reading, and, again, social learning isnot just learning in a formal setting,
there's that sense of comradery, right?

(13:35):
I love that word among employeesand creating that environment where
people feel safe to share theirideas, where they feel that, you know,
what they have to say is valued andthat people are learning from them.
So yeah, that's a good one.
I like that.
The accountability was big for me too,because I have like piles of books.

(13:56):
It's, you know, they all call tome, but yet then I don't read.
So, I felt like having the deadlinesand knowing I was gonna be talking
about a certain number of chapters,motivated me, and, yeah, just
kind of made it more enjoyable.
It was in my calendar, you know,so there was that piece too.
And, it doesn't have to benecessarily like a whole book, right?
Like it could be a chapter that youwanna highlight to your employees.

(14:18):
It could be an article.
You know, if you're like, if you worklike at a clinic, and you want someone
to read new information that is out.
That's just another way to makeit more social, where it's not
just sitting around and readingan article and then everybody's
like, "oh, I have to read this."
It's kind of, you know, everybody'sreading it and everybody's gonna

(14:40):
give their opinions, and you feel alittle bit more motivated to do it,
because you know that you're gonnaget to share with other people.
It's not isolating.
I guess which can be boring, sometimes.
No, I think you bring up a goodpoint about like making that
learning experience an enjoyable one.
I think a lot of times when you're putin a setting where you're there to learn.

(15:00):
It is very hard to stay engaged,especially like when we've talked about
like lectures or like, and being in like,you know, meetings and stuff like that.
It's very hard to stay engaged, but Ithink if providing that content that
we're working together and we're learning.
I think with a book club setting,you know, each person grabs
something different from that, thatthey bring to each other, and then
you're learning together in this newatmosphere of like, "oh, well I found

(15:21):
this on page da da da, but I foundthis on page," and so you bring it
together and you're like, "oh wow.
I never would've seen thathad you not brought it up".
I think that's when learning reallyis enhanced and it grows; and it
expands your knowledge so much morethat we don't really realize it
until, you know, it's in that setting.
So, I think making learning fun is wherea lot of the, where a lot of training
should be put into place as well islike how that book club setting is.

(15:43):
It's an experience that you get to enjoywith, you know, your own colleagues
and make it a fun one out of it.
That's definitely true.
I mean, I, I've been thinking like, Iwant, what you said before is Katie,
like, I wanted to stay engaged.
I actually gave myself a goal thisyear to read 24 books, and, by the
time we started our book club, Iwas like falling off the wagon.
I was like, "Ugh, I can't," but we gotthrough The Art of Gathering and, now,

(16:08):
I'm up to like 27 books; and granted,not all of those are business books and
it's been nice to like read nonfictionwith other people, because it can get a
little like, all right I, got stuff todo, but, yeah, like the accountability,
the experience of reading it with allof you, and, then our conversations
didn't always stick to the book.
Maybe in every workplace that doesn'tfly, but, for us, I think it was just

(16:31):
really nice to get to know one another.
We never really get tosee each other in person.
I've seen Rocio and Diego all of one time.
And so, it's, it is great tohave like, opportunities to bond.
Forget the book, you know.
Yeah, and there's just sometimesthat you're reading something and
you're like, "man, I wish I hadsomeone to talk about this," right?
Like, you have this amazing discoveryor epiphany or you have this like strong

(16:56):
feelings about something, and you don'tget, like at least us, we don't go to go
the next day into the office and talk tosomeone about it because it's all digital
and, work from home the whole time.
So I think that having those moments setaside for that, has, been a great way
to like, interact with each other, so.

(17:18):
And then, for me, it's been really coolto see like what spins off from that.
So Katie, when we read The Art ofGathering, you built like this whole
template of ways we could use the toolsthat we learned in the book and apply it
to the business; and you wrote this greatblog and so I thought that was amazing.
And then, hearing everybody's storiesand like getting perspectives on the
text that you wouldn't have otherwisehad, not even just like what's in

(17:40):
the book, but like what you bringto the book has been really cool.
So, I'm glad we're gonnacontinue that as well into 2024.
I was gonna say 2022, butI'm a little behind 2024.
I love the anecdotes, like fromhearing other people's examples
based on what they read, thatreally brought it to life for me.
And yeah, the activities, like thatyou mentioned, I, you had the idea

(18:03):
of turning it in making, creating aworksheet, which made me revisit the book.
And then, I was able to share that andthen, and you know, it's some of the
tool that we can use again and again.
So yeah, all these pieces.
It's just, it's one meeting and thenall these other things come from it.
It's your turn, Nicole.
My turn?

(18:24):
Okay, well I put two down and now I'mlike, well, maybe I just throw a Hail
Mary and talk about something else,but I'm gonna stick to what I said.
So, I think like connection makingactivities or what I'd like to talk about,
because to me they're a bit of a lost art.
And so, there's nothing more amazingto me when you walk into like a virtual
instructor led training or an in-personevent for the first time, and they started

(18:47):
off by somehow making everybody feel likethey've, they know each other in the room
or they've got someone they can go to.
And like, yeah, there's this termicebreakers that we all know.
And, that's really, I guess what, theseconnection, making activities fall under,
but, to me, icebreaker at a surfacelevel is just like, let's make everybody
talk so the room's not so quiet whereaslike the people who do it really well,

(19:12):
actually invite you to carry on thatconversation and make genuine connection.
And so, some of the ones that I think ofjust that I've experienced, I went to the
CMX like virtual conference so it wasn'teven the live version; and David Spinks
did this awesome talk on serendipity.
And so, he's, you know, like a communityresearcher and he's been researching, how

(19:34):
we create those moments of serendipity,like, oh my gosh, you know, I met,
this is a true story, I met my husbandat a house party when we were 15,
and then his friends, you know, laterset us up on a, like a, blind date.
Like so, it was serendipity of meetinghim that then led to like this whole
future together, and we wound up inCalifornia at the same time, even
though we both lived in New Jersey.
Anyways, getting off track, but mypoint is he was trying to create those

(19:57):
moments of serendipity where it'slike, wow, I can't believe I met this
person and the conversation continuesand it evolves into something amazing.
And, he was able to do that justby asking people to ask a series of
questions and find the connection.
So like, somebody had actually metat a conference 20 years earlier but
didn't remember it till that moment.

(20:18):
So like, that was one of the cool ones.
I've also seen, it just happens to bethe David Day I guess, David Linder,
at the social learning conference ledby the learning guilds did a really
interesting one, where he would havevirtual backgrounds; and, on the
virtual backgrounds, there were likecartoon anime style cats, and each

(20:39):
of the cats had its own personality.
So basically he told people to pick thecat that matched their personality and
used it as their virtual background.
So, he invited everyone to come onwithout telling you, you have to
turn on your video, but everybodywants to show off their cat.
So, they turned on their video and thenthey start to go, oh, you're this cat too.
You're, I forgot what they were, butI'll just say, you're like, grumpy cat.

(21:00):
I'm grumpy cat.
And, then, you know, so they wouldstart to have these like side
conversations as soon as video turned on.
So, moments like that, it is an art andnot a science, or a little bit of both,
I guess, but it's, it's challenging; andI'm always looking for great examples of
how to make connections from the get go.

(21:22):
I don't know.
Have you ever seen any really,like amazing, I'll, use the
term icebreaker where I liketo call 'em connection makers.
That's a very put on, thespot situation, Nicole,
Yeah, totally.
I mean, you might not like, because Ifeel like I hadn't experienced any really
good ones until like just a few years ago.
So, maybe the answer is no, but ifyou have, then you can think of one.

(21:44):
Definitely would love to hear it.
I think like I have, but I also thinkthat there's a lot of icebreakers where
people are like, oh, an icebreaker.
This is just, and it's just anicebreaker for an icebreaker because
that's the way that you start things.
So, I've definitely been ina lot of those situations.
I do think that they're very powerful,especially, in settings like conferences,
I think they can potentially set thepace, or not the pace, but like the

(22:07):
mood for the whole session, right?
Like that icebreaker can be verypowerful about how people feel
for the rest of the session.
So, I think it needs a lot of thetime, it needs a little bit more
thought than just a game that we playas an icebreaker to introduce each
other because I don't think the pointis really introducing each other.

(22:28):
It is about feeling comfortable with eachother in that session, and the more, more
intimate we can create the environment themore willing people are gonna be able to
participate and share their thoughts, withthe rest of the audience, I would say.

(22:50):
I definitely agree with you, Rocio.
And, actually, that actually my secondthing was conferences because I just got
back from one for SAAC, and so kind ofhow we started our conference was we had
a dinner with like the whole like group,but they basically just put the name ta-
tags all over the place and you kind ofjust found your name and you just sat
with a- amongst the people within theconference that you don't even know.

(23:10):
I mean, we're talking about like peoplewho will go to school like three hours
away from you, five hours away from me.
But you're all there for the same reason.
So, you kind of like almost forcedto talk, but at the same time you're
having dinner, and so it's like thatkind of like thing where you're just
like, oh, we're just gonna have dinnerconversation and just start talking.
And, it really opened the floor for peopleto just start getting to know each other,
because you're like, "oh, well we'regonna be here for the next three days."

(23:32):
So, I know one thing that my coach hasalways, my coaches back home always
told me were like, you have to becomfortable with being uncomfortable; and
that's how you basically get to expandyourself and allow yourself to really
grow and learn, because when you're putin those uncomfortable situations, it
is very hard to make that progress andreally gravitate all the knowledge that

(23:52):
you can because you don't wanna makemistakes or you don't wanna be seen a
certain way, but, that's when you'rereally showing your true self to people.
And, I think that's when people start, youknow, making those connections, and when
you make those connections, that's whenyour growth and your knowledge expands.
And, I think you reallyget to learn from others.
So that's kind of how, like I feel likeconferences in a way are such great social
learning activities because they do putyou in those uncomfortable situations

(24:15):
for a day, two, three days, and you'resitting there talking to people, but you
get just comfortable being there withthem because you're seeing them every day.
You're sitting around having thosesocial interactions of, you know,
eating dinner together, being on lunchbreaks together and stuff like that,
and I think that's something thata lot of people don't realize is.
Yes, at first it's hard, but it'sthe way you are able to really

(24:36):
get as much as you can out of thatsession or out of that conference
that you want to gain out of it.
And, and now we havedigital conferences, right?
Because a lot of these thingsare shifting, so it's a little
harder to get those connections.
So, I think those you are notnecessarily, I mean, we still have
the physical ones, thankfully.
I love those, but there's a lot ofreally good digital ones and it's

(24:57):
hard to get people to connect on thatlevel when everybody's sitting behind,
you know, a desktop or a laptop.
So, I think those moments of likeicebreakers and social interactions
are important to build thoseconnections 'cause that's the whole
point sometimes of conferences, right?
Like you're meeting yourpeers, you're building those
connections, you're networking.
Like, how do you transfer that froma physical one where people are

(25:18):
meeting face to face to a digital one?
So, you know, one of those ways is whatNicole was saying, also, those icebreakers
that you are doing, and those likeintentional spaces for people to interact
with each other in a social way, notnecessarily learning from each other, just
being social with each other and createdthat, again, like that word intimacy

(25:41):
among the people attending the conference.
If you're in a digital setting, I thinkthat's one of the biggest challenges that
people face in those digital conferences.
How do we keep, people connected?
No, I definitely agree.
I think especially in the digital setting,it's so hard to get people to interact.
I mean, I'm one being a leaderon, you know, like I said
on our conference and stuff.

(26:01):
When we have the onlinemeetings, it's so hard on Zoom.
We'll put people in breakout rooms.
We'll try to see if they'll interactand you get like no response.
They're just like blank spaces on ascreen like they're just like looking
at you like not wanting to participate,but I think that's where the need for
in-person events is so important isbecause it forces you to have to talk.

(26:23):
It forces you to have tohave those interactions.
And, if you don't, then you're reallynot helping yourself because you're
not gaining anything out of it.
So, I think, you know, as much aswe wanna move into this digital
world, I still think that havingthose in-person kind of events is
so crucial in this world, especiallywith people being so isolated already.
I think, you know, we have to be able toput 'em in those settings where they're

(26:46):
able to really talk to each other andinteract and like you said, create that
intimacy within each other, becausethat's where I think, like you said,
you network and that network you expand.
That's how I feel about being herenow with the network that we've been
given, with this platform and, you know,bringing in our guests where there's so
much more network that I've grown in myown field of, you know, just our guests.
That, that's kind of where you seeit, but, you know, it's because we're

(27:09):
having those conversations and I thinkconversation is the way to go with it.
I would say like purpose.
Purpose.
The purpose of the social learningactivity like what is the purpose?
And if you go back to purposeand you figure out what that
purpose is, then it's just not anactivity for an activity, right?
Like it's not an icebreakerfor an icebreaker.
Like what's the purposeof your icebreaker?
Are you trying to figuresomething out from the audience?

(27:31):
Are you trying to getinformation from the audience?
Are you having the audienceintroduce each other?
Are you trying to see wherethe audience stands on a topic?
Right?
Like if you don't have that purposeand you're just doing an icebreaker
to do an icebreaker, then, you know,you're not gonna get what you wanna
get out of that session, which Ithink we have discussed purpose.
Was that part of a book thatwe, think it was part of a book?

(27:53):
The Art of Gathering.
The Art of Gathering.
There you go.
See everything's like on a loop, you know.
I'm gonna jump in?
Go ahead.
Sorry.
When you were saying about kind of,I'm, I'm remembering being in many Zoom
rooms and breakout rooms where it's likedifficult to think of what to say and so
I'm an introvert and I feel like both whenI've been sort of on the participant side
or on the facilitator side, both, I'vereally appreciated the think pair share.

(28:16):
Where you give people a little time,you give them the question, right?
They reflect and write a little bit.
They share with maybe one person,and then that's gotten it going
and you feel comfortable perhapssharing with the whole group.
So, yeah, just adding that.
And, as a facilitator, you haveto be comfortable with silence,
because that's gonna happen.

(28:36):
Like, it's not something thatyou know you, and it doesn't mean
that people don't wanna share.
Sometimes, it just means that peopleare thinking, because sometimes the
questions that you might ask, you know,one, you might be putting people on the
spot, like they weren't expecting thequestion or two, like it's a big topic
and then like people have to gather,know, their thoughts and that's a little
awkward in the digital word world, right?

(28:58):
Yeah.
When you're asking a question andeverybody's silent, but it's, you know,
you don't see that things working.
Some people don't have theirvideos on, so it's just like
you don't know what's going on.
So yeah.
Every time, I do a digitalconference, and I say, I'm always
like, "I think it was terrible.
I think it went horrible".
And then, I get the feedback and it'slike, that was really, someone was even

(29:19):
like, that was the best, you know, sessionI went to, but you can never tell really?
Because you know, pe- people, yeah.
People come and go.
People don't have their cameras on you.
People are participating, butit's never like the full room.
And so, virtual space is, is definitelyinteresting, but I think the real

(29:40):
crux is what you said Rocio, right?
Like purpose, so when you're designingit, you have to have purpose in like being
intentional is really important if you'regonna do it in digital space, because
in face-to-face, like things happen byaccident, you know, people bump into each
other in the hallway, not that conferencesaren't meticulously designed and all
logistics are, you know, a whole bigthing, but like I can bump into Robin in

(30:02):
the hallway, you know, my buddy from IDOLCourses, and we can have a conversation
in that, but nobody can really justbump into each other in a virtual space.
I guess if you have like a gatheredtown or something like that,
but it's still doesn't have thatsame like serendipity, right?
And so, how are you intentionallycreating the things that you love
about in-person conferences digitally?

(30:23):
And, I think the other question we canask ourselves is, how can we do things
digitally that you can't do face-to-face?
Like what?
And so, obviously, there's the fact thatwe can all be here having a podcast at
the same time and none of us live in thesame place, or same area, but that's,
kind of the challenge I like to thinkabout when we're designing stuff here.

(30:44):
What can we do that's even betterwhen you do it virtually than
it could have been in person?
I'm gonna reel us back intosocial learning activities.
That was a good one.
That was a good conversation,Nicole, out of the little bit
of, that icebreaker suggestion.
And, I think Diego talkedabout conferences too, so
there was like two in one.

(31:05):
I think for me, another one, would bethis idea, like let's say you're a smaller
company or you don't have, you know,platforms; you don't have the budget to
do anything big with social learning;maybe it's like, two people, well, 3, 4,
5, however big it is, but sometimes it'sjust a matter of like sharing thoughts.

(31:28):
So, something that I thought aboutwas like, you know, I think LinkedIn
does this where they have articlesand people come in and they share.
The article is built by the informationthat different people provide.
So like, having like a document, inwithin the company, where like the
employees come in and, you know, let'ssay you give them a topic and everybody

(31:52):
shares like their knowledge on theirtopic or their research on that topic.
I think that's a way to also,you know, share knowledge, which
is part of social learning.
There's different layersto social learning.
There's like the social, hey, networking,and then there's the learning part;
and I think that a way to promotethat learning part within a company
would be like, a shared document.
It could be like in Google Drive,you don't need a lot of technology.

(32:14):
It could just be like in, office,whatever it is, and people are coming
in and sharing their thoughts or theirknowledge, or maybe there's a new employee
coming in and you want people to sharelike, something works or like what
is the best way to approach somethingor what is the best way to talk to a

(32:36):
difficult client, or whatever it is.
Like, what is the best way to deal withthe situation or things not to do on your
first day or, you know, things like that;and that could be like a welcoming thing.
And, I think people cominginto, would appreciate that.
And then, like all the employeescome in and they, you know, give
their thoughts on the topic.
Pretty easy, you know, it'snot gonna break the budget.

(33:01):
Definitely.
I think, yeah, that's one thingI know when I came into this
agency and like working for y'all.
It was in the workplace.
We have the shared what you know or sharewhat you learned in that; and I think
that's kinda, like kinda, what you'resaying Rocio, those shared documents of
like, people can like, comment and itkind of, the way we have it set up is
like almost like a Facebook communitygroup that it's like you can comment and

(33:23):
you can tag people and you can have a,create a conversation based off what other
people are learning and stuff like that.
And, I think that's one thing that Ireally have appreciated is, because there
was a lot of content in there that, youknow, Katie had posted or that Nicole
had posted or Rocio had posted, thatprovided me with some answers that I
didn't know where to find and stuff likethat; and, through those articles, I was
able to gain knowledge that I probablywouldn't have been able to find on my own.

(33:45):
And so, I think, like you said,building those communities within
the workplace and having that shareddocument really does drive, you know,
engagement and learning atmosphere.
It's interesting too, because,well, there's two things.
So, we do have wiki pages, right?
But I like what you said Rocio, waswhich is like, we have a fancy tool
to do it, but you don't need it.
You could have a GoogleDoc and everybody talks.

(34:06):
You could have a Microsoft 365document and everybody can use it.
You can go grab something like Padletor Jamboard; and like just get everybody
on the same page, but like I guess whatyou're seeing, Diego, is more of like
the posting and that's an interestingaspect too, because I found companies
do that, but not everybody has thesame results we have; and what I love

(34:28):
about what we tend to do when we postis that we don't just put something
up that happens a lot, but everyone'slike, this is what I found interesting.
What do you think?
And, they kind of point you somewhere,or, you know, they send you the highlight
reel, or they give you the active prompt.
And, I think that's part ofdesigning good social learning too.
It's not just like throwing thingsat people and being like, take out of

(34:51):
it, which you will, but like givingthem a little structured guidance
to help them get involved in theconversation underneath the purpose
for which you'd like it to serve.
Yeah, I, I guess what I'm tryingto highlight is that if you have
the budget, then go ahead andbuild a social learning network.
Recommended a hundred percent, but ifyou don't, there's other ways, like you

(35:13):
just can't use money or technology as ascapegoat like, I'm not gonna do anything.
There's ways to do it.
There's ways to work aroundit, depending on what you have.
If you don't have anything, thenyou know, like a shared document,
even like an Instagram page for thecompany or what, whatever it is.
If you have a platform already likeSlack, then you can build channels and

(35:35):
if you have like an unlimited, you know,budget, then you could do a lot of things.
So, it just, it really depends, butI guess what I'm trying to say, like
there's always an opportunity to createsocial interaction among your employees.
There's always opportunity from youremployees to learn from each other.
There's always opportunities for you tomake your employees feel like they're

(35:55):
valued, whether you're doing it or not.
That's on, on the company and, on,on the person running things, but.
There's nothing that you could.
There's not a situation where you couldtell me like I can't do that because X,
Y, and Z, because there's always gonnabe an opportunity for you to create that
space for your employees to be socialin every aspect of, the word social.

(36:19):
And, I wanna riff off of that, becausewe had somebody in the community say
like, my workplace won't let us do thatkind of social interaction, because
the things that we're working on maybebecome legal compliance issues, right?
Like, if somebody teaches somebodythe wrong way to do something.
I was like, that's interesting, becauseif yes, that might not be the right place

(36:40):
to implement social learning, but thatdoesn't have to be where your brain stops
either, because there's lots of thingsthat happen at a company that aren't
necessarily just a specific skillset.
Like, I was like wow.
I'm sure people need tolearn how to be leaders.
I'm sure people need to learn how todo customer service, especially if it's
a highly technical field, stereotypinga little bit here, but communications
isn't always necessarily the strongsuit of highly technical people.

(37:04):
and so I couldn't agreewith you more, Rocio.
I think there's always an opportunityto help spread the knowledge that
everybody has internally to collectit, to share it, to recognize people
who are being active about it.
Like, budget not a reason not todo it, and we hope compliance is
really not a reason to just saywe're not gonna do anything social.

(37:25):
Katie.
We're gonna jump to another one.
Yeah, I think the next one I had wasthe jigsaw which I- it's a little
hard to explain but I will try.
So, this is from something Ifound when I was teaching English.
It's a way of structuring.
I used it to structure likeI wanted students to read and

(37:47):
talk about what they read.
So, I think that this could work maybefor like onboarding, if you have a,
you know, handbook stuff that you wantpeople to learn, you know, in that
group meeting or, maybe a new policy.
I could see it working for that, butwhat you do is you basically take a
reading or a set of readings that arerelated and you break people into groups.

(38:11):
Each group is assigned one of thosereadings, and they sort of be, they have
time to become the expert in that content.
And then, the next phase of theactivity, you mix everybody up, so that
the new groups have a representativefrom each of the original groups.
So, everyone's an expert.
They learn their piece.
They come together and share theirexpertise from what you know, part

(38:34):
one; and then, usually, there's some,the way I've done it is you have a
discussion guide or like questions.
There's sort of a goal of finding,discussing, coming to some kind
of insight about the content.
You know, and, of course, in theworkplace, we're thinking about
performance and so like behavior change.
So, I could see that being an additionhere of like, what would you do

(38:57):
differently using this, but the goal thenat the end is that everybody has become
familiar with the material, has a planfor how they're gonna put it into action.
This was done in a way that they'renot just sitting there, everybody's
reading silently or, you know, itreally creates good conversation from
my experience and what I've seen so.

(39:22):
I think jigsaw learning is so cool, but Iremember, we were reading Influence, and
I thought one of the things I had neverknown about it is that there are studies
that claim that jigsaw learning, can helpbreak down racial segregation in schools.
And so, I thought that was so interesting.
And so, our regular learning structure,they say reinforces the traditional

(39:44):
power structures in that most likelysomebody whose, or socioeconomically
advantaged, probably, is gonna be theone who's constantly recognized, because
they're the one who's always gettingthe right answer, or, you know, the
teacher's kind of pat them on the back.
Everybody watches that.
They compete for that spot, right?
To be the or they just give up andthey kind of just sit in the back of

(40:04):
the class and that's that, but jig sawlearning doesn't reinforce that, because,
basically, what you said, Katie, right?
Everybody becomes an expert.
Everybody has a piece thatthey collaboratively need
to provide to the group.
You start to see other people in yourgroup as problem solvers, not just people
who are like taking in information.

(40:26):
And then, you know, you, you sortof start to see that, oh, we can all
help each other when we work together.
And, there, like I said, there was astudy done on racial segregation in
schools and people who perhaps had lessflattering views of each other, because
of racial divides came to see thatlike, oh no, that's, that's not really

(40:48):
it; and they started to work togethermore and do things together more.
And so, I think about like in acompany where perhaps people don't
know each other or things arecontentious or just people are shy.
Like, what a cool opportunity tobreak down little work clicks and
the little boundaries we put up.
Yeah, this is like what, this usedto be one of my favorite activities

(41:09):
when I was a teacher, especially,because I taught special education.
Students that, you know, they wereintegrated, so you really saw the
difference in, in the levels of learning.
So, this jigsaw created an opportunity foreverybody to be at the same level; and for
everybody to be expert; and for everybodyto feel like they were contributing;

(41:32):
and for everybody to feel like withouttheir part it wasn't whole, right?
So like, one part wasn't moreimportant than the other.
And, there's just so many thingsthat you could do with it, like
with, you could do jigsaw withscenarios or to find solutions.
Like, here's four different waysto approach this scenario immerse
yourself in that four different ways.

(41:52):
Then, people come together andthey're like, here's the four
different ways which is the bestway to approach it, kind of thing.
So, it could be like used in verydifferent, not just with reading.
I think it could be used in a lotof different ways where people come
together and share what they think orthe knowledge that they have gathered.

(42:13):
Okay, I have another one, one thatI love a lot and that's mentorship
within companies and organizations.
I think that's a very important one.
I don't think that people, a lot ofthe time think that that is a, they
wouldn't think of it as social learning,but I think it's a pretty important
one to implement if you can implementit; and then not, it doesn't always

(42:34):
have to be someone that's like, thathas a lot of power and then someone
that's coming in new, like I thinkthat you could learn from everybody.
I think that someone that's comingin new can also teach a different way
to approach things to people, but itusually happens that someone that's more
experienced with someone that has lessexperience, and again, I think that's a

(42:57):
way that's a great tool for, onboarding.
I think mentorship is a greatonboarding, social learning experience.
A lot of the times, and I have friendsthat like have gone into the company
and they have no idea what they're doingand there's not like a set, and I'm
talking about like big name companies.
They go in and it's kind oflike, figure it out as you go.

(43:20):
And then, they go ask for help, andthe people feel a certain way about
being interrupted in their day.
So, I think like a good way to setthose peop- the new people that
are coming in for success is tocreate that mentorship program.
Like, if you have any questions,this is the person to go or
even like a thing, like if youhave technical questions, right?
This is the person to go ask and Ithink many companies like that, and,

(43:46):
you know, there's a lot of anxietytoo that comes with starting a new
job or walking into a new company.
Being the new person and having thatmentor to talk through things; and
someone to check in with you; andsee how you're doing; and see if you
need any help; and direct you to theright person or the right department
or the right technology to do things.
I think that goes a long way assomeone that's like just walking

(44:08):
in new, with no experience.
I completely agree with you, and, youknow, I kind of take my experience
here 'cause it is, it was a mentorship.
I mean with Nicole being my main mentor,but it was like all of you were in a way a
mentor for me, because I came in having noexperience in the instructional design and

(44:28):
not really knowing anything in the field.
And, I think after a semester ofreally getting to work hands-on and
having just asking questions and havingthat open conversation that y'all all
had, like this open door policy thatreally allowed me to like, you know,
grow and learn in different things.
And, I think, you know, thecollaboration between all of us was
really something that helped push me.
And, getting to meet with a weeklymeeting with Nicole once a week and

(44:52):
just get that check in and be like,okay, this is what I need to do.
This is like the structure.
This is how we want this X, Y, Z executedreally helps you like fulfill the role
and, not only that, but lets you knowhow to do it, but then exceed and go
pass with what you're supposed to do.
So it's like getting that mentor is Ithink something that a lot of people lack.
And, I think in a way, internships forlike students is something that's so

(45:16):
important, because it is that mentorshiprole; and I think a lot of companies
should offer those opportunities forstudents, because that's the best way
to get somebody that you can basicallytake and mold into what you want in your
company and what you want in your agency;and you basically mold them into that
worker that is gonna be your top workerat the end of the day and one of your
most skilled, because you got to mold it.

(45:37):
And, I think that's what a lot of peopledon't realize is that it is a product
of you in that way by mentoring them.
So ,for me, that experience that Igot was something that I take and
I've looked back on and is like, wow,I'm a different person from when I
started back in July to where I am now.
And so, that's something I'm gratefulfor and thankful for this opportunity.
I think that's something that Ithink other people should realize

(45:58):
is that it is an opportunity togrow your own agency that way.
Also, I learned a lot.
I mean, it just so happensthat I think everybody here has
been my intern, at some point.
That was never the plan,just for the record.
It just happened that way.
All of you were so good.
I couldn't let you go, but like Ilearned from all of you every day.
There's no way I could doany of this without you.

(46:19):
I mean, Katie and I were on abrainstorming call, yesterday,
talking about a project thatshe's not necessarily on.
She might be, we don't, we don't know,you know, if, if we run outta things
to do, but she helped me think throughsome things and had some great ideas.
Rocio, you have definitelyhelped me more than once.
I mean, Diego, you give megreat ideas all the time.
Look at our amazing Yeti, like, hewas the source of all of you talking

(46:40):
to me and talking me through things.
And so, I think it's really importantto mention that like mentorship
isn't necessarily a one way thing.
Yeah.
Even though, in theory, it isit's, not it's, a relationship.
Yeah, and I think it's, it's changing,because in, in companies now you have this
like employees that have been there fora while; and technologies are changing

(47:04):
and the world is changing; and the waythat the newer generations are coming
into the workplace; and how to work withthose newer generations; and what they
want; and what they need to be successful.
I think there's a lot to learn fromthose new people that are coming in,
especially when it comes to technologicaladvances; and how to reach people;
and how to socially influence peoplethat a lot of the older generation,

(47:26):
that they're usually the people thathold the power in companies, right?
Because they've been there for a certainamount of time or because they have
more experience or whatever it is.
There's also a lot to learn from thosenew employees that are coming in to your
company and those interns that are comingin, even fresh outta college that have

(47:47):
all this knowledge that we don't have.
I also wanna say, the one thing I thinkthat gets skipped a lot here is mentors,
if you're gonna do a formal mentoringprogram, like you need to prepare them to
be good mentors, because I don't know ifI've always been, or I don't know that's
an innate quality, but I know workingat the writing center for six years.

(48:08):
Definitely, like, we had amassive foundation in research
on coaching and mentoring.
That was just part of how thedirector ran this, the program.
It's not necessarily everything, you know,everyone everywhere gets that, but like
it made me better able to be a mentor.
You know, I've had interns at my rolebefore I started this company, and so

(48:33):
I, just know how other people treatedthem and I'm like, well, that's, that's
not helpful, where like you, you know,there's no regular check-in or there's
no like goal alignment or goal settingor, you know, those sort of things.
So, I think it's really importantthat if you're listening to this
and thinking about implementingmentoring and you're thinking
about who would make good mentors.
Yes, there are some innate skills, butalso like you might wanna prepare people.

(48:54):
if
Yeah.
Make it a company
thing.
and I think something to point outabout those instances of social
learning is that it can't be forced.
Social learning cannot be forced.
It has something that happens organic.
You have to set up the environment.
You have to make sure that the peoplehave the tools that they need in order
to interact in those social learning,instances, but you can't force it.

(49:18):
You can't tell people, here's anarticle, everybody has to comment and
provide their opinion on their article.
You're gonna be a mentor becausethat's part of your role, right?
And this is what happens a lot in, andthis is not, this is a side point, and
sometimes in academia where like theprofessor is a researcher, but part of
their contract is that they have to teach.
And then, you end up with this, you know,professors that don't know how to teach.

(49:40):
They don't know how tointeract with students.
They don't know how to createthose moments for students who
have social learning, you know,and it's just part of their job.
It's just something that they have to do.
They don't really care aboutit as long as they're getting
their money for their research.
And, it happens a lot in big institutions.
It happens a lot at jobs.
It just, you can't force peopleto interact with each other.
If you're forcing people to interact witheach other, then that's just not social.

(50:05):
That's like a dictatorshipin a way, you know?
a
Yeah, like you have to be becauseyou have to; and then these moments
that could be great moments becomelike, oh God, now I have to go mentor
this kid or oh God, I have to goand, you know, I have to read this.
I have to interrupt my day to go do thisand that is the opposite of creating

(50:26):
value and the opposite of creatinga culture where people feel they're
valued and that their time matters.
Oh yeah.
I think a perfect analogy that I've alwayslearned is a great player doesn't always
make a great coach, but a great coachis one who can produce great players.
And, I think that's something that, youknow, is those abilities that some people

(50:47):
just have this special thing in them tobe that coach and be that person, ,but
I think from a business standpoint, youhave to find, like we said last year,
those champions for change; and our lastpodcast we've mentioned those; and I
think there are people within the agencythat are gonna be those champions for
mentorship and those who can really createthis culture that is going to really drive

(51:08):
the business and drive these interns intobeing the best that they can possibly be.
Just because you are the bestworker doesn't honestly make you
the best person to be the coachfor a person who's coming in.
You could be very much not a greatperson, but you know how to do the
job, but those who may not be the bestplayer, I'd say; but they can sure show

(51:28):
somebody how to do it and execute it.
That's what's gonna help pushthe business further, I think.
And, that's what I think people have torealize, especially employer, employers is
how do I find those people to lead those?
Yeah, this was a long podcast, man.
I thought it was gonna be 30minutes and we just went into
like little tangents things.
I feel like this could beeasily a two hours long.

(51:52):
Yeah, like we still have, like maybelike five more activities that we're
probably not gonna get to cover;and this is gonna be like a part
two for, next season, but I thinkthere was a lot of information today.
I think there was a lotof thought put into it.
So I'm, excited for everybody tobe here and to listen to us and

(52:13):
to get this season two kickedoff officially with this episode.
So, thank you so much for everyoneproviding their ideas and their
favorite social learning activities.
From employee led classes to book clubsand the power of mentorship programs,
we cover a spectrum of approaches tofoster a culture of continuous learning.

(52:35):
We talked about breaking the ice andmaking conferences and digital settings
not just informative but intimate,because, at the end of the day, it's
those connections that make a difference.
But, let's not forget the heartof it all, creating that sense of
value and belonging among employees.
It's not just about strategies.
It's about making the workplacea space where ideas flow

(52:57):
freely and opinions matter.
So Labmates, as we concludethis episode, let's remember
what our speakers emphasized.
Opportunities for sociallearning are everywhere.
It's about creating that space,and it's on the company and its
leaders to make it a priority.
And there you have it lab mates, a deepdive into strategies and insights to

(53:18):
promote social learning within a company.
Now, it's your turn.
For your experiment, take a fewminutes to reflect on the key
takeaways from this episode.
What strategies or insightsresonated with you the most?
Choose one specific area or opportunitywithin your work environment where
social learning could be improved.
It could be related to communication,collaboration, or knowledge sharing.

(53:40):
Develop a quick action plan withthree simple steps to enhance
social learning in that chosen area.
Share a brief snapshot of your action planwith the Social Learning Lab community.
You can find the full experiment briefin the show notes or in the Social
Learning Lab community on Facebook.
In the community, you can also shareyour stories, get feedback and insights

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from peers, and comment on others ideas.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leavea review, like, subscribe, or share so
we can continue to build a supportivegroup of social learning enthusiasts.
Until next time, keep makinglearning that matters.