The Role Of Informal Learning In Today’s Successful Training Department

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2007-09

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Wittkopf, Colleen; Berge, Zane L.; The Role Of Informal Learning In Today’s Successful Training Department; i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 4(2), 15-22 (2007); https://doi.org/10.26634/jet.4.2.609;

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©2007 i-manager Publications

Abstract

The integration of work and learning is becoming the dominant means of workforce training in many organizations today. Though structured classroom learning will likely never entirely recede, a preponderance of current research indicates that the future of most job-related learning will lie in non-traditional methods such as short e-training modules delivered directly to the desktop, podcasts, informal knowledge-sharing sessions, and even structured gaming environments. This paper will explore why such learning is becoming increasingly more critical, how a successful blend of informal and formal learning can achieve the individualized training that a majority of employees are beginning to demand, and the difficulties involved, specifically with respect to evaluation and the ways in which it can be leveraged by a training department. These types of learning can be combined with some traditional training events to create a meaningful learning path for new employees and existing ones alike, and training and development specialists will have to find ways to achieve the right blend to achieve improved workforce performance.