Informal learning cited top challenge for educators at London and Amsterdam events.
On 18 and 19 May 160 learning professionals attended ‘Moving forward with organizational learning’, a seminar that focused on informal learning and citing informal learning as one of the most important areas of attention for business in the years ahead.

Bob Mosher, Microsoft Learning's Director, Learning and Strategy Evangelism, opened the seminar with his presentation ‘Reaching learners where it matters’. Bob Mosher argued that learning providers needed to find ways of delivering learning outside of the traditional training-course model and directly into the workplace: “With IT training there is a strong move away from the ‘acquisition’ of knowledge to the ‘application’ of knowledge, where learners increasingly want training that is focused on their own needs as they arise,” added Mosher.

Informal learning was summarised as learning that is provided during work using mentoring and coaching, reference aids and screen-based learning objects that support learners through tasks. With informal learning accounting for up to 80% of the learning that takes place in organizations, learning professionals can engage with learners more effectively when they are able to influence learning in the workplace. Microsoft’s own learning product portfolio has significantly increased over recent years to reflect this shift, building on its instructor-led curriculum, books and CD-based products provided throughout the nineties, to now cover more solution-based informal learning tools for self-study and facilitated learning and products for organizational and individual learning assessment.

Speakers at Moving forward with organizational learning included Kent Barnett of Knowledge Advisors on learning measurement, Donald Clark of Epic Group and Harm Weistra on informal learning, Ron Edwards on mobile learning and Brian Sutton of QA on organizational assessment. Two presentations also focused on the different approaches to informal learning, with David Brown of Development Potential discussing Organon’s approach and Mark van den Broek of FCI discussing FCI’s approach.

The event organizer, Global Learning Alliance’s Alfred Remmits, was delighted with the attendance and the two days of presentations, and commented: “Moving forward with organizational learning was a real success in bringing informal learning and learning measurement to the forefront of our industry. We’d like to thank all of the speakers and our sponsors for making the event possible and in particular all those who attended in London and Amsterdam and joined in with the events.”

Attendees at Moving forward with organizational learning may download each of the presentations by logging in.