Twas the Night Before Social Media

Just a little (relevant) holiday fun...

Twas the Night Before Social Media

Twas the night before SoMe, and all through land,

Most training was lecture, engagement be damned;

Be it classroom or e-learning, the results disappoint,

and for some reason it all was made with PowerPoint.

The learners were sleeping, or else they were vexed,

by e-learning courses of "read, then click next";

The trainers were talking, then talking some more,

Not realizing the learners felt it all was a chore.

When out of the internet there arose such a thunder,

based on this promise from a new techno wonder;

“Knowledge is not locked in an encyclopedia,

Everyone knows Everything, bring on Social Media!”

Some call it Social Media, some say Web 2.0,

There’s really just one thing we all need to know;

The tech makes it easier to make learning full,

and its power is shifting from ‘Push’ over to “Pull’.

There were early adopters, and a number of Champs,

who yearned to break learning out from it's clamps;

"Too long have we suffered,” they started to cheer,

"Give learning to learners, and don't interfere!"

They turned there attention to 'the way things have been',

Then brought up their cross hairs and aimed with a grin...

"Now ADDIE, now Rapid, and the ROI mess,

Now Learning Objectives and of course, LMS!

There was a time for your methods, which has now come to pass,

And as you exit us now, don't let the door hit your... Class."

So they wrote up some rules, using indelible ink,

That listed the terms that make us all drink;

(and if those lines confuse, as if something's not right,

after reading my blog, go check out this site.)

Many would say that the old ways are dead,

But maybe some balance is needed instead;

In truth things may not be quite so absolute,

but the message at the core is hard to refute.

The message in question?  It must be explored,

This brand new technology can not be ignored;

Its one rule is simple, though hard to obey,
"Let go of control and get out of the way!"

Learning is not about what we can teach,

So please kill that lecture and way-to-long speech;

The learners decide if they want to engage,

So it’s time that professionals got on that same page.

Social Media’s a tool that can help with this shift,

For Learning Professionals, it’s really a gift;

These tools can be used for any topic you cover,

If you set up the format as ‘search and discover’.

If there’s one thing that adult learners all seem to dread,

Its training events with the content spoon-fed;

So shift your tactics with an unexpected stunt,

Like converting your content to a scavenger hunt.

“But the costs!” I can hear some of you say,

“We can’t afford any new tech today”;

Well just take that excuse off your verbal marquee,

As there are plenty of options, and many are FREE!

There’s Twitter, there’s LinkedIn, and of course there’s Facebook,

All of which you can leverage if you just take a look;

Just look through the lens of our chosen vocation,

It’s how we use these tools that’s the key deviation.

So create a structure in which learners can pull,

Though you’ll find that your glass is still only half-full;

Fill the rest by avoiding any regulation,

that places restrictions  and results in negation.

Provide only structure, plus the tools and some tips,

Then try to let learners just write their own scripts;

Then sit back and let their engagement explode,

and nurture the community being built on this road.

I hope you enjoyed this, for I now need to close,
as I only have one more rhyme to compose;
So I’ll close with a wink and a holiday sound bite,

"Happy learning to all, and to all a good-night."

Happy Holidays from Misadventures in Learning!

-David