Twitter Chats for Learning Professionals

What's a Twitter Chat?

A number of my blog posts are reflections of twitter chats, such as #lrnchat and #realwplearn chat.  As vibrant a community these chats represent, I sometimes forget that the participants in these chats represent a very small percentage of the overall community of Learning and Development Professionals.

At a recent ASTD Chapter meeting, I was reminded of this fact during a conversation I had with a group of peers.  I was asked where I learned about something and I casually replied "We discussed it during a recent #lrnchat".

I received silence and a few puzzled looks in response.  I added "It's a regular Twitter chat for learning professionals".  Another moment of silence passed, broken finally by a peer who asked "What's a twitter chat?"  I could tell by the looks around the table that everyone else had a similar question percolating in their mind.

If you've ever wanted to know how a twitter chat works, or what tools you can use to participate in a Twitter Chat, then this post is geared towards you.  If not, well, you're here, so feel free to read it anyway.

WHAT IS A TWITTER CHAT?

A Twitter Chat is a group chat that takes place using the social networking service, Twitter. Twitter chat topics and structures can vary.  Most do share the following characteristics:

• Since they use Twitter, discussions consist of comments of up to 140 characters
• Many chats are held on regularly scheduled dates and times
• Chats utilize a dedicated hashtag, so that participants can easily locate and participate in the chat
• Many chats are loosely moderated and have a set starting topic
• There is no expectation that participants will review and respond to every single post in the discussion, especially in larger chats

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN A TWITTER CHAT?

There are a number of ways to participate in Twitter chats, and I'll be sharing different tools later in this posting. Let's first walk through the most basic steps for participating in a chat.  If you already have a Twitter account, you can skip ahead to step 2.

1. Create a Twitter account.  A simple walkthrough of how to do that can be found HERE.

2. Search for the hashtag associated with the chat.  This will filter your view so that only tweets with the chat hashtag are shown.

3. Review the listing of tweets; the most recent will be on top. 

4. To check for new chat posts, refresh your screen or click the 'New Posts' link that appears on screen.

5. To contribute to the discussion, enter your comment into the status fields and click update. 

IMPORTANT: you must include the chat hashtag in your comment in order to ensure other participants will be able to see your post.

TWITTER CHAT TOOLS

There are a number of Twitter tools that can make participating in a chat easier.  Here are two of my favorites:

TweetChat

TweetChat is potentially the best tool for participating in a Twitter Chat, as it provides some functionality geared specifically for live chats:

• TweetChat automatically filters the Tweet stream, showing only the tweets containing the hashtag for the chat.
• TweetChat automatically refreshes every 5-10 seconds, keeping you up to date.
• TweetChat automatically adds the chat hashtag to all of your updates, ensuring you do not forget to do so yourself. 

The one downside I find with TweetChat is that it's performance is not consistent.  There are times that the TweetChat feed seems delayed, which is a major barrier in a live chat.  When TweetChat's feed is performing well, I find it to be the best tool for live Twitter Chats.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck is a aggregator that enables users to monitor multiple social media feeds at once, include not only Twitter, but Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, and more. Users can set up dedicated columns for specific tools, or specific searches within those tools. 

TweetDeck provides some unique features that can make participating in a Twitter chat easier:

• You can set up a column in TweetDeck that shows only the tweets from the chat
• You can simultaneously monitor a 'mentions' column that shows who has mentioned or reached out to you directly during the chat
• You can easily clear out all messages you have already read, an excellent tool for chats you are participating in sporadically.

TweetDecks columns can be a little overwhelming at first, which is why I recommend starting with only a select few and expanding only after you are comfortable with it. Once you are, TweetDeck can be an invaluable tool for someone that participates in multiple social networks.

There are a great number of additional tools that can be used for Twitter chats. I recommend trying a few and finding the one that you are comfortable with. The value of the chats is in the discussions, not the tools. Find a tool that makes it easier for you to participate.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

The best way to learn how to participate in a Twitter chat is quite simply to participate in one. Twitter chats are very much like learning to ride a bike.  You can only learn so much by reading or talking to someone about it. To truly learn how, you need to go out and try it.

One word of caution though: for a newcomer to Twitter Chats, the speed at which they move can seem extremely fast. If you try to read every single message, it may feel like trying to drink from a fire hose. That's a normal reaction.  Much like drinking from a hose, you should start by sipping from the stream.  As you grow more accustomed to the flow, you'll be able to drink more and find the best way to quench your thirst for knowledge and community.

There are three regular chats that I recommend for learning professionals

#lrnchat (http://www.lrnchat.com/)

#lrnchat is a twitter chat for learning professionals that focuses on how people learn, what they learn, and what we’re learning as professionals in the field.  The next #lrnchat sessions are scheduled for Thursday July 7th and Thursday August 5th at 11:30am and 8:30pm (EST).

#RealWPLearn (http://www.realworkplacelearning.com/)

#RealWPLearn is a twitter chat for all business professionals that focuses on how REAL workplace learning happens: through social, informal, and often serendipitous happenings.  The next #RealWPLearn chats are scheduled for Wednesday July13th and Wednesday August 10th at 3:00pm (EST).

#ASTDChapters (http://astdchapters.wordpress.com/)

#ASTDCchapters is a twitter chat for learning and performance professionals that focuses on the value and community offered by the American Society for Training and Development and it's local chapters. The next #ASTDChapters chats are scheduled for Wednesday July13th and Wednesday August 10th at 8:30pm (EST).

The #ASTDChapters chat tends to move at a slower pace than the other two, so it may serve as a nice entry point for those new to Twitter chats. I will be one of the moderators for the July 13th chat, during which we are exploring "The Value of ASTD Membership". I invite you to join us and share your thoughts or suggestions on what the value of ASTD and it's chapters is and could be.  I will also be able to provide real-time assistance to those new to Twitter chats.

Once you are able to get comfortable using the tools to participate in Twitter chats, i'm sure you'll find them to be extremely valuable  feel free to reach out to me on twitter (@LnDDave) or in the comments section below if you have any questions.

I hope to see you online during an upcoming Twitter chat!

Reflections on #realwplearn chat: From Learning Design to Performance Design

One of my favorite learning activities is participating in the weekly twitter chat called #lrnchat.  Participating in this chat and writing reflective blog posts is an extremely valuable learning experience for me.  A collection of these reflective posts can be found here.

This past week a new Twitter chat for learning professionals was introduced.  The chat is called Real Workplace Learning, part of a new initiative from Jane Hart (@c4lpt) and Jane Bozarth (@janebozarth).  The Real Workplace Learning blog is a place to share examples of where REAL workplace happens: through social, informal, and often serendipitous happenings.

The Real Workplace Learning chat is scheduled to take place once a month on Wednesdays using the hashtag #realwplearn. Additional details and listing of upcoming chats for the summer is listed at the bottom of this post. 

The topic of this week's #realwplearn chat session was "From Learning Design to Performance Design".  The topic and questions were inspired by Tom Gram's article -  Designs for Natural Learning.

I always find looking at the questions that are used to loosely guide the chat as a nice way to see the overall theme of the chat. Here are the discussion questions that were presented to the group.

NOTE: In this chat, some of the questions were presented in two parts.  The first part presented a quote from Tom Gram's article. The second part presented a related question.

Q1  How do knowledge workers really learn to do their jobs?

Q2 P1 “It doesn’t make sense to build a whole department around training when there are so many other ways to help people learn.”

Q2 P2 How can you “move” out of the training department into the workflow to help people learn as they work?

Q3 P1 “Instead of learning programs, you are designing work environments, tools, information and feedback systems. Think of it as performance design.”

Q3 P2 How can you move from learning program design culture to performance design ? Small steps or bold new approach?

Q4 P1 “This focus on designing work to enable natural learning resembles what progressive managers see as their role and they are not wrong.”

Q4 P2  How can you help managers fulfill that responsibility better?

The shift from learning sign to performance design is am important one for learning professionals.  It represents a reality that more and more professionals are beginning to understand: that the vast majority of workplace learning does not happen via a formal program designed by the learning and development department.

Charles Jennings often discusses the 70:20:10 learning model, which states that only 10% of what employees learn comes from formal learning programs.  The vast majority of workplace learning comes from the work itself, and applying new skills on the job.

Where does the learning professional fit in a world where formal programs account for so little of the learning that is taking place?  What are the skills that today's learning professional will need to support this new paradigm?

That is what Real Workplace Learning hopes to explore, and this week's chat provided an excellent starting point for the ongoing discussions.

The chat started by exploring how knowledge workers really learn to do their jobs.  It is becoming increasingly obvious that there is no division between learning and work; they are forever linked, one consistently building on the other.

This happens at an almost unconscious level, with the worker often not being fully aware that learning is taking place.  This is enhanced during times that the worker will take a more active and conscious role in learning, using some of the techniques shared in the chat.

•   Contacting a colleague for assistance, be it from the next cubicle or a country away.

•   Learn through failing, provided the culture understands the value of failure.

•   Creating a network of peers to learn from that you trust.

•   Focusing less on learning everything, and more on learning how to find out anything.

From there the discussion moved towards how learning professionals can move away from traditional delivery methods and put their energy into the actual workplace.  How can learning professionals provide their support as part of the existing work flows?

I find this question to be very similar to a question that is often asked about social media.  Often organizations want to institute some sort of a social media program, yet the project is spearheaded by someone that has only a Facebook account that they haven't signed in to it in weeks.

It doesn't really work that way.  If you want to play in the social media space, you need to participate. I believe the same rule applies to trainers who want to focus their efforts on the existing workflows of the work itself.  You can’t simply plug learning into the work; you have to join the workflow yourself.

For many learning professionals, this isn’t a simple shift; it’s a fundamental change in the way they need to see their role.  Many of the traditional models of training – such as classroom workshops, traditional e-learning, and courses – do not fit into the flow of the work.  Their very design requires that the learner stop working so they can participate in a learning event.

Supporting learning during the work requires a different mindset.  It requires learning professionals to participate in the workflow.  That's a simple statement, but putting it to action can be a challenge.

One of the easiest ways to get started is to join conversations and communities related to the work.  It's there that learning professionals will be able to learn what is really going on, where the true performance gaps are, and how they might be able to help.

It's also at the workplace that learning professionals can learn about an important, but too often overlooked, part of their job.  If most of the learning is taking place on the job, is the working environment structured in a way that best supports learning?  By becoming part of the workflow, learning professionals can observe where learning is taking place, and identify ways they can alter and add to the environment to make the learning more effective. This could be as simple as inserting a performance support tool into the workflow, or as complex as reworking the physical environment itself.

The discussion then moved towards design, specifically how we might be able to shift from a learning program design culture to a culture more focused on performance design.

There are a great number of roads learning professionals can take on this journey.  Some of the roads have been paved by our peers, while still countless more are trails just waiting to blazed by those brave enough to choose the road not yet taken.

Regardless of the route though, all of the paths share something in common: they started with a single step. Do SOMETHING to get started – even if that something is to make the decision to stop doing something else that no longer makes sense.

I think the easiest way to get started is to implement 'Find and Replace All' in the way we see ourselves.  'Find and Replace All' is a common functionality found in word processing software. It enables a user to search for a given word or phrase and automatically replace it with a different word or phrase.

If we could apply that function to ourselves, we would find every place we use the word 'learning' and replace it with 'performance'. Learning objectives become performance objectives. Learning consultants become performance consultants.  That simple change in language would do wonders to shift our thinking.  Suddenly we'll realize that we aren't as interested in what workers need to learn; we're more focused on what they need to DO.

For many learning professionals, the challenge of this shift will not be about applying new skills; the challenge will be in stopping the use of techniques and methods that are no longer applicable, or are at least no longer the primary tools, in this new world.

The discussion ended with an exploration on how we can assist managers in designing work so that it allows for natural learning.  This is a very large challenge that has a number of obstacles, including:

• Many managers have little interest in managing.
• Most managers do not know how to lead.
• For most managers, ‘learning’ is defined by their own experiences.  There is an expectation that it will take place in a classroom taught by a teacher. They do not understand that this in ineffective.

Learning (actually, performance) professionals need to take on these issues and help managers help themselves.  It takes education, perseverance, and patience.  In most cases you’re not just trying to change the perspective of a group of managers; you’re trying to change the culture of an organization.  That takes time.

I especially liked this closing question.  The fact that we are looking at the managers is very representative of how real workplace learning takes place.  It takes place as part of the work.  As such, we need to start bringing other non-learning professionals into the equation more.

I think this first Real Workplace Learning chat laid a great foundation for a regular discussion series.  I look forward to adding it to my calendar each month, and further exploring the ways workers REALLY learn at work, and how learning and performance professionals can best support that learning.

Here are a few links of additional resources I mentioned in this post:

Real Workplace Learning

• Main Blog
• Chat Description and Schedule

When Learning is the Work: Approaches for supporting learning in the workplace by Charles Jennings

Designs for Natural Learning by Tom Gram