Most learning on the job is informal. This book offers advice on how to support, nurture, and leverage informal learning and helps trainers to go beyond their typical classes and programs in order to widen and deepen heir reach. The author reminds us that we live in a new, radically different, constantly changing, and often distracting workplace. He guides us through the plethora of digital learning tools that workers are now accessing through their computers, PDAs, and cell phones.

Informal Learning Basics provides training and development professionals with guidance and practical lessons on harnessing the vast potential of informal learning in their organizations. While formal training has been the focus of many corporate training programs for the past century or more, much of the actual knowledge and many of the skills workers use in performing their jobs are nonetheless developed informally. Informal Learning Basics will assist you in recognizing and utilizing the informal learning possibilities in your company, and will show you how to create a framework of highly cost-effective training opportunities and a culture in which your employees are able to learn and grow in an efficient and unobtrusive way. In addition to providing an in-depth study of the concepts of informal learning, Informal Learning Basics also offers: -an analysis of how workers develop much of the knowledge for their jobs informally -real-world case examples of informal learners -an examination of the nine principles which govern informal learning in the workplace -suggestions on how to blend formal and informal learning in your organization -descriptions of specific activities for both group and individual informal learning opportunities - a discussion of the importance of support personnel in creating and maintaining effective informal learning programs - an exploration of the significant role played by technology in informal learning - information on the importance of providing a codified framework for informal learning in your organization - a consideration of the fact that traditional approaches to evaluating training are often ineffective when evaluating informal learning, and suggestions on how to best evaluate informal learning programs. In an era where organizations of all shapes and sizes are increasingly focused on cutting budgets and maximizing the return on their training investment, incorporating informal learning opportunities into your training programs will result in competent and knowledgeable employees, and great ROI for your company. With its wealth of insight and information on capturing the potential of informal learning and using it to your organization’s advantage, Informal Learning Basics is essential reading for every training and development professional.

"This book will examine how individuals and organizations are using Web 2.0 tools to create informal learning and professional development opportunities"-- Provided by publisher.

This new and exciting text is aimed at informal educators involved in youth work, community work and adult education and health promotion. The contributors explore the principles and practice of informal education and focus, in particular, on the notion of 'working with' which is central to practice, in this sector. The book argues for an approach which is relevant to a number of professional fields and which focuses on a way of working rather than upon a specific target group. The book looks at the role of an educator in informal education and youth work settings. Comprehensive and analytical, it looks at social, cultural and political contexts of education. The authors discuss the practical side of teaching from the setting, programme planning and communication to activity-based work, one-to-one case work, formal group work and managing the work load. Finally the book analyses developing professional practice, the use of line management and supervision, and evaluation of work.

Alan Rogers looks at learning (formal, nonformal and informal) and examines the hidden world of informal (unconscious, unplanned) learning. He points out the importance of informal learning for creating tacit attitudes and values, knowledge and skills which influence (conscious, planned) learning – formal and non-formal. Moreover, he explores the implications of informal learning for educational planners and teachers in the context of lifelong learning. While mainly aimed at adult educators, the book’s arguments apply also to schooling and higher education, in both industrialised societies and developing countries where large numbers of children and adults are not and have not been in school and so rely on informal learning to manage change.

The nature of the workplace and the workforce has changed rapidly in post-industrial society. Most workers are now facing the need for high levels of preparatory education, retraining for new jobs and the ability to continue learning at work in order to keep up with new developments. The book, first published in 1987, argues that training in the workplace often fails because it is based on conditions that no longer prevail in modern organisations. The mechanistic approach of the behaviourist paradigm, it is argued, views the organisation as a machine and training as the preparation of workers for machine-like work according to their levels in the hierarchy, much as on an assembly line. The humanists’ advocation of collaborative learning has changed but not fundamentally altered this conception. This book will be of interest to students of education and business management.

Practitioners in informal science settings-museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, libraries, aquariums, zoos, and botanical gardens-are interested in finding out what learning looks like, how to measure it, and what they can do to ensure that people of all ages, from different backgrounds and cultures, have a positive learning experience. Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments, is designed to make that task easier. Based on the National Research Council study, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits, this book is a tool that provides case studies, illustrative examples, and probing questions for practitioners. In short, this book makes valuable research accessible to those working in informal science: educators, museum professionals, university faculty, youth leaders, media specialists, publishers, broadcast journalists, and many others.