Social Learning for Interactive Online Learning

Social learning comes from psychology, every principle of which can be applied to work. An introduction to social learning discusses the foundations, elements, strengths and weaknesses, as well as their application in work.

Examples of social learning can be found in various examples of everyday life. One simple example is children who can imitate the behavior of family members, friends, or the television characters they watch.

This also happens in company culture when new employees may imitate the way of working of other colleagues who have worked before. The application of social learning can also be an effective strategy for making learning more interactive.

Social Learning Strategies for Online Learning

The success of a program will be closely related to the engagement that occurs during the activity. Therefore, there are several social learning principles that can be implemented so that a program can stimulate participant interaction, including the following.

1. Interaction of tutoring (tutor)

In this interaction pattern, there is an expert and a participant involved in one-on-one communication. Usually, a pattern like this can be implemented in the form of coaching, counseling, mentoring, or an internship program.

When applied online, a special mentor or more experienced colleague is required. The purpose of having a "tutor" is to be able to provide personal feedback and the freedom to ask questions without hesitation.

2. Presentation

When making a presentation, someone will direct information to other people. This can be applied in conveying a topic or theory. The best way to create an interactive presentation is to have participants present their own information.

3. Question and answer session (Q&A)

Question and answer sessions may be very commonly implemented as a strategy in online learning. Through this interaction format, participants can ask questions sporadically or in an organized manner.

Implementing a Q&A format can help fill the gaps of the participants involved in the learning session. After the session is finished, the information obtained from the question and answer interaction can be used to compile an FAQ page.

4. Post-comment interaction

This interaction format will involve experts, teachers, or discussion leaders to post messages and be commented on by participants. All training participants involved must read and comment or provide opinions on the messages or information written.

5. Collaborative documents

This type of interaction pattern may be ideal to apply to the type of online learning that employees participate in. Typically, participants will interact via online documents known as Wiki pages. Through this page, everyone can edit and update documents in real-time.

6. Group discussion

Like direct interaction, group discussions can also be an effective way to involve participants in training programs. Group discussion interactions can be applied when training employees to learn about a new product.

The group interaction format can also be adjusted to the roles assigned by the instructor for a more meaningful discussion session. Not only that, the group interaction format also trains communication and interpersonal skills.

7. Panel discussion

You can also contact community experts or influencers to discuss issues of interest. Online learning participants can listen to experts or expert sources through discussion panels. Provide encouragement for participants to study the topics discussed by the resource person so that the exchange of ideas in the discussion takes place effectively.

8. Ask colleagues

Discussion forums are one of the interaction tools that can promote collaboration between participants. Discussions like this are usually carried out informally by asking other fellow participants via social networks.

The benefits of social learning will be more implemented in the business world if the right strategy is implemented. There are many interaction formats that can be tried, although there are certainly limitations to the tools used.

Regardless of the means and format of interaction used, the key to participant engagement is the right approach according to their needs. Therefore, try to implement several strategies to fill gaps or gaps in interaction between participants.