| Although studies indicate social media applications are frequently used in educational settings, how training professionals use social media tools specifically for learning was unknown prior to the current study. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple-case study was to identify training professionals' assumptions, beliefs, and perceptions of the value of social media in organizational learning environments. Twenty members of the LinkedIn groups for members of the Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange County, California, chapters of the American Society for Training and Development participated in the study. The main themes that emerged from the data analysis indicate that no standard guidelines exist for using social media for organizational learning, but training professionals use social media tools to prepare learning content, communicate with learners, and collaborate with learners. Training professionals use a variety of social media applications, but the applications that add the most value are YouTube and Twitter because they facilitate active, formal, informal, and social learning through social networking, collaborative projects, and content communities. These applications can facilitate learning at the highest cognitive and knowledge dimensions of Bloom's taxonomy. The study results also indicate that organizational leaders are likely to allow social media use in the future but that they have concerns about security and privacy, employee productivity, benefits of social media use, and the cost of implementing social media. The study's findings indicate that the potential benefits of using social media in organizational learning may outweigh potential risks of social media, helping organizations achieve competitive advantage. |
