That was a question posed by some of the top learning professionals in the CPA Profession at a recent meeting where I was asked to present  the State of Informal & Social Learning.

So I did some homework and found lots of great resources (via social media) and shared our journey with social media at the Maryland Association of CPAs.

First, social and informal learning showed up as one of the top five training trends for 2010 in several key sources, indicating that this is the beginning of a signifcant trend and opportunity.

This blog post is intended to demonstrate how social media tools can support and enhance learning (Here is a copy of my preso on slideshare) by including resources and encouraging dialog via comments.

We started with the overview of the trends in social media using Eric Qualman's Socialnomics video & website (from Youtube).

Then we looked at the twitterstream from a conference I had just came from (CCH User Conference) and another from the Accounting Today Growth & Profitability Conference(#GROPRO). Both of these show how particpants in a learning event can share insights and resources (note the links in many of the tweets). This is also known as the "backchannel" and a great tool to increase engagement and particpation.

Here is my handout with lots of resources on social media policies & governance and a recommended reading list Download The State of Social & Informal Learning - handout

As you can see, my preso was loaded with resources found via social media and shared via social media. I find Twitter and blogging the most powerful tools for learning and these are amplified by integrating with social networks like facebook and Linked-In.

Here are some great resources on Social Media & Learning:

See latest presos, resources, and training resources here on our BLI page

From CPA Success - Social Media posts

MACPA Social Media Policy- tied to AICPA Code of Conduct (for CPAs)

Self-directed learning for social media www.cpalearning2.com

Videos

• The Academic Twitter study showing increased engagement and .5 increase in GPA
• A Vision of Students Today (a real wake-up call for me about students today)
• Learning Executives discussing Social Learning at ASTD 2009 (real examples from major companies using social technologies to support learning)
• Seth Godin & Tom Peters on Blogging(why everyone shoudl be blogging - especially leaders!)?

Social Learning Thought Leaders (Books, Blogs & Twitter)

• The New Social Learning, Marcia Conner & Tony Bingham
• Social Media for Trainers: Techniques for Enhancing and Extending Learning, Jane Bozarth
• The 2020 Workplace , How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrow's Employees, Jeanne Meister & Karie Willyerd
• Grown Up Digital - How the Net Generation is Changing Your World, Don Tapscott
• The Corporate Blogging Book, Debbie Weil (from our friend and blogging coach who helped us get started - a must read if you are thinking about blogging!)

?

Here are their Blogs & Twitter handles

• Marcia Conner - Learnativity         www.twitter.com/marciamarcia
• Tony Bingham - ASTD Blog            www.twitter.com/tonybingham 
• Jane Bozarth                                www.twitter.com/janebozarth
• Jeanne Meister                            www.twitter.com/jcmeister
• Karie Willyerd                              www.twitter.com/angler
• Don Tapscott                               www.twitter.com/dtapscott
• Debbie Weil                                 www.twitter.com/debbieweil

 You can also follow my Learning-Development list on Twitter

CPA Profession Thought Leaders (Blogs & Twitter)

• Rick Telberg - CPA Trendlines            www.twitter.com/CPA_trendlines
• Bill Sheridan - CPA Success                www.twitter.com/billsheridan
• AICPA CPA Letter Daily                      www.twitter.com/CPALetter_Daily
• AICPA Journal of Accountancy            www.twitter.com/AICPA_JofA
• AccountingWeb                                 www.twitter.com.accountingweb
• Accounting Today                              www.twitter.com/ATInstitute

So what do you think? Can Social Media be a useful tool for learning? What is your biggest insight from this post? Share in the comments and let's continue the dialog...