The traditional learning world of courses, classes, and curriculum is being extended and improved through new approaches involving discussion forums, blogs, social networking and other forms of peer-to-peer learning. While there has been a lot of enthusiasm in the use of these technologies and approaches, many learning professionals are still struggling with how best in integrate these models into their overall learning strategies and ecosystems. Organizations are also struggling with the changing and overlapping roles of learners, subject matter experts, and instructional designers.

While these challenges are new to the learning space, they are not new to other industries. In fact, many of the challenges and opportunities before us are similar to the transition from brick and mortal retailers to web-based retailers like Amazon and iTunes. This retail transition has been well-documented and analyzed through the theory of the Long Tail. Fortunately, many of the conclusions and models in this theory can be easily adapted to describe a “Learning Long Tail” where formal and informal learning each have a unique role and value within the overall business model.

In this webinar, David Wilkins, Executive Director of Product Marketing at Learn.com, and Ray Jimenez, CEO of Vignettes for Training, will discuss the “learning long tail” and the various role and behavior changes that must accompany the transition to more social and informal learning models. This will be an interactive session with many opportunities for participants to share and contribute.