Jay Cross on Informal Learning

This link via Stephen Downes. Jay argues the case for informal learning in his inimitable fashion. My favourite quote from the post is:

Training is something that’s pushed on you; learning is something you choose. Many a knowledge worker will tell you, “I love to learn but I hate to be trained.” Knowledge workers thrive when given the freedom to decide how they will do what they’re asked to do. They rise or fall to meet expectations.

One of the factors that is impacting the way I approach learning design nowadays is summed up in Jay's observation that:

Google is the world’s largest learning provider, answering thousands of inquires every second.

If I can harness that sort of immediacy of learner-driven access to learning within the materials...