8 free social learning platforms

Mitti (by SafetyCulture) is an award-winning training software that offers a full set of social functions, including group training, discussions, forums, and gamification.

As a social learning platform, you can use Mitti's in-lesson discussions and assignments feature to increase the amount of social interaction to ensure the success of adult learning. Discussions deliver instant coaching and mentoring opportunities to learners through a forum-like discussion between coworkers and managers alike.

On the other hand, the assignments feature allows a learner to submit responses or tasks directly to managers for review. This can be anything from a reflection on the learned content and is a great way to analyze and provide a more in-depth understand of the content provided. Elements of video and images can also be incorporated, making it a highly dynamic way to engage with learners.

With Mitti, educators can enable all these social learning features alongside to drive better interaction and retention. These LMS features also allow team members to work together collaboratively, to share their ideas and challenge one another in a scalable and productive way.

Collaboration in learning and training is key for enhancing the knowledge learned and is also a great way to promote connectivity between even the most dispersed teams.

PowerSchool Learning Management is a social LMS that works for both schools and businesses. For social features, it makes good use of video conferencing, live annotations, an interactive whiteboard, and the ability to record and share videos.

PowerSchool Learning Management is also good for its cloud-based deployment and seamless integration with Google apps. One issue, though, is that while the school version is free, using the business version isn’t.

Sakai is another LMS example that also includes many social learning features. It includes features like chat, forums, assignments, a calendar, and quizzes.

One issue with Sakai is that it currently lacks real-time video for class meetings. However, they are continually adding new features so that may appear soon.

Another option for social learning is ePals. This is a global classroom exchange where teachers and students can connect, communicate, and collaborate.

ePals is good for letting classroom students work on projects together without regard to borders. While it is a great classroom solution for younger learners, it’s not ideal for corporate training and onboarding situations.

G Suite for Education is Google’s platform for e-learning. It has numerous social functions, including live video and numerous collaboration tools.

G Suite for Education is a very comprehensive set of products, although one common criticism is that it becomes too complicated, so it can be harder to just focus on learning.

Another social learning tool is Dokeos. It has numerous social features including knowledge sharing through live conferencing, screen-sharing, and the recording and sharing of answers.

One common complaint about Dokeos, though, is that the default user interface is too outdated. However, that can be addressed if you spend the time to find the right plug-ins.

Another way to achieve social learning is through MindMeister. This is an online-learning mind mapping tool for collaborating with others visually. It allows you to do brainstorming, note taking, project planning, and other creative tasks.

MindMeister has a free version, but it does not have all the features of the paid version, such as file and image attachments and PDF exporting. One criticism of this app is that it doesn’t allow you to export mind maps into many different formats, such as ppt, even with the paid version.

One last social learning tool to consider is Elgg. This is an open source social networking engine that allows you to build any type of social network platform for your organization.

Elgg is meant to be a bare-bones system that becomes more functional as you install add-ons and extend it through your own work. So, it may not be as easy to use as other learning technologies listed in this post.

Given the importance of social learning, it’s vital to have a good social learning strategy in your school or training curriculum. Choosing the right one is about matching your students’ needs with the tools available.