And, separately, if you’re finding constructivist learning in your courses, great, but that’s not informal learning. The instructor is creating a space, providing goals, scaffolding progress. It’s using natural learning, but it’s not informal. think we agree at the end, we need informal learning.

And Frederic, formal learning done well is open, and informal learning doesn’t have to be hard to quantify. I certainly don’t mind iterative learning, but am thinking more about a trajectory along a continuum from formal to informal. Does that resonate?

Whilst I applaud the sentiment, your piece reads a little like: ‘There are still people who think the internet is a fad. But the internet is important. Businesses are getting real value out of it. We should be doing something to support it.’ Informal learning is learning. Formal learning is generally a set of practices owing much to historical accident and used by businesses for risk management. I have been on some great courses recently – the best are almost entirely informal in design. It transpires that the informal learning debate is really just the old ROI one in disguise. I for one, would like to be involved in informal learning – because I would like to be involved in learning. But let’s not kid ourselves: informal learning doesn’t need us learning professionals; we need informal learning.