Ways to learn together
- Cohort discussions – a closed forum for each group, with a question from the trainer to get people talking.
- Peer review – learners assess each other’s work against a marking guide, anonymously if you prefer, and learn from both sides.
- Communities of practice – a space for people in the same role or sector to swap questions and answers, in a knowledge hub or alongside your courses.
- Shared resources – glossaries, wikis and databases that a group builds together.
- Mentoring – one-to-one support through a mentorship programme.
GDPR, designed in from the start
In social learning, people’s names and opinions are visible to others, so it needs more care than a self-paced course. That is a reason to plan it, not a reason to avoid it. Most of the risk comes down to decisions made before launch, and we work through them with you:
- Closed by default – groups are visible only to their members and trainers. Nothing is public or open to search engines.
- Minimal profiles – learners see a name, and only what they need. Email addresses, photos and personal details stay hidden unless you decide otherwise.
- Anonymous where it helps – peer reviewers and the people they review don’t have to see each other’s names.
- No public league tables – leaderboards stay off unless you ask for them. If you use them, learners choose whether to take part.
- Clear limits on use – you decide who can see what, and tell learners. If managers can’t read a discussion, it says so; if they can, it says that too.
- Rules for what to post – simple guidelines and a way to report a post, so client details, health information and complaints about colleagues don’t end up in a forum.
- A retention period – discussions are deleted or anonymised after a period you set, for example when a cohort ends.
- Data requests – the platform’s privacy tools help you answer requests for access and deletion, including what a person posted.
Who decides what
For a platform we host, your organisation is normally the data controller and Learn Skills is the processor, under a data processing agreement. We set out what the platform does with the data, so your data protection officer can make the decisions that are yours to make:
- Your legal basis. Staff can’t always freely say no to an employer, so consent is rarely the right basis for required training. Optional groups need to be truly optional.
- Your privacy notice. Learners should know who can see their posts, how long they are kept and what they are used for.
- Your risk assessment. If the group is large or the subject is sensitive, a data protection impact assessment may be needed. We provide the technical details for it.
This is general information rather than legal advice.
Start small
You don’t need a company-wide social network. One closed cohort, one trained moderator and one good question a week is a strong start, and you can build on what works.