Informal education and casual learning

In the Informal Education and Casual Learning domain, people of all ages participate in learning experiences voluntarily to learn new facts, skills, or hobbies, often just for fun. Informal approaches to learning may also expose people to new ideas and content that they were not expecting, such as casually stumbling on educational content at museums or by learning content while playing a videogame.

The primary feature of informal and casual learning products is that although the designs are intentional for someone to learn something from the product, the person's participation is completely voluntary. This is contrasted with formal education where the learner has less choice in what and how they will participate in their learning. The participation of children in K-12 grades is required and these students have few choices in their curriculum and course requirements. Similarly, participation in higher education programs requires students to complete all required courses to receive a degree, and all assigned tasks to receive a high grade. Although some choices and elective opportunities exist in K-12 and higher education, educational programs are highly structured with students having little choice in their activity if they desire to complete the program with good grades.

In informal learning, participants typically learn content based on their own interests and what they wish to accomplish. Participation is completely learner-driven and often self-paced. A person choosing to use an educational product, course, or program considers whether it meets their personal goals and how the product will help them meet those goals. If a product does not satisfy their needs, interests, or keep their attention, the product will be quickly abandoned. Learners also casually approach these informal learning situations, which require educational products to remain low risk and low stress, and clearly describe how continued participation will benefit their personal learning goals.

Many opportunities exist to participate in casual learning for any interest. After school and extracurricular programs all have educational goals that help kids learn. Small group classes at community centers, libraries, churches, and other organizations can help people learn new skills and knowledge. Informal online classes and educational materials abound in today's connected landscape. Online classes, complete with video, audio, and text media, give people an endless variety of tutorials, courses, and trainings on how to do specific tasks (like cooking, home repairs, or use computer software), learn new hobbies or skills (like learning new languages, how to start a side business, or how to take photos and edit them), or do some kind of self help (like how to reduce anxiety, how to be a better listener, or how to save for retirement).

Because a person that sees no value in the informal product will likely abandon it immediately, informal learning products are required to have clear learning outcomes established and to retain the interest and attention of participants. Else, the product will be quickly discarded and have no effect on learning. Such products are still intentionally designed to influence learning achievement among participants, even if the context is informal and there is no required participation. Examples of educational products within this domain all reflect the commitment to an individual person's voluntary participation and need for highly relevant and engaging educational experiences to assure them that participation will lead to useful outcomes that align with their goals.

Examples of formal education contexts:

• Museums and science centers
• Edutainment
• Educational games
• Informal educational courses on hobbies and skills
• Extracurricular and after school programs
• Clubs and youth development organizations