Much of what we learn is informal, both at home in our private lives and on the job. I went to a very good lecture by Donald Clark about this subject, really hoping to find some ways of capturing this type of learning and recording it so that the learner could get some recognition for it. It was obvious after Donald's talk, it hit me...of course! you can't formalise informal learning, it loses its value if you do. However, we all live in the real world and this is an area that companies are all looking to get into...you see it every day e-portfolios, blogs etc. I have to agree with my boss, perhaps the theorists are missing a big piece of the puzzle; and, if we can find that piece maybe we will be able to offer something that is useful for both managers and employees alike without formalising the process too much. My boss has some pretty good ideas as to how this could work...it is my task of the day to hunt down some tool that could help us achieve this. Who knows perhaps the answer is right under our nose!