Spiceworks Community Digest: Learning to learn
Technology is a non-stop learning curve and staying current isn’t optional, it’s a must. We recently asked the Spiceworks community what learning formats work best for them, and the results confirmed that while resources are plentiful, the best learning is active, peer-supported, and immediately applied.
The top poll results reveal a clear hierarchy: hands-on experience beats all passive learning, but it’s quickly followed by peer support and trusted documentation.
Hands-On: The Dominant Learning Style
The clear winner, by a significant margin, is learning by doing. Over two-thirds of IT pros rely on this method, prioritizing real-world application over reading or watching.This approach reflects a core truth in IT: you don’t truly understand a system until you’ve broken and fixed it.
- Cigar-Boy: “Hands on trial and error. Nothing like hard learned lessons, they tend to stick.”
- Gorfmaster1: “I prefer to break and fix something before it goes into production. Sometimes it also will show me how good their support is and what to expect going forward.”
- JRBlood: Interacting directly with the interfaces of new products, such as product demos, is key to understanding if “the products will fit with what we’re trying to achieve.”
The Collaborative Core: Community & Documentation
Peer-to-peer wisdom is also essential to leveling up. Forums remain vital, offering troubleshooting details and nuanced context that official channels often lack.
- jessevas: “I come here, first. I have since 2015, when these forums had the answer to HPE issues that HPE and their community didn’t.”
- Graeme.N: “I unticked ‘Online community forums and discussions’ as that is technically a subset of ‘Asking colleagues or peer networks’ for me given that this is where I’d likely be asking online.”
The New Frontier: AI as the Starting Point
While not a poll option, several community members indicated that their learning process now starts with an AI assistant before moving to traditional methods. AI is used not as the final answer, but as a rapid initial filter.
- Jared Busch: “In 2025, I first ask ChatGPT. Then based on those answers I proceed to then asks peers, or try it myself, or come here.”
What does your personal IT learning stack look like, and how often do you rely on trial and error? Share your favorite learning formats in the Community!
