For all of us, learning begins in the home. It is mostly unstructured and informal in nature. This informal type of learning has been defined as

Any learning that is not formal learning or non-formal learning^[1]

This definition can only be understood if we look at what formal learning and non-formal learning are. Of course we are most familiar with formal learning, the traditional academic world of teacher, student, and syllabus. Conversely, Non-formal learning is not officially recognized the same way as formal learning, but it is still structured, although the learning is adjacent to the activity, not the activity itself.^[2]

To clarify this difference consider a time you've learned something from one of your parents. My experience can be summed up with the following meme:

My Dad teaching me to change the oil

For me, this experience resulted from an activity: holding a flashlight for my dad so he could see. It was structured in the sense that the goal was for me to learn and the steps were outlined. Really that is an example of non-formal learning, a goal was set to teach a skill, but it was outside the regular academic tradition of formal learning.

Suffice it to say that my education on car maintenance is shaky at best. This brings us to an example of informal learning. Since I didn't really gain much from my non-formal learning experience, I consistently learn things informally. Informal learning can come about as a response to a problem. In my example it is the air conditioning not working in my car. Having no idea where to start I consulted a friend who advised me to buy the following kit:

Looks intimidating

I looked at the instructions and still really didn't understand the process. So I do the millenial thing and look it up on youtube. I watch a few videos like the following:

 Suddenly I have the experience of multiple people and their advice in my mind and I set out to the task. I even have the videos queued up on my phone and re-watch them as I go along to make sure I understand everything correctly. Not only do I enjoy a cold car for the rest of the summer, but I've learned how to recharge the A/C, and I even offer to help out some friends with the same issue.

This self-directed, spontaneous, and problem driven experience is informal learning. I attribute my success to technology, but I look back and remember all the different auto repair manuals my dad had laying around in the garage. That is how he must've informally taught himself the same things I am learning through technology now.