Definition:

It is the process of interchanging information between colleagues at the workplace to solve different technical issues and was mainly used for solving problems with a computer where everyone at the workplace adds his knowledge to get the final solution by the participation of many amateurs, not professionals who earn their knowledge not by academic study but by doing through trial and error.

Originally this term was coined to address problems regarding computer, but I think we can widen the definition of this way of learning to include much more topics other than computer ones, as this becomes easier with ubiquitous learning as everyone now can learn a new topic regarding any topic of science and post his solutions and answers to a specific known problem through various channels and also he can reach out easily to anyone interested in this specific field using groups on social media and specialized channels on youtube

Ubiquity :

as everyone is unique at something, it is clear how ubiquitous this way of learning is, as every office now can be a classroom, Education is no more confined to a place, every office is a classroom, and every employee may be a teacher in a situation or a student in another according to his knowledge

the role of technology:

Technology facilitates the process of over-the-shoulder learning in distance learning because the essence of this way is face-to-face interaction and allowing the flow of knowledge through practical experience, not the theoretical one, so this was quite challenging to be applied through distance learning but with the availability of applications that facilitates live communication it now easy for anyone who is not professional to share his practical knowledge anywhere, anytime.

Without a doubt, technology added much to this way, as now, with a simple touch, anyone has access to thousands of forums that were created initially by ordinary people, and thousands of YouTube channels are dedicated to teaching and spreading knowledge with no restrictions neither by space nor time.

Sometimes when the solution is not available at the help-giver, help-seekers can be active participants in finding the solutions through brainstorming and the solution may arise out of their contributions together

links and resources:

s10606-005-9007-7.pdf (springer.com)

(PDF) Over-the-Shoulder Learning in a Distance Education Environment (researchgate.net)

Over the Shoulder Learning: Supporting Brief Informal Learning. (apa.org)