Knowledge-at-work

When learning and knowledge collide

Recently I've been reading (and listening) to Stephen Downes, George Siemens, Jay Cross and Richard MacManus exploring learning networks and connective knowledge. I'm seeing a convergence and emergence of themes:

• Learning is an ecology - remember knowledge ecology?
  
• Connections are key - we talk relationships and patterns in knowledge work
• Informal learning is dominant - think communities of practice
• Learning is a conversation - dialog and creative abrasion facilitate knowledge creation and verification
• Capacity to connect is more important than current knowing - build your network rather than increasing your collection
• Diversity is essential to check cascades - confers adaptability, stability, flexibility

The movement towards collaborative learning is strong, some would argue irreversible, helped by   web2.0 and social software. The personal learning environment has moved from a walled LMS container to an evolving mix of flickr, youtube, secondlife, myspace, 43things.

Stephen says it best:

"Knowledge is a network phenomenon. To 'know' something is to be organized in a certain way, to exhibit patterns of connectivity. To 'learn' is to acquire certain patterns".

Case-hardened books

Certainly there is a change happening in the book world - from self-publishing http://www.lulu.com/ to wikipedia and blogs. Sure there are times when 'hard' copy is useful, structure & sequence, expert review and editorial skills do add value and a tangible asset just makes sense.

When I think about the affordances of the digital world (RSS, collaborative writing, facile annotation, networking, hyperlinking, multimedia) the increasing need to remain updated and aware, the ability to connect, converse and learn separated from time and distance - I'm starting to look at the book as being 'case-hardened' , frozen in place, immutable. When I consider the long editorial and publication cycles, I'm thinking out-moded, plodding, slow and being left behind.

The e-movement is certainly changing things. You may enjoy this new book / pdf / wiki / flick'r group / .... that looks at how knowledge itself is changing.

http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/KnowingKnowledge/index.php/Main_Page - the wiki form

Knowledge & knowing

New book just released

George Siemens has kindly released his new book as series of .pdf files  which you are free to download, or you can read and contribute to the wiki conversation, or you can thumb through the excellent graphics on Flickr

In this book George looks at ways the context around knowledge is changing and the influence this is having on knowledge itself:

1. The rise of the individual - ability to voice and show, blogs and YouTube
2. Increased connectedness -  affordances for conversation
3. Immediacy and 'now' - knowledge half-life is shrinking fast
4. Breakdown and repackaging - new tools allow rip, mix and burn
5. Prominence of the conduit - new publishing  media have opened things
6. Global socialization - networking everywhere from MySpace to SecondLife
7. Blurring worlds of physical and virtual - 'on the go' becomes the norm

KnowingKnowledge - wiki

The KnowingKnowledge wiki has been released along with a related wiki where George Siemens has invited readers to critique and contribute to his collaborative keynote addresses.

Thinking back to my review of KnowingKnowledge, it struck me that George pays relatively little attention to knowledge representation in his writing. This may be expected as he concentrates on how knowledge is changing and notes a shift from 'hard' to 'soft' knowledge, where soft = more immediate, more emergent, more closely tied to conversation than content. Knowledge says George is now more than ever about "the now', and connections trump content in a world of immediacy and 'know now'. As we capture more ephemeral content in audio and video files, I'm wondering what we need to do to get the most from these media as representations & knowledge stores?

Here is a screencast of his collaborative keynote address  and an interview text for Online Educa Berlin, in December '06.

IMO KnowingKnowledge is an important event, I'm looking forward to the hard copy book release (now 10/10 I'm hearing), publication of the graphics on flick'r, availability of pdfs for downloading and most of all to the conversations George wishes to build around his thinking.

This is a subject that matters more than most in KM - for without a clear understanding of what knowledge really is and how it is changing - KM will continue to go in circles. Please join in this important conversation, let's hear your opinion, beliefs, mental models, heuristics and practical tips so we can all grow a little wiser together.

Library2.0 and KM

The library 2.0 (L2) movement shares many interesting activities with KM as I understand it.

Library 2.0 covers a wide field, from tagging OPAC, IM at the reference desk, to forming virtual communities and encouraging participation in content development, policy formation and asset selection & management.

Library2.0 meme    Library 2.0 in wikipedia   Library2.0 tag in Del.icio.us

The L2 has been branded a 'movement' and passing 'fad' by some of the more traditionalists, but I believe the pioneers like Michael Casey,  Ed Vielmetti and Michael Stephens are bringing a form of knowledge ecology to the library world and doing real world KM stuff.

Here are some of the L2 heresies:

• Users can modify library services, content and policy
• Participation is more than a book on loan
• Libraries should be open source
• L2 changes, authority, strategies, orientation and mission - it is disruptive
• L2 encourages library - library collaboration, co-operation and activities - moving beyond inter-library loans

Libraries need to pay attention to ephemeral content, provide blogs and virtual community, annotation affordances, move into myspace, encourage community and conversation, move into gaming, IM and more.... oh such horror!

What comes next? Recommender systems, Amazon feeds, iPod downloads.....????

If L2 is all about participation, collaboration, community, creative content, changing the context and bringing more people into the conversation - that is core KM stuff. I see the SLA has recently started a new KM division (about time!) and hope they will be embracing much of this L2 excitement.

Do you any L2 thoughts to share?

About PKM?

There is a deep paradox methinks in personal knowledge management why?

The deeper you delve into PKM the more you appreciate it is the social skills that count. Relationships, connections, exchanges, forums, dialog are the road to impoved personal knowledge - this is clearly not something you can do by yourself!

Sense-making, inquiry, exploration, knowledge creation, even learning are mainly social activies. Knowledge flows along trusted relations and new findings need open testing before you can be sure of the value, utility, meaning? and ethics.

Knowledge IMO does not arise from individual thought organisation, information access or from personal skills, or personal networking but from interaction, context & experience in a very social world. In a nutshell - the most important part of PKM is then networking, dialog, social interaction and sense-making. It is not responsibility for personal learning, not classification and personal access to information, but maintaining relationships, knowing where and who, reciprocity and dialog that gets things done.

So what exactly are your thoughts?