Knowledge Management and E-Learning

The Preface

Knowledge Management and E-Learning explores two encompassing aspects of distance learning, KM, and e-learning. “Knowledge is information in context” (Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, 2005, p. 6). Knowledge management comprises creating, acquiring, capturing, aggregating, sharing, and using knowledge to enhance organizational learning and performance. Since the 1960s, online distance learning was synonymous with university students benefitting from asynchronous or synchronous learning opportunities. Early learning management systems have evolved on the basis of learner use through distance learning or system capabilities rather than from long-term strategic design. Consequently, distance learning providers have faced the challenges of changing the culture of the delivery system and providers and understanding the economic model of e-learning. Furthermore, adult learners’ expectations for the latest technologies and social networking opportunities as part of their educational opportunities are no longer limited to university settings. Therefore, organizations should employ robust KM systems “of superior scope and depth” to implement KM principles outlined in the book (p. xiii).

Section I: Setting the Stage

Chapters 1 to 3 describe the groundwork needed for developing an optimal association between KM and e-learning: knowledge-enabled, learner-centered, and community-accessed are three key components. Knowledge-enabled refers to having the right knowledge available at the right time and place for the learner. Learner-centered refers to the focus being placed on the learner through instructional paradigms. Community-accessed refers to fostering a community of interest through social networking as part of the organization’s KM.

The role of the adult learner in education, whether at the university level or within an organization’s professional development program, has changed substantially since the 1990s. The ability to access vast volumes of information instantly through the Internet has provided more opportunities to contribute to the learning process. Consequently, workplace expectations have evolved so that adult learners are expected to specialize within their fields and to master a broad range of content areas.

KM is a valuable tool in the knowledge acquisition, sharing, and application phases of the e-learning process. Instructional designers develop learning objects or nuggets based on a single knowledge or performance objective that can be static or interactive content. Designing quality learning objects so that they are reusable, interoperable, durable, and accessible is crucial for making online e-learning more impactful and agile.

Approximately 22 million students are expected to participate in some form of online learning during 2014 (Ambient Insight, 2009). With greater access to experts who share their best practices through technology, learners can tap into e-mentoring programs and peer-to-peer exchanges anytime, anywhere. KM systems should support these capabilities and are further investigated in the book through case studies. In this section, Liebowitz promotes the use of strategic intelligence in terms of using social networking (e.g., among online communities) to improve an organization’s strategic decision-making capability through KM, business intelligence, and competitive intelligence.

Open-source courses promote sharing of learning objects and the formation of online communities of interest. Massive open online courses, which have minimal or no cost required of the learner, have become popular through well-known, highly regarded academic institutions (e.g., Stanford University [Stanford, California], Harvard University [Cambridge, Massachusetts], and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [Cambridge]) through providers such as Coursera, Inc.^® (Mountain View, California), edX^® (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and Udacity, Inc.^® (Mountain View, California; Milheim, 2013). The courses attract traditional and informal learners who can use an array of technologic tools to participate in a class (e.g., chat, mailing lists, discussion forums, wikis, web conferencing systems, and personal blogs; Milheim, 2013).

The possibilities of sharing knowledge through online learning can have unforeseen impact, including enhancing the quality of life for nontraditional learners and creating new knowledge when participants form a community of interest. Interestingly, a community of inquiry (i.e., the phenomenon of the interactions among members of an online class that occur through three key components: cognitive presence—the extent to which the member is able to construct meaning through sustained communication; teaching presence—the extent to which the course facilitator designs learning experiences, guides and directs student work, and facilitates interaction to support deep learning; and social presence—the strength of the social relationships and emotional connection among members) can be measured through the use of surveys (Rubin & Fernandes, 2013). “Online courses are more successful in supporting deep learning when they are characterized by a community of inquiry” (Rubin & Fernandes, 2013, p. 125). Therefore, communities of inquiry can be evaluated for the purpose of improving online courses.

This section also includes an overview of the characteristics of the adult learner and the ways universities and businesses can engage adult learners, especially working professionals with years of expertise who can themselves contribute to the KM of the academic institution or organization. In addition, snapshots of global trends (e.g., the emergence of a globally linked economy and a globally linked workforce) are discussed. Examples of the need for cultural awareness, effective communication, and creative solutions to reach global audiences are shared.

Section II: Methodologies and Techniques

In Chapters 4 to 8, different KM models are illustrated, primarily those that use a blended approach of e-learning where students are expected to actively participate in carefully instructor-crafted assignments, requiring self-directed learning and collaboration. The students generate new content through guided research and interaction with their peers. This section also describes studies conducted by KM specialists at the university level in Taiwan who analyzed the ways students query and locate information effectively on the Internet. These studies identified learners’ Internet-based problem-solving behaviors and revealed how they construct knowledge. This can be used to customize learning to a particular student audience.

Antoniette (Toni) S. Ungaretti and Heather K. Tillberg-Webb use the dynamic learning system model in Chapter 4 to illustrate how to analyze the gaps between KM and e-learning through iterative assessment and evaluation by emphasizing the assurance of learning value chain. Assurance of learning, also known as learning outcomes assessment, is a systematic and multidimensional process, requiring KM professionals to define the educational goals and objectives at the organizational and instructional levels before developing a training program or activity. It uses feedback to ensure learning and impact at different levels—individual, group, and organizational levels—and focuses on continuous improvement, “which must be demonstrated via measurable results and impact on the learning community” (p. 46).

KM specialists can mistakenly concentrate on workforce knowledge gains, rather than the ultimate needs of the organization—a competent workforce ready to act and make decisions. Training programs should not only focus on transferring explicit knowledge but also create opportunities for learners to gain tacit knowledge, which is usually subconsciously applied and can be difficult to articulate. Tacit knowledge is developed through experiences, storytelling, or sharing of experiences through dynamic conversation. Therefore, the role of education specialists is integral to linking KM and e-learning. Ungaretti and Tillberg-Webb summarize comments by Adrian Snook of DigitalThink, United Kingdom, from 2001 remarks by Simon Lelic published in Inside Knowledge (Lelic, 2001) exploring the association between KM and e-learning, “[P]ersons facing daunting development challenges require carefully designed learning experiences based on sound pedagogical principles by instructional experts with practice activities and assessments crafted to both develop and test competence” (p. 49). “Knowledge management seeks to capture the tacit knowledge that resides in the workforce, as well as the explicit knowledge that may be directly generated through the organization of information” (Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, 2005, p. 14). Ungaretti and Tillberg-Webb emphasize that KM can use communication and collaboration solutions to address the need for articulating, sharing, and leveraging tacit knowledge so that it transfers to explicit knowledge, readily available to everyone in the organization.

In Chapter 8, “From Self-Service to Room Service: Changing the Way We Search, Sift, and Synthesize Information,” Charles S. and Jon-David W. Knode examine the information overload phenomena caused by the accessibility of a hyperabundance of information. Learners play a role in their organization’s KM by effectively obtaining relevant and timely information. Learners should leverage their ability to navigate the information tsunami to create a room service model of information interaction to automate how and what information they access online. Examples are provided for employing myriad search engines and search methods, ones that send or “push” information automatically, such as RSS links and twitter feeds and sites (e.g., Accenture [New York, New York], Educause [Louisville, Colorado], ReadWrite [Say Media, Inc., New York, New York], and Google^® [Mountain View, California]) to which users can subscribe to receive notification of selective updates. The alternative is not as efficient because the recipient must search for or “pull” information and find ways to make information more contextually relevant.

Section III: Case Studies

Chapters 9 to 16 illustrate performance-based approaches for improving organizations’ learning and KM, the effects of computer literacy on the learner, use of Web 2.0 as a collaborative and networking tool, use of electronic portfolios for continuous learning, and the value of an academic library. In Chapter 9, “Performance-Based Learning and Knowledge Management in the Workplace,” Minhong Wang, Jürgen Moormann, and Stephen J. H. Yang emphasize the need for organizations to improve their competitive advantage through opportunities for sharing explicit and tacit knowledge through social interaction. The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) developed a paper-based prototype of a banking performance-based role-play simulation, KreditKim. Bank employees learn procedural standards for the loan application approval process through manuals and then apply this knowledge in a simulation with a facilitator or coach. After performing a task, learners are asked to analyze and discuss their performance; they then identify deficiencies in the current banking processes. “In this way, the tacit knowledge of process improvement is externalized, delivered, refined, and reused via the performance-based learning approach” (p. 146). In Chapter 16, “Knowledge Management and Continuity of Operations (COOP): E-Learning as a Strategy in Disaster Prevention and Emergency Management,” Claudine SchWeber posits that academic institutions and businesses should be able to deal with an interruption of operations, whether caused by human, economic, or environment factors, because 40% of all companies that experience a disaster never reopen. The emphasis is on resilience, and organizations can identify and capture key knowledge areas that might be lost, causing severe harm, during a disaster event by sharing or transferring the knowledge or by internalizing and applying the knowledge within the organizational context.

An example of disaster preparedness that can serve as a model for other academic institutions is the Sloan Semester Program in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. Approximately 150 colleges and universities across the United States provided 1,300 online courses to students from 26 hurricane-affected schools. The Sloan Semester Project is a model for crisis management as well. It applies four principles of resilience—adapt to the situation and solve problems, expand on existing resources, make and implement decisions quickly, and manage effectively in uncertain and unexpected situations (SchWeber, 2013).

Section IV: Industry Perspectives

Chapters 17 to 19 focus on KM and e-learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and the role of the virtual leader in KM. In Chapter 18, “Knowledge Management and Learning in Industry,” Tim Howell provides tips for finding the right subject matter experts and structuring knowledge to solicit expertise at the workplace and assemble and deliver it. Examples are shared of how subject matter experts can work with KM specialists to help design subject-specific question templates in order to capture knowledge specific to business operational, administrative, or technical learning needs. Also, the real-life illustration of the International Space Station Design Knowledge Capture project was created to prevent the possible loss of 10 years of design knowledge.

In Chapter 19, “Virtual Leaders: Born or Made?” Mary Key and Donna J. Dennis explore the virtual leadership competencies (e.g., technology-, task-, and relationship-related competencies) needed to foster a culture of achieving high levels of performance. Communities of practice are referred to as a type of think tank, where virtual leaders can create a culture of collaboration and capture tacit knowledge. Virtual leaders need to be able to build a relationship with each team member based on trust. One way is to focus on social communication and task-related communication. Best practices include engaging in social conversations and providing quality responses to requests for information in e-mail exchanges. “Organizations need to pay more attention to how they teach leaders to apply their skills in virtual environments and to create awareness that the virtual environment requires additional thinking, skills, application, and transfer” (p. 343).

Businesses, academic institutions, and government agencies can have an additional challenge of transforming the workplace culture to a free knowledge-sharing environment where expertise and unique skill sets are viewed as assets to be shared rather than hoarded. This is where group leaders can significantly contribute to the psychological climate—the individual person’s perception of the climate—and construct of the organizational climate or shared perception of what the work environment is like, similar to that of a community of inquiry (Rubin & Fernandes, 2013). In turn, employees who perceive closer relationships with their leaders have more positive views of the climate and greater consensus, which is conducive to creating an environment for learning (Rubin & Fernandes, 2013).

Conclusion

KM strategists and e-learning specialists should have their finger on the pulse of successful trends and evidence-based learning strategies and collaborate in developing long-term plans for KM and workforce training initiatives. Knowledge Management and E-Learning provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and perspectives for capturing, managing, and delivering tacit knowledge to the right learners at the right time. By reading this book, KM researchers and practitioners and e-learning developers can establish a foundational understanding of contemporary KM practices and e-learning applications for retaining and nurturing a highly skilled and talented workforce.