Knowledge Management Systems and the Implications for Instruction

1. Knowledge Management Systems and the Implications for Instruction Tiffany Espinosa, Jara Raphaelson, Della Shorman, Carol Woelber University of Colorado Denver  December 2005

2. An immense and ever-increasing wealth of knowledge is scattered about the world today; knowledge that would probably suffice to solve all the mighty difficulties of our age, but it is dispersed and unorganized. We need a sort of mental clearing house for the mind: a depot where knowledge and ideas are received, sorted, summarized, digested, clarified and compared.~H.G. WellsThe Brain: Organization of the Modern World

3. Activity – Part 1 • Break into teams – three to four members • You will be assigned a category of words that are parts of a sentence (noun, verb, etc.) • You will have three minutes to write down 8 words from your category of words – one each on colored paper

4. Description "...for thousands of years, humans have been discussing the meaning of knowledge, what it is to know something, and how people can generate and share new knowledge." – Knowledge Management Tools, Rudy L. Ruggles, III, 1997

5. What is Knowledge? Fluid mix of contextual information, values, experiences and rules Process knowledge (how-to) Catalog knowledge (what is) Experiential knowledge (what was)

6. Three aspects of KM: Knowledge Generation Creation, synthesis, acquisition, adoption Knowledge codification Capture and presentation to make reusable Knowledge transfer Movement of knowledge from repository to absorption

7. Explicit vs. Tacit Knowledge: Explicit knowledge Data, formulas, specifications, manuals Words, numbers Formal, systematic transfer Tacit knowledge Personal, rooted in experience Subjective insights, intuitions, instincts More difficult to process, retain, transfer Strong focus of KM and Ed communities

8. Goal of Knowledge Mgmt:

9. KM’s Evolution Knowledge generation and retrieval The learning organization Facilitating Connections Communities of practice Knowledge sharing Collaboration Education, instruction, e-learning

10. KM and the Future of ID: • KMS integrated into the design • KM systems will be a variety of tools • Tools will draw upon a collection of reusable learning objects • Tools will support instructional design and learning environments • Redefine the way design teams work

11. History and Analysis

12. History and Analysis: Project management support tools Iterative prototyping Better user interfaces = increased accessibility = easier integration, deployment & customization Evolving systems -> adapt to changing conditions throughout lifetime of system

13. Growth of KM: 1000% Increase Over the past 7 Years(In Annual Investment $): 1998: $776 Million Total US Spending (for all uses) 2005 $600 Billion Public K-12 & Higher Education $70 Billion Corporate and Govt. Training

14. Systemic Impact

15. Three Major Impacts: Generating value from sharing information across an organization. Links users into a community of shared knowledge. Evolution of the Instructional Designers role.

16. Three Major Benefits: Facilitates collaboration among team members. Promotes efficiency and long-term productivity. Facilitates re-purposing of information.

17. Risks: Need buy-in from users with a change management plan or system will fail. Set expectations or risk extinction. Must establish trust or system will fail. Must evaluate knowledge management tools prior to implementation or system will fail.

18. Implications

19. Implications: • Vital to provide employees or students with access to information • Well-designed KM system can help solve the challenges for a business or an organization

20. Challenges: • Information not up-to-date, accurate or appropriate • Emphasis on what technology can do • No continuing training for employees or investment in resources

21. Benefits: • Improved accuracy of information • Greater flexibility • Increased staff satisfaction and morale • Reduced training time and costs

22. Application of KM: • Requires continuous management commitment • System must be actively marketed within the company or organization

23. Solving the Challenges: • Information not up-to-date, accurate or appropriate • Have a team in place that is responsible for updating • Establish communication channels • Provide for staff to report errors and omissions

24. Solving the Challenges: • Emphasis on what technology can do • Involve staff in the design • Develop prototypes and test these with real users • Create navigation and menu items that are appropriate to the user • Don’t oversell the system

25. Solving the Challenges: • No continuing training for employees or investment in resources involve staff in the design • Provide continuing training of staff on use of system and are using it to their advantage • Monitor usage of system to identify what is most valuable

26. The goal of KM should be to enhance existing processes and learning, not create additional work

27. Activity – Part 2 • Meet with your original team • Select two each of the colored word papers • You have six minutes to formulate one coherent sentence • You may return to the repository and exchange word sheets if necessary • When finished, tape your sentence to the front board.