KM techniques and organisational learning hints
Social Networking and Bookmarking is a complementary model to the ubiquitous Learning Management Systems.
Social Networking and Bookmarking is a complementary model to the ubiquitous Learning Management Systems. Instead of looking at education and learning from a perspective of delivering and managing content the metaphor of a Learning Landscape is supported.
For examples a 'learning landscape' as implemented in Elgg aims to dynamically connect people with shared interests and concerns through the content, conversations and reflections they produce. As people discuss their interests hyperlinks are created around key-words or tags in the content. These tags act as the conduits to discovering other people or communities with like minds and concerns ( Levine, 2005 talked about the importance of discoverability).
The idea of using tags as one of the major indexing systems to knowledge and understanding is part of a much wider theoretical model of knowledge called 'folksonomy' systems. These are a fundamental part of Web 2.0 technologies and systems.
Extending this tags are allowed to form associations, which provide a higher level of abstraction and navigation through content and relationships. This is quite similar to that found on del.icio.us . These tags also provide the basis for Topic Maps (aka MindMaps) that already have a wide range of opensource and commercial software support.
The personal learning landscape is a hybrid of weblogging, ePortfolios and social networking. The idea is that this combination of features will provide an engaging environment for learners to create their own learning space and then connect to others, forming online communities of learning.
It is being used as a knowledge management tool which encourages the connection of expertise, resources and people within organisations. It is also used to develop Communities of Practice.
The Future Lab report on Social Software and Learning mentions Elgg in the context of new, emerging tools.
Broadly there are two forms of community building/discovery modes for participants:
- Ad-Hoc communities: You can build up ad-hoc communties around shared interests within Elgg.
- Formal communities: Once you have found others with similar interests - or perhaps you are part of a research groups or a course/class you may want to have a more formal community setting. Each community comes with a file repository, blog, podcasting, FOAF, URL, RSS feed and wiki. Each community can be public, shared with friends or private.