Posted 7:57 PM by George Siemens
...posted a new article on elearnspace from the elearning course...Online Facilitation. Looking back at a discussion that happens in bits and pieces, and is then presented as a whole - reveals how unaware we are of much of our learning. I'd actually like to see listservs summarize discussion...for example, elearningleaders has a great discussion going on now about distributed learning networks...and cms-list just finished dealing with classification schemes...and OnlineNews is in the middle of round 87 of "the value of content"...etc. Be nice to see all of that summarized cohesively.

Posted 7:48 PM by George Siemens
The nonsense of 'knowledge management'
Quote: "Examines critically the origins and basis of 'knowledge management', its components and its development as a field of consultancy practice. Problems in the distinction between 'knowledge' and 'information' are explored, as well as Polanyi's concept of 'tacit knowing'. The concept is examined in the journal literature, the Web sites of consultancy companies, and in the presentation of business schools. The conclusion is reached that 'knowledge management' is an umbrella term for a variety of organizational activities, none of which are concerned with the management of knowledge. Those activities that are not concerned with the management of information are concerned with the management of work practices, in the expectation that changes in such areas as communication practice will enable information sharing."

Posted 7:32 PM by George Siemens
NAWeb
Stephen Downes (with fellow participants) is blogging the NAWeb Conference...here is a sample post:
"What concerns me is that I often see the technology driving the delivery process. An example, somewhat exaggerated for effect: On the basis of an airplane conversation, a dean decides to use a particular online portfolio package and brings IT into the process $10-20k later. Then we all jump through hoops trying to force the package to meet the actual needs of the college, altering our environment to meet the parameters of the package, and trying to wheedle faculty and students into actually using the thing. Because the package only supports form-based text input, graphic communications students whose work includes varying file formats cannot include their work in their portfolios. Thought was not given ahead of time to the actual human needs that should be met. The focus is on the technology, its interface and requirements and limitations. Even in administrative applications we see developers picking a toolset based not on its appropriateness to the problem to be solved, but on its appeal to the developers in terms of personal interest, resume-building, et cetera."

Posted 11:42 AM by George Siemens
Information Alone Isn't Business Intelligence
Quote: "I've always had a lot more trouble figuring out what metrics have to be captured to help someone make a good decision than I've had in speeding up the flow of information. Real-time numbers are great and very necessary in many cases--for example, stock outages or the location of airplanes. But technology alone has rarely been the answer when trying to figure out how to get the edge on the competition. Without a thorough contemplation of what information is needed to improve decision-making in your business or mine, we have no knowledge, just a collection of data."
Comment: Same holds true for education...access to information, without some idea of what to do with that information, is useless.

Posted 5:01 AM by George Siemens
Caroline via Techno-News Blog
Quote: "Claroline is a free GPL software working with PHP/MySQL. It is a course based educational tool allowing the teacher to create, admin and feed his/her courses through the web.
Comment: Looks interesting...nice to see the word "free" in relation to educational software...:) (there are others: OKI, OpenLMS...). Current pricing schemes for course management systems essentially ensures the exclusion of "have-not" colleges/universities.

Posted 4:53 AM by George Siemens
Teacher Training in Technology
Quote: "To use any new technology requires changes in behaviour and people need training to achieve the best results.
There has been much effort - although more needs to be done - to make technology accessible to teachers and this week's newsletter points to some resources."
Comment: An extensive listing of resources on a very important (and often neglected) topic - training teacher on technology. Incudes: self-assessment, training models, online courses...