An interesting blog Knowledge vs. Information…Which is it? reminded me on this, to take a look at e-learning; or more precisely learning itself

Computer has evolved from being a device for data processing to a platform for knowledge sharing. However, does that make a platform for learning. No doubt, it assists but to be a platform for learning, I believe we have still a long way to go

What am I saying? Well, there is distinct difference in both the notion and dictionary meaning for terms i) data, ii) information, iii) knowledge, iv) expertise and v) wisdom

Why is this important to discuss? We live in a world where i) huge amount of data is being created and processed every minute, ii) amount of information we require to consume and process to make decision to stay effective and competitive, both in personal life and business is huge and is increasing, iii) great deal of effort goes into creation of data and processing of information rather than presenting for a purpose, iv) ability to assimilate information to make quick decisions could make huge differences in personal life, career and business.

Let me explain this in a context. My father has been going through a traumatic phase over last two years; short term memory loss and similar strange behavioral patterns. From the descriptions from his physician, I understand that this is due to a growth (hopefully benign) in the brain. What is the issue? What is the cause? What is the best possible treatments? What are side effects? What are do’s and don’ts?

Before web, information to me was limited to what our physicians in the friendly neighborhood could offer but now a whole world of information is available to me. Mark my words, it is information at best; not knowledge!

I do not expect my doctor to be God. I do not expect my doctor to be all powerful and all knowing. I do respect the profession and respect the person. But I would like to educate myself. I do not expect to educate myself to the level of my doctor. As a professional, I understand what it takes to be a professional. My intention behind educating myself is to make informed decisions; as best as I can

I do it but I think it could be better. I look forward to it being better. I look forward to making it better if I can. What does it take? That is where I believe we need to distinguish between i) data, ii) information, iii) knowledge, iv) expertise and v) wisdom.

What is the distinction?
I believe, they are:
Data, as we all know, is raw facts.
Information is relevant data available on time.
Knowledge is internalized information/awareness,
Expertise is ability to apply knowledge (what)/skill (how)
Wisdom is knowing when/where to apply

To me, learning is moving from having to work with a lot of data to wisdom where I can make informed decisions. As an old saying goes, first quarter of learning is from the master, second is from the learner himself/herself, third is from peers and forth from experience.

Web 2.0 has everything that it takes to make it happen. Well, someone needs to make it happen

When we talk about quality, definition that is closest to my heart is ‘value to someone’ from Dr. Gerald M. Weinberg. It is closest to my heart because I find it easy to apply into a business context. Well, that some one is the customer who invests in the product on behalf of the user (if customer and user are different). That is also the user who actually uses the product. That also includes balancing interests of many other stakeholders. Does that sound confusing? Not necessarily. Art of management is about balancing various forces. It is not one at the cost of others

That brings to FURPS+, traditional classification of quality we use in software engineering. I believe all dimensions require attention. Reliability, Performance and Supportability of the solution is as important as Functionality and Usability.

Well, that sounds too generic? What is “good enough” quality for a specific project/product must be assessed with respect to stakeholders of that project/product. I believe, assessing them on all dimensions are important though one could define degree of acceptable tolerance/compromise taking respective stakeholders into confidence

Now getting specific to the eLearning, two key elements that make a successful eLearning system are i) technology and ii) content. From technology perspective, I would consider adaptability, scalability and maintainablity apart from FURPS+. Well, I am aware these are already addressed by FURPS+ but I think these require special attention as the eLearning technology space is still evolving. From content perspective, I would classify it further into quality of content, quality of content presentation, and quality of content delivery. In the latter two (that is, quality of content presentation and quality of content delivery) role of technology is significant but what I would like to assess is what does it mean for the user, and other stakeholders

Going my recent exploration in eLearning space, of late, I believe that this space is set to change with convergence of information and communication technologies and rapid changes taking place in related technologies. But I have not come across any product (commercial or otherwise) nor I have seen (or read about) any implementation, leveraging these even to a reasonable extent. Many, as I know, are in the research labs. Well, that is precisely my point.

Technology is only one of the influencing factors. It is, primarily, an enabling factor rather than a driving factor. Key is appreciation of its business potential, realization of business need and implementation of a solution to meet this need. This gives a clear business focus. Without such a focus, I find that, eLearning initiative gets pulled in different directions, especially given that eLearning represents confluence of many specialization. Resulting system becomes a skewed implementation influenced by political rather than business considerations.

Most significant influence of agile approach in software development, as I see it, is bringing focus back, from excessive documentation in the name of process and engineering, into delivering business value with honest communication and teamwork. I believe adoption of agile approach would help eLearning space as well, bringing focus back into business considerations especially given diverse, sometimes conflicting interests, of stakeholders of eLearning space

As a developer and user of e-Learning and as a trainer and mentor myself, I do not expect e-Learning to replace learning just as electronic or web publishing does not replacing conventional publishing but I would expect it to become a serious alternative. It is not yet and I believe it needs to go a long way before it can. Better and more standards is something that can surely expedite.

I believe e-Learning needs to bring together best of many worlds to be effective and successful. These include world of education, technology, subject matter (not every each subject can be taught the same way), cognitive science and many more. This needs to be aligned with market and business! e-Learning should be powered by technology, enabled by educators, driven by business and delivered to the learner!

Yes, e-Learning is an important application of technology and needs to take itself seriously. I would expect it to be increasingly guided by standards, driven by business, committed to deliver value to the learner. There are things that must, things that we can, things that we can not, and things that we must not.