Design of an Open and Distance Learning Framework Focused on Knowledge Management

The main objective of the proposed Open and Distance Learning (ODL) framework structure is to foster the contribution, assessment and reuse of concepts and content in a secure and controlled manner. Based on Knowledge Management (KM) tools and concepts, pedagogues should be motivated and supported in reusing information and knowledge, instead of 'reinventing the wheel'. In particular, open issues such as content classification, distribution and representation, but also licensing and copyright problems as well as basic organisational and managerial aspects are addressed. The key aspect is not the invention of a new technology but the intelligent integration and exploitation of existing concepts and solutions. Specifically, it is suggested to integrate and utilise open standards to ensure platform independence and facilitate the development and integration of new requirements, concepts and third-party tools. The technical approach focuses on Portal concepts, which provide the technical basis to store, archive and retrieve structured and unstructured information in electronic format as well as means to communicate in asynchronous and synchronous manner. Furthermore, they allow personalising one’s view on information and interfacing other systems in a consistent and unified way. In respect to the technological change, a modular and Design of an Open and Distance Learning Framework Focused on Knowledge Management 97 expandable design has been chosen, which facilitates the integration of future concepts and techniques without the need for redesigning the whole framework. 1. Background and Motivation In this paper it is argued that the core part of 'Open and Distance Learning' (ODL) i.e. all mediated forms of technology-based distance learning processes deals with Knowledge Management (KM). A similar view is also held, for instance, by Lundberg [27] who claims that basically all requirements and components of KM are reflected in the learning, teaching and research processes of academic organisations (see also [22]). Therefore, he argues that the academic organisation can be seen as a metaphor for knowledge management. According to Lundberg, the aim of KM is "[...] to contribute to organisational goals through the development of methods, techniques and technologies which contribute to the effective and efficient distribution of knowledge in the organisation"([27], p. 213). In the context of ODL, this aim has to be extended by copyright and security issues as well as interorganisational information and knowledge distribution [41]. For reasons of simplicity, it is assumed that the term information refers to data (i.e. an event, letter, word, etc. out of context) that is put into a meaningful context and the term knowledge refers to the human ability to utilise that information (see [1], pp. 28 and [7], pp. 42 and pp. 262). The proposed ODL framework is based on existing concepts and open standards (i.e. standards that are defined and implemented by a large number of universities and/or companies), and emphasises on managing and reusing knowledge of pedagogues. The key aspect is not the invention of a new technology but the intelligent integration and exploitation of existing concepts and solutions (see [23], pp. 112 and pp. 119). It is not seen as a substitute for existing off-the-shelf ODL products but as a platform to combine such tools with other information sources and tools. The importance of open standards as a delivery platform is also stressed in [41], p. 107 and p. 122, because it is assumed that this approach will help to keep overall cost low. The framework considers the requirements of the teaching, management and administration domains of academic organisations primarily from a technical point of view. In particular, open issues such as content classification, distribution and representation, but also licensing and copyright problems are addressed. Current Internet/Intranet concepts and solutions are discussed and combined with a new approach that facilitates KM in a secure and controlled manner in the context of ODL. Consequently, this paper focuses on Portal concepts, which combine tools to store, archive and retrieve structured and unstructured information in electronic format as well as means to communicate in asynchronous and synchronous manner ([9], [10], [14] and [26]). Furthermore, Portals allow personalising one's view on information and interfacing other systems in a consistent and unified way (see [23], pp. 160). In respect to the technological change, a modular and expandable design has been chosen, which facilitates the integration of future concepts and techniques Philipp Amann, Gerald Quirchmayr 98 without the need for redesigning the whole framework (e.g. integration of mobile communication protocols). It can be assumed that the support for open standards to ensure platform independence and facilitate the development and integration of new requirements, concepts and third-party tools is an important approach in the field of ODL. This need is also identified in [41], p. 122, for deploying courses and supporting learners but this paper suggest using open standards to support the process of developing courses as well. In particular, directory access systems such as LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) (see [18], pp. 67) can be used to provide unified (i.e. platform independent) authentication information and generic personalization information (e.g. user profiles) on an inter/intra-system level (see [23] p. 182). In order to back the dissemination of ODL courseware, there is also a need for standardising data and information as well as integrating copyright and licensing mechanisms ([25], [34], [45], [54], [55] and [69]). For instance, the Dublin Core (DC) metadata standard [45], which facilitates the description of a wide range of networked resources, as well as the Resource Description Framework (RDF), which is being specified by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), provide useful concepts to share and exchange information as well as to protect intellectual property [69] (a popular example of a platform independent technology to describe and represent information in a standardised and system independent way is the eXtensible Markup Language (XML)). However, there are still a lot of open issues and it is not clear whether the concepts and solutions, which have been developed so far, will meet the needs of teachers and learners, respectively, and whether they will be accepted by the market (see [34], p. xi, xii and xiv). In general, such a framework should provide means to gather, classify and assess ODL concepts and courses in terms of usability, practical relevance, reusability as well as financial aspects. It should also provide means to reuse existing courseware, without violating copyright provisions. This requires the definition of the necessary organisational and technical structures that encourage pedagogues to share their experience and work with other colleagues. In other words, the efficient transition, management, classification and controlled transfer of knowledge are the most important factors in assessing, deploying and reusing ODL concepts and courses ([24] and [49]). On a higher level, a similar approach is suggested in Salford University's ODL evaluation report: "Salford University has identified the need to create a seamless environment that incorporates several ODL technologies in a way that supports effective teaching and learning. It is important to realise however that although it is important to have a suitable technological infrastructure it is the pedagogical and didactic issues that must remain uppermost in the minds of implementers." ([41], p. 106). In general, the following problems have to be addressed in the process of defining an ODL framework (see [21], p. 161 and [41], pp. 26): • Institutional strategy / policy • Domestic cultural aspects and the culture of project partners