Book Review

Transforming e-Knowledge: A revolution in the sharing of knowledge

Madan Mohan Rao IT consultant madan@inomy.com

By Donald Norris, Jon Mason and Paul Lefrere
2003 Society for College and University Planning (www.scup.org), Michigan
164 pages

“Transforming e-Knowledge” is an informative analysis of the evolving standards and cross-sectoral synergies in e-learning, digital content publishing and organisational knowledge management, along with associated business models, capacity-building issues and leadership imperatives.

The rich online companion (www.transformingeknowledge.info) includes a searchable glossary, bibliography, case studies, and other resources. The book is sponsored by an Education.au, SCT, WebCT, Knowledge Media and Mobilearn.

Donald Norris is the president of US-based Strategic Initiatives Inc., and also author of “Transforming Higher Education” and “E-business in Education.” Jon Mason is the assistant director of IMS Australia. Paul Lefrere is director of networking and partnerships at the Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards at the University of Wales and British Open University.

The material is divided into seven chapters, covering issues like knowledge futures, evolution of e-learning modules and standards, Web services infrastructure, professional communities of practice, and recommendations for policymakers.

New technology environments — particularly the Internet, Intranet and wireless media — are transforming the very way knowledge is experienced and transformed, triggering off a cascading cycle of reinvention of education (e.g. just-in-time learning) and organisational collaboration (e.g. tradecraft knowledge mobilisation via handheld devices).

Interested? Read the complete article here.