Content Creation, Metadata and Distribution - A Knowledge Capture Framework: Part II

Continued from part I
A knowledge capture (content creation) framework outlined below aids in organic growth of quality content that is continuous, sustainable and rewarding in good measure to organization assets.



1. Record: The oldest, dearest and the best way to get content is to track conversations. All it takes is a dictaphone, video camera that performs dual functions of shooting pictures and taking videos. The conversation types for generating content for good e-Learning are:

1. Interviews
2. Group Discussions
3. Informal conversations
4. Live Talks/Lectures/Narrations
5. Feedback Sessions
6. Articles/Blogs
7. Documents/Presentations
   

2. Rehash: To enable wider reach of content, it needs an

1. Identity name,
   
2. Context(s) of use,
   
3. Definition for existence,
   
4. Place(s) for easy look up and
   
5. A path to reach them
   

A content is not a single consumable item. It can aid in multiplying ideas at different instances. Accessing it in different environments leads to better understanding. Think of it as seeing a news in TV and reading it in paper and browsing it as a blog. Another analogy could be viewing a game in multiple camera views to understand the strategies and weaknesses better. We gain perspectives and it is important function of any e-Learning program.

The various ways to rehash the content in multiple scenarios would be to work on the content and provide it with:

1. Tags (phrases that define the content better)
2. Contextual sets mapping (What aims and areas the content sets to provide value)
3. Roles Definition (What roles would benefit from content and what is the defining goal of content)
4. Keywords (Individual words that can be remembered and searched to reach content)
5. Metadata information(Place, Location, Author, Relevance, Validity)
   

3. Repeat: Same content in multiple delivery mediums. Called as "Publish Once, Deploy Anywhere" concept, "One-push publishing" or any other marketing terms. Repetition is an important learning concept. It is said that in Hindu religion, ages ago, knowledge of vedas was passed down generations only through memory. The important way that is taught even today is to rehearse the verses by repeating. This is how academic excellence is also measured. The more times you read, the more times you speak out loud, the better retention of the subject.

In age of multiple access mediums of laptops, desktops, mini DV, consoles, kiosks, mobiles, it is important for e-Learning to harness the mediums to provide the repeatable views of the same information.

The framework is an attempt to enable,
1. creating content faster, cheaper and a continuous process,
2. providing access methods with multiple outlets for users to be comfortable and reachable to content
3. Creating user friendly pages, with seperate tools at seperate times to enforce recollection, application and promote more content creation.

What I have seen in practice is that when done on a continous basis with complete awareness of its importance, a sustainable knowledge capture leads to an effective knowledge base that assists users in solving problems faster, easier and better.

Thoughts please in comments section!!