Knowledge Platforms in Knowledge Ecology: Web of β-Tools

Zoltán Baracskai – Viktor Dörfler

We depict the knowledge platform as the place of knowledge increase of business professionals. In

this paper we focus on the technical aspects of the knowledge platform, more precisely, on the

knowledge-tools the learners use. Technically the knowledge platform is a hybrid cloud featuring on-

demand tools for business professionals for organising their knowledge, obtaining relevant piece of

information, learning new concepts, etc. In the first approximation we can use the metaphor of the

Swiss army knife for this space of knowledge increase. In the second approximation we have to ac-

knowledge that the tools offered in the knowledge platform are always ‘in beta’ so the business

professionals will find somewhat different tools available every time they visit the knowledge plat-

form. But the users of the knowledge platform need the right knowledge tools right now. There are

two points of paradigm shift that we suggest: The first point is that this hybrid cloud should offer

Social Media as a Service (MaaS) apart from the traditional IaaS, PaaS, SaaS. The second point is that

there is a person in the cloud, we call this person the e-coach, who makes sure that the needed

knowledge tools are always at hand. This is a new landscape of knowledge increase, thus our mes-

sage is: Don’t worry if you are not quite there yet today – but do worry if you do not see how you

will get there tomorrow.

Knowledge Platforms in Knowledge Ecology: Web of β-Learners Ágnes Szeghegyi – Jolán Velencei

We depict the knowledge platform as the place of knowledge increase of business professionals. In

this paper we focus on the human aspect of the knowledge platform, more precisely, on the busi-

ness professionals that use the knowledge platform for their knowledge increase. We expect that

the learners in the knowledge platforms will be the Shallows. The Shallows is not an adjective but a

noun: these are business professionals with broad rather than with little knowledge. They are com-

ing from different tribes, i.e. different socio-cultural and knowledge backgrounds as well as from

different praxis. They are also often ephemeral in their tribal belongings; they swiftly shift from one

to another tribe. Therefore we must acknowledge that we cannot expect a particular set of charac-

teristics of the users of the knowledge platform – it is as if the learners are always ‘in beta’. Thus we

see the knowledge platform as a dynamic web of communities of practice (CoP) between which our

beta-learners constantly move depending on the knowledge they need here and now. What is com-

mon about them is that they need the right knowledge right now. We suggest the role of the knowl-

edge platform guide who helps the orientation of the beta-learners in this web of CoPs. We call this

guide the e-coach. This is a new landscape of knowledge increase, thus our message is: Don’t worry

if you are not quite there yet today – but do worry if you do not see how you will get there tomor-

row.

Knowledge Platforms in Knowledge Ecology: Web of β-Content

Zoltán Baracskai – Željko Markota

We depict the knowledge platform as the place of knowledge increase of business professionals. In

this paper we focus on the aesthetical aspects of the knowledge platform, more precisely, on the

characteristics of the mashup content the learners use. The knowledge platform offers a variety of

knowledge sources and knowledge tools to the learners. However, the learners rarely need a par-

ticular knowledge source or knowledge tool in its pure form but usually some blend of sources and

tools. The blend of sources and tools the learners need we see as a mashup, the typical content type

of web 2.0. The e-coach is there to create the mashup content for the learners. Musicians describe

the mashup the following way: take something traditional, add to it something new and then twist it

in some unexpected way. The aesthetics of mashup music cannot be understood by the means of

the traditional music descriptors. Similarly, we do not expect to be able to depict the aesthetics of

mashup content in the knowledge platform using the requirements of the traditional content man-

agement systems. In our knowledge platform the primary aesthetical principle of the mashup archi-

tecture is ‘non-reading’. Our experience with the ‘Učilica’ system for children suggests that aesthet-

ics is more important than the actual content. Perhaps this also applies to post-experiential business

education. This is a new landscape of knowledge increase, thus our message is: Don’t worry if you

are not quite there yet today – but do worry if you do not see how you will get there tomorrow.