A theoretical perspective on the mechanisms of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing
Knowledge, although being a common word, has mechanics, such as the creation of knowledge, that are still not fully understood. This matter is tackled by a broad field of study dealing with the study of knowledge that is Epistemology.
In order to speak about mechanics of knowledge creation, we need to point out a definition of knowledge: on this matter, Oxford Dictionaries defines Knowledge as: “Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject” (see [8]).
Based on this definition, we can easily recognize two main types of knowledge: explicit and tacit knowledge. This is in fact what Professors Nonaka and Takeuchi denoted in their work “The Knowledge-Creating Company” (see [1]): an essential reference in understanding how knowledge is shaped and how it can be applied to the firm.
In [1] these two kinds of knowledge are described in the following way: Explicit knowledge can be thought as to be formal and systematic, therefore, able to be easily shared (a scientific formula is an example of Explicit knowledge). On the other hand, Tacit knowledge is not so easily expressible: it is personal and depends mostly on experience. This kind of knowledge is difficult to transfer and express, hence harder to formalize (an example of Tacit knowledge is the expertise developed by a master craftsman after many years of work). The words of the philosopher Polanyi describe Tacit knowledge perfectly: “we can know more than we can tell”.
Nonaka expressed the concept of knowledge creation (see [1]) as “the formation of new ideas through the interactions between Explicit and Tacit knowledge in individuals”.
Based on that Nonaka defines the SECI model, which describes the spiraling process of knowledge sharing and creation, and how those processes transfer Explicit and Tacit knowledge to other individuals. Those processes are called: Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization.
Those processes can be briefly summarized as follows:
- Socialization (Tacit to Tacit): this is a process that involves sharing Tacit knowledge from an individual to another. It may happen through observation, imitation or practice and is, therefore, a limited form of knowledge since it requires time and practice. Because of that, it cannot easily be leveraged by an organization as a whole.
- Externalization (Tacit to Explicit): this process happens when an individual is able to articulate its Tacit knowledge, converting it into Explicit knowledge, allowing it to be shared.
- Combination (Explicit to Explicit): Combination happens when an individual combines pieces of Explicit knowledge into a new whole, though they do not really extend the existing knowledge, just recombining it.
- Internalization (Explicit to Tacit): this process takes place when Explicit knowledge is internalized by an individual, thus enriching their own Tacit knowledge base.
Those processes, most of which happens due to collaboration, are the fundamentals of knowledge creation and sharing: as we will see in the next sections collaboration is becoming the main ingredient in the education paradigm we are approaching, and digital technologies have a tremendous role in that.
The influence of Digital Innovation on Knowledge Creation and Education
We have so far spoken about the mechanisms of knowledge creation. What is of interest to us is how digital innovation comes into play in changing the way we acquire and create knowledge. Therefore, we need to have a clear idea about the concept of digital innovation: in a broad sense, digital innovation represents the driving concept related to the development of new solutions through added value enabled by digital technologies.
Brynjolfsson and McAfee, in their book “The Second Machine Age” (see [3]), discuss how we are now inside the Second Machine Age, enabled by the use of computers, which are capable of replacing mental power just as steam engines did during the First Machine Age (First Industrial Revolution) to replace muscle power. Computers and technologies are now able to reason algorithmically, relieving us from stressful mental work. Hence it is comprehensible that we are also changing our way of living and ultimately how we acquire and share our knowledge.
The most important example of digital technology affecting the way we learn is the Internet: it has allowed a continuously increasing flow of information around the globe, permitting people to communicate, share ideas and opinions while ultimately enabling the four processes of knowledge creation, i.e. the SECI model, to happen. We are now able to watch videos on YouTube and learn new skills by just watching other people do something (Socialization) or access articles written by professionals to make ours what we read (Internalization).
As stated in [3], there is no better resource for improving the world and bettering the state of humanity than the digital interconnection of people around the globe. The Internet and the digital technologies allow millions of people to share their knowledge, learn and collaborate with others. Things have gotten better because there are more people with good ideas, which are generated by the interaction with others. This is, in fact, the main ingredient of Recombinant Innovation, a theory based on the idea that best new products are hatched by collaboration and not soloists (see [9]).
Digital innovation and technologies are also changing education, whose concept was created during the first industrial revolution, where none of the current technologies were yet available. This is made clear by Ken Robinson in his talk (see [5]) and also in [3]: they point out the fact that our educational system is still based on the industrial-era, where math and reading were the primary focus, and students were thought of as pieces of a manufacturing line. This is a very important point since now it is necessary to possess a broader set of personal and intellectual skills to work alongside the new digital technologies and the new economy.
But thanks to the development of digital technologies, we are now in the middle of a new phenomenon called “Computer-based learning”, i.e. learning from the distance by using a computer, without having to go anywhere. Long-distance learning is not a recent phenomenon: radio, television and postal services have always been used to deliver education, but thanks to the advent of computers and digital technologies, we are now able to use a computer to learn. The first approach of computer-based learning dates back to the first developments of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s: digitized text became for a brief time the main communication medium for internet-based learning, which successively changed in lecture capture (see [6]). In fact, the development of video compression techniques in the early 2000s led to the introduction of lecture capture systems for recording and streaming lectures in 2008 (see [6]). All of this made possible the ushering of the term Computer-based learning, and nowadays it is possible to follow online courses made both of digitized text, animations, and videos. And thanks to forums, websites, and chats, people are able to collaborate with each other, which is the main ingredient in knowledge creation as aforementioned in the SECI model.
In regard to that, we need to specify one additional thing, written by Jeremy Rifkin in his book “The zero marginal cost society” (see [2]): digital technologies brought us into a new kind of economics: the Collaborative Commons. This is caused by Digital technologies, which are speeding the world towards a new era of nearly free goods and services. Capitalism may be the cause of the death of itself because of the dynamism of competitive markets that drive productivity up and marginal costs down (marginal cost is the cost of producing an additional unit of good or service if fixed costs are not included).
This plays a huge role in education: because of the reducing costs, we are able to access for a low cost or no cost at all thousands of books, articles, and videos in regard to nearly every possible topic. Examples of that are lectures and talks found on websites such as YouTube or Khan Academy, where videos can be accessed for free by everyone with an internet connection.
Lastly, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), which came in 2008, are the first example of learning in this new “Collaborative Age”, where free (or almost free) courses are given digitally to students, allowing them to earn certificates and college credits. Moreover, students can confront themselves in a forum, thus enriching their experience. This phenomenon has allowed students all around the globe to learn topics that were once taught only in universities, bypassing expensive fees and enrollment criteria.
We can finally say that we are changing our way of education: from an age where students were thought of as analogous to machines, conditioned to follow commands and not cheat or collaborate with their mates, to an age where collaboration is the main ingredient, with the teacher being thought of as a “guide” (see [2]).
What is upon us: learning in the approaching education paradigm
MOOCs, online lectures, videos and digital books…all of these have entered our lives whilst we are still in the process of absorbing and applying the implications. Only in the recent years, with books such as “The zero marginal cost society” (See [2]), we have started to think about a new age of education, made of collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Personally, I think there is still lots of work to be done, in order to make computer-based learning a real alternative to schools. It is still too easy to cheat and bright students can’t really shine (an article regarding this matter can be read at [7]). Moreover, computers still are not fully able to grade exercises. But there are always problems when trying new things, especially this one that regards education: it may bring a new kind of “global” education in the end, where students all over the world can learn together. Furthermore, in the forthcoming decade, I think we will see the huge impact of augmented reality on society.
Augmented Reality and Gamification, i.e. the application of game mechanics to non-game contexts, from my point of view, will allow us to come to a completely different approach to learning. For example, History will be taught thanks to videogames, where students will collaborate in groups and compete against other groups in order to win the game while learning. Cheating would not be possible since exams wouldn’t exist, and votes may be given thanks to a scoreboard. Furthermore, thanks to virtual reality and online learning, I think the old-fashioned idea of dividing students based on their age could be also surpassed. In this way, bright students may finish their studies sooner and tackle more complex studies. Following this line of thought, a system based on ELO rating could be used.
Finally, I think we are entering a really exciting era, made of collaboration, which will make possible an enrichment of the knowledge base, allowing new innovation to come, and project humankind even more in the future. The Internet and the new digital technologies have the possibility to be disruptive from an educational perspective, totally changing the way we learn and collaborate, since the thinking it inspires, is totally differentcompared to the way of thinking born in the First Machine Age. It is now up to schools and universities all around the globe to make a step forward and make real a new paradigm of digital education.
Bibliography and Webliography
- The Knowledge-Creating Company, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, Oxford University Press, 1995.
- The Zero Marginal Cost Society, Jeremy Rifkin, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
- The Second Machine Age, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.
- Data Science and Prediction, Dhar, V., Communications of the ACM, Vol. 56 No. 12, December 2013.
- Changing education paradigms, Ken Robinson, Ted Talk – RSA Animate, 2010
https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms - Teaching in a Digital Age, A.W. Tony Bates, Tony Bates Associates Ltd, 2015
https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ - Why online Education Won’t Replace College—Yet, David Youngberg, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2012
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Online-Education-Wont/133531 - Definition of Knowledge, Oxford Dictionaries: https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/knowledge
- Recombinant Innovation, Art Kleiner, Strategy-Business, 2004
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/04404?gko=282e2
Extracted from: Alessio Russo – “Knowledge Creation and Learning in the Collaborative Age”, The New Internet Society: Entering the Black-Box of Digital Innovations, Alta Scuola Politecnica
Alessio R. 