Knowledge Management for Networked Learning Environments:

Applying Intelligent Agents

 

Italo De Diana -

Lora Aroyo -

Faculty of Educational Science and Technology, University of Twente

 

Abstract

As the educational field is becoming increasingly ‘networked’, more and more educational institutes provide on-line training and education and a steadily increasing volume of educational information becomes available via networks, databases, sites, and browsers. Managing large volumes of company information and knowledge assets is one of the crucial issues covered by the technology called ‘Knowledge Management’. In the field of management science it is recognized that knowledge management is an important technology at company level as appropriate application of knowledge management can enable a company to come and stay in the competitive forefront. The report proposes to research the potential for the systematic application of several knowledge management techniques to the educational field in order to find out:

(1) How networked educational organizations can be made more effective and flexible in terms of the services they provide, and

(2) How cognitive support can be offered by means of Intelligent Agents in the (often complicated and labor intensive) application of knowledge management techniques.

In the report it is concluded that (currently available) knowledge management technology could be successfully applied to the educational field and that Intelligent Agents can play a strong supportive role in actually doing so.

Keywords: Intelligent Agents, Networked Education, Knowledge Management Techniques, Learning Organization, Performance Support Systems

1. Introduction

1.1 Networked Education

Especially as a result of the availability of Internet, ‘networked education’ is these days becoming a wide spread and influential form of education; in fact, networked education is transforming and reshaping fast the framework of traditional education as it offers inroads for the application of new types of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) technologies and methods in education. Within the setting of networked education, telecommunications facilities extend the range of options for the use of (more traditional) interactive multimedia products and multimedia databases in education and training (De Diana, Verhagen, & Heeren, 1997).

Not only educational multimedia products are involved though; networking provides the educational field access to a huge amount and variety of information sources, to data repositories such as ‘sites’, to tools for communication and for cooperative work (‘groupware’), and to tools for finding information, such as ‘browsers’. Without exaggerating we might state that the educational field is entering ‘information world’; an information world of its own that we may call (educational) ‘InfoSpace’.

Not only do we perceive that the educational field is entering Information Space; by becoming networked the form and shape of education itself is also changing. Education becomes more information-intensive and information-based, as networks being the carriers of the educational process, become increasingly more important (Khasnabish & Saracco, 1997). Some authors even consider it possible to describe a goal state for networked education: to provide an ".. organization-wide information utility for access by anyone, at any time, anywhere and to be able to use open and platform-independent technologies" (Khasnabish & Saracco, 1997).

1.2 Educational InfoSpace

We may define (educational) InfoSpace as a combination of information, tools, organizational- and knowledge resources, actors, communication channels, educational institutions, and all their possible interrelations. InfoSpace is a kind of information sphere in which networked education with all related processes is taking place. Looking at the present day Internet and taking it as a forerunner of what me may expect from educational InfoSpace, we can be sure that InfoSpace will be of a very dynamic nature: daily changes in respect to information and sources of information will take place. Daily changes will take place too in respect to ‘links’ that link up information with sites, and tools, and ‘users’. InfoSpace then will be a turbulent sphere.

The explosive growth of the Internet as we have witnessed the past 6 years (Who knew Internet only 6 years ago?) points out that within the coming 6 years not many educational institutes in more developed countries (and probably ‘lesser developed’ countries as well) will be able to maintain island status. Whether it is liked or not, by networking educational institutes enter a joint InfoSpace in which they co-exist with each other. Educational institutes have to deliver their services and products in InfoSpace, have to compete with each other in InfoSpace, and have to survive in InfoSpace… But survival is probably harder than what it used to be before InfoSpace arrived. As networks make the connected world ‘shrink’ to a mere number of mouse clicks, educational ‘customers’ will increasingly be able to choose between comparable products and services from competing institutes. And the institutes themselves will use InfoSpace to find out what the colleague or competitor is doing, to find how many introductory courses in ‘Elementary Statistics’ are available on-line (hundreds…) and how to keep the own ‘Elementary Statistics’ course viable and attractive. Education then will to a fair degree be build on top of many processes running continuously in many computer networks.

1.3 Managing Educational InfoSpace

Competing in an ‘open market’ is a basic truth for ‘regular’ market-oriented producers of services and products such as ‘companies’, so we may expect that entering InfoSpace would not be so drastic for truly market oriented educational organizations or for organizations that want to become so.

Companies that are oriented towards the IT- and ICT market nowadays are increasingly involved with ‘Knowledge Management’. According to Taylor (1996), Knowledge Management is about making an organization ‘think’ - by using models, methods, structures, and techniques for better management and organization of resources. Knowledge Management as an ongoing management process is to be embedded in the organization. Wiig (1996) states that the purpose of Knowledge Management is to enable an organization to cope with the organization and effective usage of information and human resources and based upon this to act intelligently and be more flexible, and as a result to be able to improve basic processes of research, production, and maintenance.

Implied in the term Knowledge Management is the notion that every organization possesses knowledge and needs mechanisms to gather, store, manipulate, and manage it in order to accomplish the most effective usage of the knowledge. Knowledge Management is a ‘tool’ that management applies to bring and keep a company on the competitive edge.

Managing educational processes within the setting of educational institutes running in InfoSpace offers considerable complexity. Managers need mechanisms to become and stay properly informed about the institute as it operates in InfoSpace. They need mechanisms that allow them to know about the availability and allocation of resources, they need mechanisms for the improvement of the quality of products and services as they relate to resources, and they need mechanisms for staying informed about the ‘market’ with its competitive forces as it manifests itself from day to day. Furthermore, managers need to be able to relate resources, with quality and market, and with competition, and with ‘market share’. Situate this all in educational InfoSpace and it becomes a realistic expectation that methods and approaches stemming from the management field - such as Knowledge Management - will increasingly draw attention in the educational field as well. Knowledge Management can become a dominant approach for coping with ongoing educational processes by enabling the monitoring and guiding of primary (teaching) and secondary (organizing education) educational processes. And probably it is necessary to do so actally as the globalization of education due to networks allows new methods of packaging and delivering educational products, as well as new way of organizing ongoing processes (Adam, Awerbuch, Slonim, Wegner, Yesha, 1997). In educational InfoSpace, Knowledge Management supported by computer tools and techniques may become daily practice.

1.4 The need for Cognitive Support to Solve Problems in Educational InfoSpace

Computer support for the complex problems involved in managing education in InfoSpace can be offered in respect to many issues. For example the primary processes in education are traditionally strongly involved with documents (study books, text books, manuals, readers, theses, and so on) and information sharing (between teachers, students, publishers). As in InfoSpace so many (multimedia) documents and information (re-)sources are available and accessible, support is needed in order to be able to trace, organize, update, control, and evaluate document and information flow within the educational system. Copyright issues should be addressable on an automated base as most information available will be ‘taxed’ and accounting of information will be high on the managers’ agendas.

Furthermore, it is necessary for the managers of the educational processes (teachers, managers, and yes quite often students too) to be able to keep a dynamic and at all time updated view of the relevant (primary and secondary) processes going on in InfoSpace. This is not so easy or obvious as it is well recognized that for networked (study- and work) groups, the ‘awareness’ of each others involvement, each others activities, and each others results and how they (may) relate to the personal and the group results is often a difficult issue. For the students and teachers it is crucial then to be able to chart and view the actors in the educational process (themselves) in respect to their involvement, tasks accomplished or to be accomplished, and obtained results.

It is important for them that student evaluation systems can be adapted and improved flexibly and in accordance with dynamic changing requirements as they result from flexible and fast updating curricula that will be typical for education in InfoSpace.

Due to the various technologies involved in InfoSpace, technical support and problem handling (troubleshooting, managing software and hardware used) should be readily and easily available. It is well known that a lack of such support nowadays often blocks the actual integration of computer supported learning in curricula.

 

2. Information and Knowledge Management in Education

2.1 Information and knowledge

Information can be understood as a collection of raw data that is processed: sorted, filtered, structured, analyzed, etc. The term Information Management came about when it was realized that information is a resource that can and needs to be managed in order to be useful in an organization. From this, the ideas of Information Analysis and Information Planning came about (Sierhuis, 1996).

Fig. 1 Transformation of information into knowledge

Knowledge can be understood as a fundamental resource that allows an organization to function intelligently. Perceived over time, knowledge is usually derived from (information) resources such as books, technology, practices, and traditions. Building up knowledge is a process that takes place within individuals, but also within organizations, and in society in general. The transformation of information into knowledge results in cumulated expertise and, when used appropriately, increased effectiveness. Knowledge is one, if not THE, principal factor that makes personal, organizational, and societal intelligent behavior possible (Wiig, 1996).

‘Knowledge’ is an important asset. According to Grey (1996), knowledge is value-added behavior and activities. He states that for knowledge to be of value it must be focused, current, tested and shared. ‘Knowledge sharing’ is an objective and a new paradigm that allows the shift from pure data processing and information management to the more dynamic concept of knowledge management. On company level, ‘knowledge’ as a basic resource can be seen as the full utilization of information and data, coupled with the potential of people's skills, competencies, ideas, intuitions, commitments, and motivations.

It should be noted that the terms knowledge sharing and information sharing are often used in conjunction with discussions about ontologies (knowledge domain descriptions) and knowledge representation as these terms can indicate the actual knowledge involved and ways to make this knowledge explicit.

2.2 What is Knowledge Management and Why Educational Knowledge Management?

According to Wenig (1996), knowledge management consists of activities focused on the organization gaining knowledge from its own experience and from the experience of others, and on the judicious application of that knowledge to fulfill the mission of the organization. These activities are executed by marrying technology, organizational structures, and cognitive based strategies to raise the yield of existing knowledge and produce new knowledge. Critical in this endeavor is the enhancement of the cognitive system (organization, human, computer, or joint human-computer system) in acquiring, storing and utilizing knowledge for learning, problem solving, and decision making.

Bertels (1996) states that knowledge management is the management of the organization towards the continuous renewal of the organizational knowledge base - this means for example the creation of supportive organizational structures, facilitation of organizational members, applying IT-instruments with an emphasis on teamwork and diffusion of knowledge (as in groupware). As such, knowledge management is a strategy that turns an organization's intellectual assets - both recorded information and the talents of its members - into greater productivity, new value, and increased competitiveness. It teaches corporations, from managers to employees, how to produce and optimize skills as a collective entity.

According to Sveiby (1996) there are two main tracks when speaking of knowledge management: Management of Information and Management of People. Management of Information looks at knowledge as collection of objects and in management of people knowledge is referred to as dynamic and constantly changing processes.

Information sharing and decision coordination are central problems for organizations that are involved in large- scale product development and distribution. In such a type of organization, there is an obvious need for a framework that can support the use of knowledge as a medium: a framework that offers a computational environment in which explicitly represented knowledge can serve as a communication medium among people and their activities, tasks, and programs. The framework should be designed to support information sharing and coordinated communication among members of the product development and -distribution organization, particularly for the tasks of design knowledge capture, dynamic notification of design changes, and active management of design dependencies.

The indicated framework can consist of a shared knowledge representation (language and vocabulary), protocols for foreign data encapsulation and posting to the shared environment, and mechanisms for content-directed routing of posted information to interested parties via subscription and notification services. A range of possible applications can be explored in this framework, depending on the degree of commitment to a shared representation by participating parties.

In this report we would like to stress the importance of such a type of framework for educational organizations and to discuss some of the information and knowledge management techniques that are most relevant for creating and maintaining it.

According to Taylor (1996), models, methods, tools and techniques for effective knowledge management become increasingly available. This is an important message for education as well. The vital importance of knowledge management for the educational field can be derived from its role in the management field and be based upon the natural associations between comparable organizations: their equivalent problems and the opportunities to be found in adopting comparable strategies and solutions.

The main tasks involved in education can be situated on two levels: those related with learning- and instructional processes and those related with the organizational and management level.

On the first level we have main tasks such as:

  1. course structuring and study materials preparation;
  2. distribution and presentation of study materials;
  3. communication between educational actors (student-teacher, student-student, students-students);
  4. performing instructional assignments, either aloe or group-based;
  5. performance assessment.

On the second level we have main tasks such as:

  1. organization of the whole educational process;
  2. organizing and managing information and knowledge flows within the educational organization;
  3. keeping track of performance of students, teachers, courses, curriculum, and of the (allocation of ) available knowledge resources;
  4. monitoring results in terms of goals and standards;
  5. dynamic changing of the educational program as feedback to discrepancies between goals and standards and obtained performance results.

 

Fig. 2 Possible interactions in a traditional networked learning environment

In networked education, these two levels of educational main tasks involve strongly the use of computer networks both for learning and instruction, and for organization and management.

We relate with De Diana, Verhagen, and Heeren (1997) who have presented a model for the educational use of multimedia databases in networked learning environments. These authors present several figures that relate learning materials (stored in databases) with communication and conversation tools (such as e-mail), and with CSCW tools and CSCW activities. Such an approach offers rich possibilities for distributing and presenting study materials and other information in any desired format at any desired place. Such an approach also offers rich possibilities for communication between educational actors and for working on shared study assignments.

The practical application of such a type of model poses demands for educational institutes in respect to the way that educational processes are organized and to the way that information (such as study materials) is organized. The 1995 report from 'De Wetenschappelijk Technische Raad SURF' inzake ‘Informatietechnologie in het hoger onderwijs’ charts in two parts, 'Trends en visie 1 & 2', some future developments in educational IT environments. For our report we consider of especial importance the contributions of de Wolf ('Informatietechnologie in het Hoger Onderwijs') en van Looijen and van der Vorst ('Opbouw van een facultaire IT-infrastructuur' en 'Een IT-beheer model').

De Wolf states that Dutch Higher Education is lacking in its application of IT. Partly this is due in his opinion to the fact that education is a conservative sector in society. But mostly he states it should be accredited to a lack of potential in current day Higher Education to think in terms of "..doelgerichtheid, doelmatigheid en satisfactie, en daaraan practische consequenties te verbinden" ("..goal orientedness, effectiveness, and satisfaction, and to draw practical consequences as a result thereof"). De Wolf is convinced that the old didactic triangle - teacher gives study materials to students - should be turned over: - student - study process - teacher. The study process is to become the central issue in the new didactics and the study process with its needed flexibility for individual students and its intended effectiveness and value for money (De Wolf) needs to be IT-based.

Van der Vorst and Looijen (1995) and Looijen and van der Vorst (1995) describe a management paradigm for IT management at University and at Faculty level. They make a distinction between several types of IT management tasks and how they relate with IT infrastructure. They describe ITIL which is an acronym for IT Infrastructure Library, a kind of manual tool set covering 40 topics that play a role in infrastructural information management.

For our present discussion, a most interesting issue that van der Vorst and Looijen address involves information management and costs. The authors state strongly that management of IT-infrastructure will become an ‘explosive cost topic’. Higher Education, in their opinion, will not have any other option than a drastic change in the way that IT resources and applications are managed. Requirements are stated for a migration scenario, such as:

As we have already stated, we expect that educational organizations will soon enter a stage in which they will become strongly oriented towards ‘knowledge’ rather than ‘information’ as a resource. This necessitates finding ways for managing knowledge within such educational organizations. Maarten Sierhuis has presented an extensive review of techniques and methods for analyzing knowledge sources. Supported by such techniques a ‘Knowledge Analysis and Planning’ can be performed. In the process of analyzing knowledge, a knowledge source is modeled in such a way that we can analyze its usefulness, its weaknesses, and its appropriateness within the organization. Knowledge analysis is a necessary step for acquiring the potential to manage knowledge and within the knowledge analysis process knowledge modeling and knowledge acquisition techniques are used. The knowledge planning process involves future knowledge planning, or the so called multi-year knowledge plan, that defines how the organization will develop its knowledge resources, either by additional training, or by developing knowledge-based systems to support the actors in the educational process, or by other means that allow the educational organization to keep effective track of its resources and potentials.

2.3 Situating the Learning Organization in InfoSpace

Such a knowledge planning approach makes it straightforward possible for us to associate networked education in InfoSpace with the ‘Learning Organization’.

There are many different definitions of the Learning Organization but within the setting of our association, we could describe it as an organization in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about.

In the field of management science it has been attempted to elaborate the term ‘learning’ as an alternative performance improving mechanism for training. It has been claimed that this approach could transform the whole description of an organizational unit in a business setting. Some authors perceive a Learning Organization as a living organism that is continuous developing and growing in a constantly changing environment. Some authors use the brain as the comparative metaphor, as the human brain is able to organize its functioning in a way that promotes flexible and creative action (Morgan, 1986).

According to Hert (1994) a Learning Organization learns and reshapes itself to meet the challenges inherent in the environment by continuous learning and problem solving methods created and stored among its participants, it anticipates changes and plans accordingly, or learns how to operate in a changing environment.

 

Fig. 3 Mapping of the links between Networked Education Institution and Learning Organizations

In order to explain why we feel that networked education is likely to manifest itself in the form of Learning Organizations based upon KM, we present some of the claims generally made in literature that could be realized by an organization by becoming a learning organization:

2.4 Knowledge-centered Education and Learning Organizations

If we would consider that the Learning Organization may become the standard that most networked educational institutions want to adhere to, then the main focus in such organizations will concern organizational ‘knowledge’ and all the processes involved in this. Such educational institutions may be termed knowledge-centered and the main flows of knowledge they will be involved in will be about:

- how to acquire and develop relevant knowledge;

- how to exchange relevant knowledge;

- how to use relevant knowledge;

- how to evaluate knowledge.

Karl Wiig in his book Knowledge Management Methods (1996) describes the full process of knowledge- and information flow within a organization.

 

Fig. 4 Major Knowledge Management Flow Functions

Four main knowledge flows functions are described by Wiig:

building knowledge is achieved through learning, importing knowledge from existing resources, or creating new knowledge through research and development;

storing the knowledge in memory, knowledge bases, books or other written materials, videotaped instruction material and organized in order to be available for specific purposes;

knowledge is distributed by assembling relevant knowledge from different sources and distributing it to places of use, and is pooled by assembling different persons in a team and by exchanging knowledge between them;

knowledge is used when it is needed to apply it to work objects. Value is added by using knowledge to make products or to provide services. Here the value of knowledge is realized.

 

These main streams reflect ways to solve organizational problems in respect to:

information access;

developing a conceptually organized information view;

managing information and technology;

making education organized in a more flexible and dynamic way.

 

These ways can be involved in order to increase educational and organizational effectiveness of educational institutions and to decrease cost expenses at the same time.

 

Fig. 5 Knowledge Layer in Networked Education

It should be noted though, that Knowledge Management is not a unified approach. A large number of methods and of techniques is used for this purpose.

 

3. Knowledge Management Techniques

3.1 Cognitive Support for the Educational Field

In his study on knowledge and knowledge management technologies, techniques and disciplines Philip Murray mentions a considerable amount of knowledge management techniques: we will mention only those that are of direct importance and can be of practical use in the field of networked education.

On the basis of the Learning Organization profile we describe several knowledge management techniques that are relevant to our goals. Selected were: Intranets, document management, and knowledge sharing as three main areas in respect to networked education.

3.2 Knowledge Management Techniques for Cognitive Support

On the basis of the already mentioned cognitive problems in networked education we have selected a short list of KM techniques that could provide support in this respect.

Fig. 6 A combination of knowledge management techniques as a natural environment for networked education

 

3.2.1 Applying Intranets

Intranets are composed of networks of various devices, systems and services, supporting a wide variety of applications within an organization (Khasnabish, Saracco, 1997). The term Intranet was found by Eric Schmidt (the vice president for technology at Sun Microsystems) in order to describe the application of Internet standards and systems to the management of internal corporate networks. Intranets consist of a centralized pool of mainframe computers with network links to terminals and workstations throughout the company (Regli, 1997).

Intranets are the product of the modern corporate society, where existing communication facilities like fax, telephone, and mail were not enough. The new communication needs include more complex types of information, such as ‘knowledge’, that are difficult to maintain with only the existing media.

Intranets provide corporate services, communication facilities, and support cooperation; they can be seen as locally controllable versions of the Internet, that can be linked with variables in order to control what is coming in and what is going out (of thye organization), and to provide privacy and security for the ‘Intranetted’ organization. At the same time, Intranets are a part of the communication and organizational infrastructure, and the communication (super)highway for information exchange. (Khasnabish, Saracco, 1997)

Currently Intranets are mainly used for: document management, e-mail, collaboration, corporate directories, group scheduling, and so on (CyberAtlas, NUA Internet Surveys, 1997). In a few years though it is expected that the Intranet of a company can come to play such a substantial role for a company, that in way it may come to embody the company itself.

Intranets can improve organizational productivity and effectiveness by giving non-stop access to all organizational information, by publishing (internal) information on-line, by reducing long distance costs, and so on (CyberAtlas, Intranet Journal, 1997).

Computer networks make possible a process of globalization of information, in terms of types of information (HTML and so on), mode(s) of production of information (for example electronic publishing), its distribution media (for example ‘broadcasting’) and in reception technologies (for example ‘profile based automatic subscription’) (Adam, Awerbuch, Slonim, Wegner, Yesha, 1997). Computer technology such as Intranets supports strongly and significantly this globalization process and in this radically changes the economics of communication. Globalization as a result enables new forms of technical and social organization that influence the efficiency of institutions. From our perspective - the educational field - a key role is played in this by the distribution media and issues in respect to the organization of information in the educational domain, as education can be considered as one of the world’s largest information industries.

Intranets give organizations the possibility to build their own organizational InfoSpace. Intranets can connect all the actors within the organization and empower and facilitate work processes and work flow. The application of Intranets provides a variety of services for organizations such as: access mobility of users, fast and efficient information retrieval, and data warehousing. The perceived dynamism of InfoSpace can be embodied by Intranets as the basic process storage mechanism, if links between Intranet technology and Document Management / Information Sharing technology are made and if knowledge representation techniques are applied.

Intranets can be seen then as a technological shell for the application of document management and information sharing. They not only permit the actual sharing of information but they can also make it possible to view the organization's information (including structured resources like relational databases as well as unstructured text) through the use of various Web browsers. Not only can an organization apply ‘general’ browsers, such as Netscape, but an organization can create ‘tailored‘ versions of such browsers, for example by using or making ‘plug-ins’. And an organization can make its own information browsers or adapt commercially available browsers, for example for hypertext - hypermedia types of approaches. Intranets then allow organizations not only to manage their own information according to their own wishes but also to view the information in accordance with their own wishes, and even to personalize how information can be viewed by who..

This illustrates that Intranets probably will become of great importance for education, not only from the point of view of instructional opportunities, but maybe even more so from the point of view of the organization and management of education.

Murray (1997) sums up expectations about the application of Intranet technology:

3.2.2 Document Management and Information Sharing

Document management can be considered as an information sharing process. It is a structured approach of methods, models, and techniques that allows various modes of transfer, exchange, retrieval, storage, updating, deletion, addition, distribution, publishing, and so on, in respect to the various needs and uses of all involved documents by the different users.

Information sharing is more global technique than document management. It concerns methods, models and structures for overall system- and users information transfer, exchange, storage, and general maintainance. It can be built over an organization’s common data- and information flow diagrams.

In effect, one of the most popular activities in education is document managing that includes: exchange, use, publishing, (re-)editing, and sharing. Document management in education is about resource sharing: creating and maintaining better and more effective information access. Document management systems are primarily concerned with providing online access to documents stored in local or distributed repositories. With the fast growth in this area the emphasis is more and more placed on the management of document content at the level of rather small components. Document management technology is already in widespread use in information-intensive companies and is likely to become an integral part of virtually every "Intranet" in one form or another. Shifting from company line to the educational line, as we already mentioned, educational organizations could be considered also as information-intensive institutions. Thus, we are convinced that document management is of big concern also for education and training. Of course, copyright is a crucial problem in this. But that can be solved effectively within the setting of Intranets.

The terms knowledge sharing and information sharing as well as decision coordination are basic ones in the process of organizational management. Here we stress different types of sharing of information and knowledge in the context of networked education as a medium for knowledge representation and communication.

The technology for document management as proposed by Philip Murray (1997) in his extensive review of knowledge management techniques, technologies and disciplines, consists of a shared knowledge representation (language and vocabulary), protocols for foreign data encapsulation and posting to the shared environment, and mechanisms for content-directed routing of posted information to interested parties via subscription and notification services. A range of possible applications can be explored in this framework, depending on the degree of commitment to a shared representation by software tools and human participants.

3.2.3 Knowledge Representation

Knowledge representation is the explicit specification of "knowledge objects" and relationships among those objects. Knowledge representation allows computers to reconfigure and reuse stored information in ways that not narrowly pre-specified in advance. Knowledge representation can have different forms and make use of different techniques. Here we offer some examples of the most widely used ways of representing knowledge: Semantic Networks, Information Modeling, Hypertext and Indexing.

Information modeling is an essential part of information systems design. Design methods, specification languages, and tools tend to become application dependent, aiming at integration of methodologies ranging from traditional database design to knowledge base design and including the description of process oriented reactive systems. Information modeling could be considered as the starting and core concept and methodology for varieties of the problem solving. It is targeted towards providing a precise specification of meaning (usually in text), and towards making meaning relationships explicit.

Generally speaking information modeling is concerned with the following areas:

Because of the potential of information modeling to provide the means for specifying knowledge and information from domain experts, and to form a complete and precise specification understandable to all participants in learning- and management processes, it can be considered as a very powerful knowledge representation technique in the context of knowledge management for the educational field. On the basis of precise and explicit definitions of common terms and language specification for process descriptions, stated in a generic way together with the integration of relationships between concepts and processes that information modeling provides for, educational InfoSpace could be provided with information communication models enabling the coordinating of work of all participants in the educational process.

Very close to information modeling, in respect to knowledge representation techniques, are conceptual indexes. They also refer to a technology for organizing facts, ideas, words, phrases, and descriptions into a structured whole (such as a taxonomy) that can be used as an organizing structure for information retrieval, and as a structure to support human browsing and other forms of information use. If we look at the index as a structured sequence - resulting from a thorough and complete analysis of text - of synthesized access points to all the information contained in the involved text then it can be concluded that a structured arrangement provided by indexes enables users to locate information efficiently (Mulvany, 1994).

Conceptual indexing is perceived as a way to provide means for organizing information in structured conceptual taxonomies that will facilitate browsing and retrieval of specific information in response to specific information needs. Such taxonomies can be represented by structured networks of concepts and relationships among concepts that can be used to relate to the terminology used in the information. This characteristic of conceptual indexes can be of a great importance and effect when dealing with information modeling, in order to be able to structure and represent it in knowledge structures. The goal for applying indexing in the field of networked information-based organizations, such as educational ones, is to master the potential of such structures in applications like online documentation, online information access, hypertext publishing, catalog indexes, and information access across networks in order to improve the management and organizational processes within educational InfoSpace.

We consider that Conceptual Indexing can be effectively used as a knowledge representation technique in order to help educational InfoSpace actors understand and organize complex bodies of information within the dynamically and constantly changing environment of networked education. By applying such indexes, the ability of educational actors to find information in online text material can strongly be improved.

Fig. 7 Information Modeling as a Knowledge Management Technique

In the figure 7 we can see the close relationship between conceptual indexing and information modeling. Conceptual overview can be facilitated by indexing information in relation to certain concepts, but on the other hand there is also an information modeling layer needed in order to model and present the data, information and knowledge flows seen as relations and processes within the framework of educational InfoSpace.

Hypertext, known to most people these days by its implementation in the World Wide Web pages, is a term created by visionary Ted Nelson to describe non-linear writing in which you follow associative paths through a world of textual documents.

Hypertext could also be seen as part of a knowledge management mechanism that concerns a form of knowledge representation within a network-based system. Compared to other knowledge representation techniques, like semantic networks, information modeling and indexing, hypertext provides an graph representation of information within a certain domain. It can also be described as a semantic network with [substantial] content at the nodes. But the content itself - the traditional document model - seems to be the driving organizational force, not the network of links. In most hypertext documents, the links are not semantically typed, although they are typed at times according to the medium of the object displayed by traversing the link. (Murray, 1996).

Within the context of knowledge management, hypertext could be an appropriate technique in those cases where there is need for presentation of information and knowledge without need of mechanisms for structuring the approach to their use. Or in other words, where the is no need of generating or building new knowledge. This conclusion derives from the fact that hypertext, as a knowledge representation technique, is based on an associative model where the main relation with stimuli is formed by reactions.

Semantic networks are a technique for representing knowledge. As with other networks, they consist of linked nodes. The nodes in a semantic network represent concepts. A concept is an abstract class, or set, whose members are things, or so called instances of the concept, that are grouped together because they share common features or properties. Links in the network represent relations between concepts. Links are labeled to indicate which relation(s) they represent. Links can be paired to represent a relation and its inverse.

The main characteristic in concern to knowledge representation by semantic networks is that they embed a mechanism of creating of new knowledge. This is the main difference between hypertext and semantic networks, although they both derive from associations made. Semantic networks are often closely associated with detailed analysis of texts and networks of ideas. One of the important ways they are distinguished from hypertext systems is their support of semantic typing of links and their internal mechanisms for knowledge creation. Also they can be seen as a kind of combination between Indexing and Hypertext, type of a hypertext systems labeled with indexed information

3.3 Making Knowledge Management Techniques Work Together in InfoSpace

The actual results for educational InfoSpace from applying a knowledge management approach can be expected when selected knowledge management techniques are combined in a common organizationel structure in which they can facilitate and amplify each other. This means that we have to organize and coordinate the chosen techniques in a common framework in order to achieve the organizational goals like stated. The results from such a combination in the context of education can be presented in three main aspects: providing an overview of ongoing processes, obtaining an efficient use of knowledge assets by organizational actors, and coordination of knowledge-related activities to support collaborative- and group work. It is important to state that the application of knowledge management techniques need appropriate technological support in order to be able to obtain results in educational InfoSpace and to be able to realize in practice the theoretical principles on which they build.

 

4. Intelligent Agents for Knowledge Management

The cognitive support problems in educational InfoSpace can not be solved only by applying knowledge management technology and techniques. Certainly these management techniques will not make much use of a traditional knowledge-based support systems. The increasing complexity of educational organization and involvement of different types of computer-based techniques creates needs new types of knowledge-based support systems too. Most computer systems are using some kind of knowledge but the difference with knowledge-based management systems is that they not only simply use knowledge, but that there is difference of "form in which knowledge is organized". They involve a knowledge base and a problem solving mechanism (Mattos, 1991). But the power of knowledge is not only enough to cover the cognitive support needs within educational InfoSpace. In order to cope with the difficult and complex tasks involved there, software is needed that can act flexible, reactive, self-controllable, updating and adapting to changes of the system and users, that is open and has the ability to exchange information, and that can work together within the common educational InfoSpace. The application of knowledge management techniques would make educational processes even more complex if these techniques could not be properly supported on an automated base. Knowledge management techniques can be used as an architecture for the support of the cognitive tasks that users of these techniques are involved in. Software tools, intelligent agents, can be put to work in the setting of such a frame work, to support the users of the techniques.

4.1 Intelligent Agents

Since the beginning of 1990’s, there is rapid a development of agent-based technologies. Still there is considerable discussion on about Intelligent Agents as they are becoming rather popular, especially in relationship with Web Browsers. The application of IT in the educational field creates new directions, for supportive tools too. As we have mentioned, with the new paradigm of education, organization and learning, we have to involve a new type of cognitive support tools. We consider that Intelligent Agents can be applied; they can facilitate educational processes as well as performing basic organizational and system tasks within networked educational institutions.

4.1.1 What are Intelligent Agents?

The term intelligent agent is applied in different and rather confronting domains. There is no agreement reached yet among the researchers in respect to the definition of intelligent agents. There are enough descriptions though.

Agents inhabit complex and dynamic environments, sense and act autonomously in these environments, and by doing so realize a set of goals or tasks for which they are designed (Maes, 1995).

Mueller (1996) presents an agent black box model, by putting into the black box the agents functionality (what makes the agent autonomous) and putting the agent into a specific environment with input and output communication facilities.

 

Fig. 8 Black box agent model of Mueller (1996).

An autonomous agent is a system situated within and a part of an environment, and that also senses the environment and reacts to it, over time, in pursuit of its own agenda in order to be able to effect what it senses that may be/happen in the future (Franklin, Graesser, 1997).

Pettrie attempts to operationalize this definition of an autonomous agent by looking at it from the perspective of the communication technology involved, in order to distinguish agents from other types of software products. Thus, "an individual software module is not an agent if it can communicate with other candidate agents with only a client/server protocol without degradation of the collective task performance." Following from this, the potential to exchange shared protocol messages in order to be able to collectively perform a task, differentiates agents from expert systems or other knowledge-based systems (Pettrie, 1997).

Several major and frequently used characteristics of agents can be derived from these descriptions.

Autonomy concerns a behavioral characteristic of agents; they can operate on their own and can take control over their own actions without the need for human guidance. They have individual internal states and goals, and they can act in such a manner as to meet its goals on behalf of its user. Autonomy means the ability to make decisions based on an internal representation of the world, without being controlled by a central instance (Mueller, 1996). A key element of their autonomy is their ability to 'take the initiative' (goal-directed behavior) rather than acting simply in response to their environment (Wooldridge & Jennings, 1995). In other words, they have an ability to formulate their own goals and to act in order to satisfy them.

Cooperation or so called social ability describes the ability of agents to interact with other agents and with humans via some communication language (Wooldridge & Jennings, 1995). They can coordinate their actions without users invention (Nwana, 1996). As part of this social ability, agents can communicate with their environment and effect changes in their environment by executing actions (Mueller, 1996).

Learning. This characteristic describes the ability of agents to learn while reacting and/or interacting with their external environment. We can also pose this characteristic as agents show bits of 'intelligence' by possessing the ability of constant adaptation and learning. Though, we will not attempt to define what intelligence is, we maintain that a key attribute of any intelligent being is its ability to learn. Learning may also take the form of increased performance over time.

Reactivity describes the mechanism of agents that helps them to perceive their environment, that can differ in a range of various presentations, like the physical world, a user via a graphical user interface, a collection of other agents, the INTERNET, or perhaps all of these combined, and respond in a timely fashion to changes that occur in the environment (Nwana, 1996).

After reviewing some of the most often used characteristics of ‘agents’, a summative description of ‘agent’ can be formulated in order to distinct agents from usual computer programs, and also from the well known notion of computer support systems. The definition will be put into the context of knowledge management techniques with the agents’ main role being a decision making or problem solving entity.

Agents can be applied to carry out sets of operations on behalf of a user or another program with some degree of independence or autonomy, and in so doing, employ knowledge or a representation of the user's goals or desires. In this respect they are often referred to as support systems applicable in (large-scale) organizations, where they can take control over various functions in information and knowledge traffic, resources management, organizational processes, network and system management and so on. Such organizational systems can involve a large amount of agents within the knowledge management framework that is used for modeling system complexity and in order to manage more effectively ongoing processes.

4.1.2 What can Agents do for You?

According to current literature, the functions that intelligent agents can perform include (among others): Information Retrieval, System Control, Instructional Design Tasks, Problem Solving (decision, problem representation, and reasoning support). More in detail agents can perform a considerable number of information (processing and manipulating) tasks, such as browsing and searching the web for your favorite items, following your personal user profile, checking and filtering mail, making on-line appointments and scheduling (calendar assistants) by sharing the user’s agenda and carrying out the tasks the way user wants to be done, communicate instead of you, communicate or consult with other agents, web guides, filtering information on preliminary defined user preferences (history agent, geography agent), offer you suggestions and so on. There is also a large variety of system- or network management tasks that are currently explored and researched in order to find out how they could be operated by means of agents.

There are many examples of fully operational agent systems. According to their task domains and their characteristics, agents can be classified (Collaborative-, Interface-, Mobile-, Information-, Reactive-, Hybrid-, Heterogeneous-, Smart Agents, and so on). In his review of software agents Berney (1997) provides a list of agent examples. Some of them are:

4.1.3 Agents as Computer Support Systems

The application of Information Technologies in the field of education field creates new directions for support tools too. Intelligent Agents can be seen as a new generation of networked education Computer Support Systems, as a successor to systems like Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS), Personal Support Systems (PSS), Intelligent Tutoring systems (ITS), and so on. Although ‘agents’ share some characteristics with these rather well known computer support systems they are not the same. While systems like EPSS, PSS, and ITS are mainly concerned with personal user performance support, agents offer not only personal user support, but combine this in their functional architecture with a role as technical system support. As a combination of these two types of support systems, agents can play a direct role in educational InfoSpace by supporting and facilitating the primary as well as the secondary educational processes. A detailed description of differences between current performance support and intelligent agent systems is beyond the scope of this report.

4.2 Intelligent Agents for Knowledge Management

4.2.1 Agents’ roles in Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management, as a conceptual approach to the organization of educational InfoSpace, can not be applied directly to a real system, because there is a technological base needed to realize in practice the methods and techniques within its management concept. Reflecting on the summarized agent characteristics it can be concluded that agent technologies seem appropriate to support the application of knowledge management techniques in the context of educational InfoSpace. Intelligent Agents can be seen as computational hybrids of personal performance support systems and technical system assistants. They come as a modified extension of existing performance support systems and they can cover the increasing needs for technical assistance within computer-based organizations.

In the context of InfoSpace there are three main task domains that could seriously involve agent functionality to support knowledge management. They are: information, organization, and technical management.

In the domain of information management there are various information- and knowledge flows between the actors and the system entities that need software agent support in order to realize the knowledge management functions in this respect. On the basis of their system domain competence, agents can play the role of content experts by providing help and support for the actual information content in a form of on-line help/support systems.

In respect to organizational management, a variety of administrative and organizational tasks are involved. Agents can also take part in the coordination of user task performance by fulfilling collaborative tasks and playing the role of agenda keepers by making and maintaining schedules. Agents can be very effective by coordinating, controlling and managing user activities.

As has been stated, the main characteristic of agent based computer support systems is their ability to manage/support technical system issues. The major agent activities in this respect are to offer system reminders, system requirements control, system processes control, and software and hardware usage guides.

In Table 1 a crossing of the main InfoSpace task domains with the selected knowledge management techniques is presented.

Table 1. InfoSpace Task Domains

  Intranet Document Management Information Sharing Knowledge Representation
Information Management  

x

  
Organizational Management

x

x

x
Technical Management

x

    

 

4.2.2 Roles combined

In order to be able to play an effective role as computer support systems, intelligent agents are usually employed in teams as multi-agents systems. In such a way they cover all the tasks and activities required for the user within the whole system.

Their main advantage as a support system is that multi-agent systems can be designed and developed as a focused support system but that they can consist of a co-operative group of agents that co-operate in solving problems, based upon the use of a common communication language, such as ‘KQML’. Based on such a language, agents can communicate, exchange information, consult each other, redirect tasks, coordinate their behavior and problem solving activities, and so on. The combination of various roles that agents can play into focused support systems creates the possibility for continuous support for users throughout a whole task domain. And whereas an agent-based support system can be based upon a single agent, for example by means of a personal interface-, scheduling-, or filtering agent, the great potential for agent-based support systems is realized by combining varied agent functionality in a multi-agent system. Potential roles and functioning of different types of agents in an educational networked environment is presented in Fig. 9. It illustrates the structure of a multi-agent system as it can act as a support layer in educational InfoSpace. A team of agents is active that fulfills all the tasks related to an educational domain that need support. The agents involved are organized and act based upon mutual communication. This communication between agents is facilitated by a mediator agent called the ‘Agent Manager’. Agents register their services with the Agent Manager that plays the role of ‘router’ of all user and or system requirements to the suitable type of agent for the specific requirements involved. In fulfilling their tasks, agents are able to communicate with their peers (send information and accept requests) by exchanging messages in an expressive agent communication language. With the help of this language agents can exchange data and logical information, commands, scripts, and so on. They can communicate complex information and goals directly or indirectly by ‘programming’ each other in practical and goal directed ways. (Gensereth, Ketchepel, 1995). In the context of education an Agent Manager can be concerned with repository services (in respect to databases) that include different information manipulation tasks such as storage, loading and updating of data, labeling of information and extraction and classification of knowledge from data. Agent systems can be of a very flexible nature and they need to be so as task schemes change over time. New agents can be plugged in easily and the current agents can be independently updated to be able to cope with changed requirements.

 

 

Fig. 9 Intelligent Agents as part of the Educational Networked Environment

In order to be able to concentrate on the most important issues for the educational field in respect to agent-based support systems for knowledge management, we have ignored some practical key problems that will manifest it self, like how to synchronize the activities of work groups, and security and privacy issues. These problems will become manifest in educational InfoSpace any way. Rather we believe that support technology can serve to cope with these types of issues.

 

5. Research Directions for Managing Educational InfoSpace

It is to be noted that the technologies that have been discussed in this report are available, and as such they can be applied. With this we do not say that the technologies could not or should not be further extended or refined, but that research directions for managing educational InfoSpace are to be found in questions like "How to apply technology X? " rather than in "How can we obtain the technology to do X?"

Research directions are most probably not to be found in questions like "How to develop an educational Intranet?" or "How to develop a prototype of an educational agent-based system?". Intranets are with us and most book shops sell books about Intranets and how to install them. Educational systems involving agents have been developed. They work, yes. And yes, agents will be with us as large companies like Microsoft, AT&T, and Andersen Consulting all already have developed agent toolboxes and as the coming generations of operating systems and Internet browsers will contain substantial (programmable) agent functionality.

Where are the research directions to be found then? According to our opinion they are situated in the question: "How to relate knowledge management technologies and education in effective ways?". Long term experience with technology and education has learned us over and over again that placing technology (like computers) in the educational field will not guarantee that the technology will be used or that the application of technology will change the educational field in relevant ways. What is needed is a re-shaping of the way education is organized in such a way that available technology can be used effectively. Some authors describe stages in the co-evolution of technology and society. The first stage might be called ‘Technological Progress’; in this stage software systems are developed to automate processes as they currently take place in organizations. It is well acknowledged that this stage generally leads to failures and frustrations. The second stage might be called ‘Social System Design’, in which it is considered that social systems might need re-engineering in order to make them fit with technology. The third stage might be called ‘Control System Design’. In this stage systems are designed in such a way that they actually can regulate and manage complexity in society and organizations.

Our research directions are of a twofold nature.

The first direction involves the basic question "How to re-engineering education in order to make it knowledge-based and suitable for knowledge management technologies?" Answering this question would lead education into the second stage of co-evolution with technology and would enable education to leave behind the extremely frustrating stage of ‘Technological Progress’.

The second direction involves the basic question "How to relate agent technology with education in the setting of knowledge management for educational InfoSpace?" Answering this question would mean a step into the third co-evolutionary stage and could create a situation in which ICT could really become of substantial practical value for education.

The first research direction may lead to projects in which issues are addressed such as:

How to represent and organize the educational processes (primary and secondary) to prepare for a knowledge-centered approach to education?

How to plan, set-up, and evaluate Intranet functionality for the educational knowledge-centered scenario?

How can document (and information) sharing be made the cornerstone of the primary educational process and how can the primary partners in this: publishers and educational institutes cooperate in this approach?

How to automate the process of conceptual organization of information?

The second research direction may lead to projects in which issues are addressed such as:

How can agent technology be applied to support some knowledge management techniques that are of key importance for education?

How to apply agent technology for personal, organizational, and technical support in the educational knowledge-centered scenario?

To answer such types of questions we need projects of different types. We would like to have some conceptual studies that can make translations / mappings between the current educational organizational practice and the knowledge-centered scenario. We would like to have designed, developed, and evaluated a few prototypes that make manifest what knowledge-centered education actually means and how Intranet, document management, knowledge representation and agents can be combined in effective and significant patterns. And we need research that exemplifies that current educational practice actually can be evoluted into knowledge-centered education.

 

6. Conclusions

In this report we have stated the expectation that educational organizations will enter educational InfoSpace and that this will effect deeply the way that education will be organized. We have pointed out that the competition between educational organizations will become fierce - probably in the same pace as the electronic shrinkage of the world.

Survival and quality assurance for education in InfoSpace can only become a reality if education can use the basic tools of InfoSpace itself: information management tools. As organizations and education in particular are strongly dependent upon knowledge, a knowledge-centered approach to the management of education is desired. Such an approach is in line with current about knowledge management and learning organizations. But thinking, speculating, and wishing is not the same as doing and quite different form doing it successfully!

In order to be able to apply knowledge management technologies, organizations should become ready to do so. This means re-engineering organizations and exploring how technology can be put to work. It also means considering potential bottlenecks. Such bottlenecks in respect to the application of knowledge management technologies are likely of a cognitive nature: information overload, technical, and logistic complexity, the necessity to overview distributed processes and so on. Here we feel that agent technology could support us.

The report finishes with outlining two research directions. Both mark stages in the co-evolution of society and technology. And yes, if a society can not realize and view a clear process of co-evolution of technology and education, where else can it then find its source for evolution?

 

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