Here is my 2023 Symposium presentation.
Theoretical Framework(s) to Think About
I have chosen Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory, as developed in the mid-1990s (Nonaka & Konno, 1998). The authors describe the Japanese concept of ba, which they translate as phenomenal, shared space made up of knowledge plus information from where an organization’s knowledge creation comes. They go on to describe that if knowledge is decoupled from the shared space (virtual or otherwise), it becomes information. Information can then be codified and recorded for others’ use. The organization becomes a learning entity that is more than the sum of its members as described in Figure 1.
Nonaka and Konno have taken the ba concept and their definitions of tacit (experiential) and explicit (data) knowledge and used those to develop the SECI model of knowledge creation (Nonaka & Konno, 1998). SECI stands for Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization. These four concepts work in a spiral relationship where Socialization (tacit:tacit) moves through the framework into Internalization (tacit:explicit) to convert tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge in organizations. My research will investigate how semantic technologies can be used by distributed technical nuclear expert teams can use to transfer tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge as workers approach retirement.
In my initial readings, the framework makes a lot of intuitive sense, which is ironically a criticism of the model by some (Martin & Root, 2009). My concerns and questions revolve around whether it is too much associated with management for a MALAT Applied Research Project (ARP) and whether it might be too cultural, having been developed as a response to Japanese organizational needs, as well as why the model needs to start at Socialization (Kahrens & Früauff, 2018). Kahrens and Früauff also discuss how Ba can be amended in the future, taking into account new technologies. My literature review will clarify some of these issues.
References:
Kahrens, M., & Früauff, D. H. (2018). Critical evaluation of Nonaka’s SECI model. In The Palgrave Handbook of Knowledge Management (pp. 53–83). Springer.
Martin, L., & Root, D. (2009). Knowledge creation in construction: The SECI model.
Nonaka, I., & Konno, N. (1998). The concept of “Ba”: Building a foundation for knowledge creation. California Management Review, 40(3), 40–54.
What I Want to Do Next…
This question feels like, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I really love the thought of opportunities, but it is a question that feels overwhelming as well. There are a lot of possibilities for future dissemination and continuing research, and I would really like to explore two of them.
I have applied to participate in an International Atomic Energy (IAEA) group on the newly developed International Nuclear Management Academy (INMA) Master’s Programme in Nuclear Technology Management technical report. The INMA is a part of the IAEA that is supporting universities in developing their own master’s programmes in nuclear technology management. Here in Canada, there are very few nuclear engineering programmes and currently no nuclear technology management programmes. The IAEA community identified a gap in graduate-level nuclear management programmes. Traditional Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes were not found to be specific enough and pure nuclear engineering programmes were seen as being too technical. I have contacts at both the Nuclear Engineering program and the Educational Informatics Lab (EILab) at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and have set up meetings to discuss working with them to do research on the career development of nuclear professionals using advanced technologies and hopefully be involved somehow in the development of a nuclear technology master’s programme in Canada. This ties in my research idea about transfer of tacit knowledge from imminently retiring nuclear specialists
The second target for dissemination of my research are the global Radiation Protection (RP), Disruptive, Innovative, and Emerging Technologies (DIET) and Human Factors (HF) communities various conferences. The nuclear industry generates a vast amount of data from everything from the various aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, management systems, nuclear power plant operation, and incidents. The RP community is often interested in using this data to improve radiation safety communication and RP methods. The HF community is often interested in using this data to reduce incidents and to enhance training programs. The DIET community is often interested in using this data to develop training using technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). My research could be disseminated as a presentation or paper at next year’s DigiDecom conference or CNS’ DIET conference. For this year’s CNS DIET conference, the requirement to present was to develop a presentation and did not require the publication of a paper. Next year’s Canadian Radiation Protection Association’s (CRPA) conference is in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I could also present a paper and/or a presentation at that conference. A short paper would be required, along with the development of a presentation. Participation in a panel discussion is another option that sometimes happens at CRPA conferences.
Both education research and conference participation are very interesting to me and would provide years’ worth of research and teaching opportunities.
Final Blog Post
So, to recap, here were the 3-2-1’s from my initial blog post for this course:
Feelings:
- Facilitation is harder online
- Facilitation needs to be developed more thoughtfully online
- I might not be good online. My in-person presence might not translate.
Questions
- How to find new sources of resources, etc
- How to find friendly critics/beta testers
Metaphor:
- Online collaboration happens differently than in-classroom. Looking back on this, I may not have described it well. What I was trying to say was that collaboration may happen more overtly between online learners outside of the facilitator’s ‘view’ because, unlike the classroom, the facilitator cannot see what is happening if the learners are collaborating on a back channel in which the facilitator is not involved. This is not to say that the collaboration is bad, but rather that maybe it’s better than we thought it would be.
Now that we are at the end of this course, not only have my views changed, but I realize that I asked the wrong questions and had the wrong feelings. Or rather, not wrong, but where I thought I would go through the course is NOT where I went at all. And this is a pleasant surprise. A few things stood out. First was the feedback methodology, next was the realization that online is not better or worse but simply different, and finally that connections have different ‘flavors’.
The ability for learners to give anonymous feedback to someone that does not hold power over their grades was freeing, I think. We received constructive feedback that was honest, and we actually received it. Anecdotally, whenever I have asked for feedback or a survey, I have received feedback from less than 30% of participants. Including this feedback as part of our required work, but anonymously, was a good way of getting to some honest information.
The other thing that I realized is that online facilitation is not necessarily harder, nor does it have to be developed more thoughtfully than in-classroom. It is simply different. The nature of the relationships that we build with learners online is just different than when we see them in-person. I felt better about that by the end.
Finally, keeping connected with my network will be a good way to keep up on the new resources coming out, as well as finding people to beta test my upcoming materials. Seeing how the different groups presented material gives me a bit of insight into how we each facilitate, and from where we all draw inspiration, which can help me decide who may be good contacts for certain types of review.
Open Educational Resources Week – Thoughts
This week, we were challenged to consider the advantages and disadvantages of Open Educational Resources (OER). As someone who previously made my living from non-OER, I have been really torn about this topic. I found the readings this week helpful in adding to my knowledge on the topic and I got some new things to think about.
There is a lot that can be done with OER I think: maybe more than I thought could be done. The spirit of OER is more democratic and more in keeping with equity in education. It is not, however, how the world generally works today.
I have been thinking a lot during this week about how we can use OER in niche, necessarily protected areas, like nuclear security. OER methods can be used for facilitation, but the content could still be protected I think. I came across a podcast this week that talked about using a lot of open source tools in the monetization of products, which is where this thought came from. (PS – Mattermost is cited as a viable alternative to Slack).
*Updated* LRNT 528: Group Cameras Draft Facilitation Plan
We have updated and finalized our plan for the week. Please see the attached document. We look forward to hearing from everyone this week!
Our group is discussing the question, “Cameras on or off? Should digital facilitators require cameras during synchronous sessions?”. Our facilitation week is September 18-24. We have developed an engaging and entertaining week for our participants.
To develop our facilitation plan, we decided to use SessionLab. SessionLab is a flexible planning platform for facilitators to design the flow of their sessions, whether for meetings or training courses. The thing that we found that made SessionLab different is its huge library of facilitation tools to help facilitators design interesting and engaging sessions. We had a good time reading through some of their ideas and coming up with what we feel is a weeklong session that our fellow learners will enjoy experiencing with us.
SessionLab has an export function that we used to export the following facilitation plan. The tab labeled “Day 1” is the synchronous session that will occur at the end of the week on Saturday, September 23 at 12 pm noon PT. The tab labeled “Day 2” is the Monday through Friday asynchronous piece that will occur in Mattermost throughout the week. Please review it and let us know what you think!
LRNT 528: Assignment 1: Infographic
I chose a fishbone diagram deliberately. I work in the nuclear industry and the fishbone diagram is one root cause analysis (RCA) technique used in industries like nuclear that are required to investigate incidents and improve processes.
From the tail on the left, a fishbone diagram has the observed elements or causes that feed into an event or process. In my infographic, the tail section contains various strategies available for each of the three presences (Teaching, Social, and Cognitive) outlined in the Community of Inquiry framework (Lalonde, 2020, 2:20). The fish head on the right is the result. For an investigation, for example, it would be the observed event. For my infographic, it is the created learning event, considering the strategies for each presence.
I facilitate learning for professionals in the nuclear industry who need to learn and apply regulatory requirements. The next learning event I will be facilitating will be at an international conference in Vancouver in November 2022 where we will be discussing radiation safety training with a group of senior trainers in the industry. I plan to use this information to help prepare that event.
For this infographic assignment, keeping my context in mind, I chose the following strategies for each presence:
- Teaching
- Vaughan et al (2013) discussed the need to make sure there is a place for the community when developing learning.
- Boettcher’s (n.d.) best practices included creating “a supportive online course community” (Boettcher, 2013, heading 2). To me, this said vulnerability by the facilitator first.
- Vaughan et al (2013) talked about providing participants with choices early on. The facilitator needs to have these ready beforehand.
- Social
- For the group to develop its glue, humor can be used (Garrison et al, 2000).
- Self-disclosure by learners after the prepared disclosure noted in #1 above by the facilitator can be useful (Garrison et al, 2000).
- Recognition (Garrison et al., 2000) is important for learners to receive to continue to participate and make meaning of their learning.
- Cognitive
- Learners need time to be together and discuss as described by Boettcher (n.d.).
- Learners need time to reflect (Boettcher, n.d.) in small groups.
- Learners need a Mirror that the facilitator can be (Bull, 2013).
References:
Boettcher, J. (n.d.). Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online – Designing for Learning. http://designingforlearning.info/writing/ten-best-practices-for-teaching-online/
Bull, B. (2013, June 3). Eight Roles of an Effective Online Teacher. Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-course-delivery-and-instruction/eight-roles-of-an-effective-online-teacher/
Lalonde, C. (2020, August 22). Facilitation in a Community of Inquiry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv1bUZv5PLs
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2–3), 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6
Vaughan, N. D., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Garrison, D. R. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments: Creating and sustaining communities of inquiry. AU Press.
LRNT 528 Activity 1-4: 3-2-1 Blog Post
Three initial feelings about digital facilitation are that:
- Facilitation is harder online. Without the advantage of being able to see body language in person, I feel like it would be hard to understand learners’ needs as well in order to meet them.
- More accurately, facilitation needs to be developed more thoughtfully. Facilitators would need to have a good understanding of their learners’ situations in order to develop effective facilitation methods.
- Those facilitators who are good in person may not translate online. I know some amazing in-person facilitators who just didn’t click online. Part of it has been a technology learning curve and part of it has been just a difficulty in translating their own personality to another medium.
Two questions I have about digital facilitation:
- How do you find new stuff like Mattermost? There are SO many new platforms and delivery methods coming out all the time. How on earth do we find and keep up with them???
- How to build a community of friendly critics for beta testing? I would like a safe place, or safe group of experience facilitators, to review my ideas before launch.
One metaphor or simile about digital facilitation:
A recent class I took through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July not only permitted group work for the final exam but encouraged it! It was a course on Management Systems that very accurately recognized that, in real life, we will never be working in complete isolation. The test was therefore designed to be better completed by choosing a peer/colleague whose knowledge complements our own. The result was a good collaboration experience in the final quiz, where we both brought our own knowledge and experience to the table. Here’s my image then:
Team 5 aka Jazzy Awesome Legendary Genius Minds – Podcasts
As promised in my blog post on Fab 4’s e-learning selection, and tying in Team 3’s presentation about TikTok and sampling, I want to discuss podcasts both through Team 5’s lens, as well as my own experience. Team 5’s blog post title was, “Podcasts. Everyone has a story”, which I thought was beautiful. They brought up some very good points about time-shifting, where listeners can take in a podcast at their leisure, as well as how access can be an issue in a vast country like Canada. The team presented their thoughts in the form of a mock podcast, which was clever, especially given that we could go back and watch the recording later!
The team created a wordy, if well laid out infographic to reinforce what each member is working on (Rodriguez, 2022). I liked their choice of a Canadian podcast produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) called, “The Secret Life of Canada”. One of the more engaging ideas that Myrna brought up was the concept of podcasts for storytelling from an indigenous lens for use in teaching. I was struck by the juxtaposition of her point of view with the one that I heard that same week from an elder with the Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc. about how he was hesitant to share his knowledge for fear of it being misused (Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc., 2022). The thought that indigenous knowledge can survive from generation to generation, but possibly be misinterpreted if presented without context, is fascinating to me. The team wrapped that thought nicely by advising readers, “to be mindful that podcasts, like any widely accessible technology, bring questions around credible and accurate information to the fore”.
Podcasts have become very widespread, likely due to people having time on their hands during the pandemic. I know that my favorite podcasts have good production value that includes sound effects and quality narration, but that takes resources. The evolution of podcasts as a sort of ‘new radio’ will be interesting to follow.
References:
Rodriguez, L. (11 May, 2022). Podcasts. Everyone has a story – Luis Rodriguez. (n.d.). From https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0216/podcasts-everyone-has-a-story/
Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc. (27 April, 2022). CMD 22-H2.244A: Written submission from the Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc. https://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/the-commission/hearings/cmd/pdf/CMD22/CMD22-H2-244A.pdf
For my music choice, I’ve included one of my favorite nerdy podcasts about music history. This episode specifically talks about the impact that sampling has on future music. Team 3’s presentation about TikTok reminded me of this episode. Hit Parade has good production value that includes music examples that bring back memories, a good narrator, and interesting facts that I learn a lot from. As a podcast production company, Slate tends to create entertaining and informative podcasts in my experience.
Team Brilliant (Team 2) – MOOCs
I really looked forward to this presentation and this team did not disappoint. They included lots of relevant information on the pluses and minuses of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). I completed this MOOC at the beginning of the pandemic and, as I described during the live presentation, it became part of the impetus for me to apply to the MALAT program. I am also one of the minority of students who have completed the course, which was a nice feeling of accomplishment at a time when I did not feel like I was accomplishing much at all. Another thing that I appreciated was feeling the same way as the team about the odd sort of artificial connection that the MOOC tried to convey (Breton et al., 2022).
I loved the infographic that this team posted on Ashley’s blog (Breton et al., 2022). I agree with what they say about MOOCs being shiny and optimistic on the surface, where you can easily see what the developers want us to see, but there being a deeper, perhaps darker, underside that is more difficult to see. During the presentation that the group made, I especially found the discussion about low completion rates (Murphy et al, 2014) that was part of Emma’s critical issue most fascinating.
Overall, this team has raised some very interesting thoughts on MOOCs that I had not thought of before reading their thoughts. I look forward to seeing where their research goes.
References:
Murphy, J., Williams, A., & Lennox, A. (2014). MOOCs in VET and higher education. 22nd National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference ‘No Frills’: refereed papers. Australian College of Applied Education. 76-82.
Breton, A. (9 May, 2022). Making Sense of MOOCs: A Critical Look at the Impact of MOOCs in Teaching and Learning | Ash’s Blog. From https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0205/making-sense-of-moocs-a-critical-look-at-the-impact-of-moocs-in-teaching-and-learning/
Now for my music choice. Shinedown is an interesting band that used to occupy some space on my running playlist with “Second Chance”. As a nod to this team, I chose “Brilliant” for this entry. It has a good message about not giving up, which speaks to me right now.