What is Personal Knowledge Information (PKM) ?
Avery et al. (2001) proposed a PKM framework with seven skills. The skills are, in one sense, problem solving, rather than problem definition, skills. The skills are focusing on (1) Retrieving information; (2) Evaluating information; (3) Organising information; (4) Collaborating around information; (5) Analysing information; (6) Presenting information and (7) Securing Information. The details of the skills proposed by Avery et al (2001) are:
1 Retrieving information skill
The challenge here is to identify those nuggets of information ,from the large information environment, which can help to create new knowledge (Avery et al. 2001). It is necessary to be familiar with the search subject and keywords, to understand the usefulness of different information sources, and to know how to use the search tools effectively and to be familiar with the concept of widening and narrowing the scope of the search.
2 Evaluation of information
The challenge here is to be effective in evaluating the quality and relevance of information from a large amount of information (Dorsey 2001). This skill requires full understanding of the subject matter and sensitivity to the value of the available information.
3 Organising information
The skill of being able to organize information is the core personal knowledge management skill identified by Frand and Hixon (1999). The challenge here is to develop approaches that enable individual knowledge workers to develop strategies that are consistent with the nature of their work, with their learning styles, and with the nature of collaborative relationships they may have (Dorsey 2001). It requires considerable skill to connect new information to old information using the mental process of pattern matching or rather recognition. It also requires skill to use technologies, e.g. relational database, web sites, personal information software…etc, to store the information in a structural way e.g. chronological, functional and role-based approaches…etc.
4 Collaborating around information
The challenge here, as it relates to technology, is to identify how information technology can support the process of working smarter, rather than merely harder, and to overcome obstacles in the form of the absence of social cues for appropriate behaviour (Dorsey 2001). It requires the use of different technologies e.g. email, instant messaging, conferencing systems, groupware …etc These enable individual knowledge workers to acquire new knowledge and thus help the organization to achieve its business goals.
5 Analysing information
The challenge is to extract meaningful information from data. This is the fundamental process of converting information to knowledge (Avery et al. 2001). Information technology provides tools e.g. spreadsheets and statistical software to perform data analysis but the human element is the most important factor in the analysing process. It is the ability to process the information and sensemaking using human experience and knowledge. This ability is related to the intelligence of individuals, and sometimes intuition and specific tools ,e.g. data mining tools, also play a key role in performing an analysis..
6 Presenting information
It is important to have a clear understanding of the purpose of the presentation as it relates to the audience (Dorsey 2001). It is the art of composition and speaking. It is not enough just to prepare a nice looking PowerPoint slide or a beautiful chart. The presenter has to understand the characteristics of the audience: who they are, what information they require, from what perspective they will interpret the information and how they will make use of the information presented. The challenge is to ensure the audience can pick up the information or knowledge in the context that the presenter has selected.
7 Securing information
This is frequently neglected as an information skill (Dorsey 2001). It is however becoming more and more important especially with the fast development of the Internet. The importance of keeping information secure is basically built on the concept of intellectual property. The business will suffer if their trade secrets are stolen by their competitors. The care of intellectual property, copyright and patents is important and it should be the concern of everyone starting from the individual by improving the state of information security awareness e.g. password management, safeguarding of information sources…etc.
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Actually I am securing this text here. It is taken from a survey, and I am in doubt that it will last there forever.
Source:
http://twitter.com/roundtrip/status/5310509481M.
