The Role of the Intranet in the Management of Knowledge - Essay Example

?IT & Entrepreneurship Table of Contents Introduction 3 About Pedagogical Principles 3 3 Pedagogical Principles into an Intranet 4 Construction of Pedagogical Framework 7 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction The role of intranet in management of knowledge and learning cannot be misjudged in present day context. The tools of intranet ought to be utilised carefully in present day learning environment in order to fulfil the clearly specified requirements. Intranet can benefit for learning through information assortment, cooperation, communication and completion of different activities. Intranets are utilised in order to find along with organise information, which resides within various organisations. Intranet fundamentally acts as front-end to great source of knowledge (ODI, n.d.). Based on this aspect, in the essay, I would discuss about the thoughts concerning the building of pedagogical principles into an intranet. About Pedagogical Principles Pedagogy principles are often regarded as methods of teaching and learning. They are recognised as theoretical procedures for achieving certain goals. The most vital characteristics of pedagogical principles are that they are quite pertinent in nature and equipped with theoretical influence. Pedagogical principles can be used in intranet such as in e-learning for better management of knowledge and better teaching experience. According to my opinion, every teacher has certain unspoken pedagogy, representing teaching method or philosophy. The pedagogy can be derived from evaluating the functions of a teacher (Rubens & et. al., 2005). From reviewing the work of various authors, I have learnt that the task of a good pedagogical design is to ensure that there are no irregularities prevailing between the prospectus taught and the application of teaching approaches. Thus, in order to accomplish complete consistency, there is need to examine the key assumptions at every phase of teaching and to support them in learning. Hence, in order to build pedagogical principles, there is the requirement to begin with planned learning outcome. Then, there is the necessity of selecting certain effective teaching functions that would support students to accomplish their respective learning outcomes. Ultimately, there is need to develop evaluation activities that can genuinely examine whether the outcome have been accomplished or not. This procedure is simple to describe, but is quite difficult to build on intranet (Monty, 2005). This can be better understood with the help of the following pictorial illustration. Source: (Mayes & Freitas, 2004). Pedagogical Principles into an Intranet Essentially from various works, I have understood that intranet provides a sophisticated way for teaching and learning. In learning environment, intranet comprises instruction delivered through every internal electronic media. The effort for utilising intranet in learning eventually moves towards complete automation of controlling the teaching and learning procedure by way of several applications. Although use of intranet in learning is recent phenomenon, but the underlying principles of learning, i.e. pedagogical principles have not been included in this technology. Most of the pedagogical principles that are utilised in traditional learning experience can be built into intranet based learning (Govindasamy, 2002). By understanding various concepts of pedagogy, I can define that constructivist pedagogy is often associated with intranet based learning. In this regard, constructivist pedagogical principles inspire learners to establish their own knowledge based on personal experience and utilise those principles in various fields. In such pedagogical principle, the concentration is on learning, rather than teaching in the social procedure. Constructivism is often regarded as an ideal pedagogical principle for intranet, as it draws on determining the strengths of the medium and overwhelming the weaknesses (Gulati, 2004). Constructivist pedagogy observes students as the core participants of the learning procedure. Though it is difficult to determine the traditional role of the teachers, it can make the students to actively involved in learning and provide them with certain level of choices i.e. what to learn, where to learn, how to learn and by whom to learn (Chan & Aalst, 2003). Furthermore, constructivist pedagogy observes knowledge being constructed and applied according to individual experience. In this similar context, intranet based learning allows context and work oriented learning. Constructivist pedagogy observe learning as social experience and thus intranet based learning can allow better communication between students without any hindrance of time and place (Paurelle, 2003). Pedagogy can be stated with respect to frame the intranet based learning. The framework can deliver a method of learning in intranet environment. The pedagogy principles in the intranet can be built in five ways, namely selection of communication, sequence, rate of predictable acquisition, standards and the control on social base that results in effective transmission of information. These ways have been discussed hereunder. Selection of Communication Tools: The intranet environment provides different forms of communication tools that comprise e-mail, web oriented media, bulletin boards, chat facilities, print oriented expositions, audio along with video contents and other implanted links with the internet. The selection of the way of communication is restricted by aspects such as curriculum design, availability of teachers and technological ability of students as well as tutors. Sequence: The sequence of teacher and learner activities differs remarkably in the intranet environment. Certain pedagogical learning materials are sequenced in a lock-step procedure and complemented by regular break. These learning materials are constructivist in nature and inspire flexible movement of information and knowledge by the students. Rate of Predictable Acquisition: The rate of predictable acquisition of information differs in relation with the sequence. The intranet learning activities are stepped on the basis of linear sequential view of knowledge acquisition and are predicted on learner’s ability to acquire new information and skill. Learning Standards: The pedagogical learning standards are used in the construction of intranet teaching with the incorporation of various interconnecting aspects. Standards such as policy initiatives, competitiveness and the communication tools of teachers encourage the selection of pedagogical standards on which learner experiences are based. Control: In intranet based learning, the control on social learning base makes the information and knowledge transmission possible. Control signifies the stress of organisational initiatives and funding for establishing intranet based learning (New Zealand Council for Educational Research, 2004). Construction of Pedagogical Framework There are four dimensions of pedagogies that can be used in the intranet learning environment. These include intellectual quality, applicability, helpful classroom environment and recognition of difference. The following figure demonstrates the construction of pedagogical framework especially on intranet. Source: (Brennan, 2003). In this context, intellectual quality can be defined as the belief that concentrates on high quality, essential for every student in order to perform intellectually. Applicability on the other hand, denotes the manner in which information and knowledge is represented and integrated to other body of intranet learning experience. The epitome of helpful classroom environment is subjected to wide-ranging research and presents the notions that students necessitates if they desire to accomplish the anticipated outcome. Finally, the fourth dimension of productive pedagogic paradigm is related with the identification of difference and how such differences are recognised by language, history and text. Every dimension of effective pedagogy produces a set of questions, which can be utilised to cross-examine the available data and the existing practices. For instance, through conducting meta-assessment of several literatures, I have identified the following indicators that define the effectiveness of intranet based learning. A learner based intranet environment Constructivist methods of teaching along with learning policies enabling students to establish new knowledge and skills Quality design of intranet learning materials Learning strategies that develop intellectual abilities Guaranteed as well as consistent forms to access intranet technologies Better involvement with intranet learning materials and Constant level of response (Brennan, 2003). Conclusion The essay assisted me to acquire a brief understanding about the pedagogical principles and how these can be used along with implemented on intranet, particularly in online learning environment. I have realised that pedagogical principles in intranet based learning can provide exceptional experience for students to learn in a sophisticated way. These pedagogical principles provide a framework for the tutors and the organisations, enabling them to design curriculums on the intranet environment. In conclusion, I would like to state that by utilising pedagogical principles ion intranet learning, organisations can easily evaluate the gap in education and develop strategies to close the gap and accordingly, facilitate in forming better learning environment. References Brennan, R., 2003. One Size Does not fit all: Pedagogy in the Online Environment. National Centre for Vocational Education Research. Chan, C. K. K. & Aalst, J. V., 2003. Assessing and Scaffolding Knowledge Building: Pedagogical Knowledge Building Principles and Electronic Portfolios. Designing for Change in Networked Learning Environments, Vol. 2, pp. 21-30. Govindasamy, T., 2002. Successful Implementation of e-Learning Pedagogical Considerations. Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 4, pp. 287-299. Gulati, S., 2004. Constructivism and Emerging Online Learning Pedagogy: A Discussion for Formal to Acknowledge and Promote the Informal. University of Glamorgan, pp. 5-7. Mayes, T. & Freitas, S. D., 2004. Stage 2: Review of E-Learning Theories, Frameworks and Models. JISC e-Learning Models Desk Study, Iss. 1, pp. 1-43. Monty, A., 2005. A Pedagogical Model of E-Learning at KVL: “The Five-Stage Model of Online Learning. Kobenhavns University. [Online] Available at: http://www.itlc.life.ku.dk/it_paedagogik/elaerings_paedagogik/gilly.aspx [Accessed December 09, 2013]. New Zealand Council for Educational Research, 2004. Critical Success Factors and Effective Pedagogy for e-learning in Tertiary Education. Background paper for ITP New Zealand. [Online] Available at: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/~/media/MinEdu/Files/EducationSectors/TertiaryEducation/NZCERFinalReport.pdf [Accessed December 09, 2013]. ODI, No Date. Intranet Strategies. Tools for Knowledge and Learning. [Online] Available at: http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/6433.pdf [Accessed December 09, 2013]. Paurelle, S., 2003. E-learning and Constructivism. Learning & Teaching Enhancement Unit. [Online] Available at: http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/Support/learning-teaching-enhancement-unit/Resources/Documents/BriefingNotes/ConstructivistPedagogy.pdf [Accessed December 09, 2013]. Rubens, W. & et. al., 2005. Design of Web-Based Collaborative Learning Environments. Translating the Pedagogical Learning Principles to Human Computer Interface. Computers & Education, Vol. 45, pp. 276-294. Read More