Andy was outlining how Shell had invested in two main areas for knowledge management and information sharing within the company. One was the knowledge base – collating, digitising and indexing their existing paper documents into a searchable archive. The other was to set up a facility using the (primitive) email system they had in those (olden) days to allow someone in the company to ask a question that was troubling them. Their question was sent into a specific individual who then sent it out to everyone else in the company and any response was then re-routed back to the questioner. (You will gather that this was before the days of email lists and online discussion groups).

The knowledge-base took 80% of the budget and the email question-reply system cost 20%. The somewhat surprising finding was that 15% of the value for the company was in the knowledge-base and 85% was in the email system (as Andy said – it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out where to focus). Why is the value of the knowledge-base so low? In turns out that people couldn’t find the answer to their specific question there whereas there was often someone in the company who had faced a similar but not identical issue. Very rarely did exactly the same problem or question arise twice and so the documents in the knowledge base didn’t quite cut it. However, because the email system incorporated the human element, a response might go along the lines of ”We had a similar problem to yours – we tackled it by…. you could try …“. This kind of response was often just what the questioner needed to solve their problem.

I stood by my filing cabinet wondering if Andy Boyd was still at Shell and whether the new version of this email system they introduced (online discussion groups) was still up and running or had moved on. I was able to answer the first part of my question by searching that now ubiquitous online database called the world-wide-web. Andy, now Knowledge Manager at Shell Global, has a blog and uses twitter. I could also download one of his presentations on Knowledge Management at Shell.

The answer to what Shell were doing now in this area was not completely clear from this search but as I flicked through the presentation I became aware of a series of muffled thuds. What on earth is that noise? Oh blimey – my tutee has been trying to get my attention by banging on the locked sliding doors downstairs. ”I hope you haven’t been there long?“ I offer humbly. ”Just a few minutes..“ she replies ”…I had considered throwing a snowball at your window, but thought I’d better not.“ I offered my apologies and suggest we get going as we are already late – I was a bit surprised that she hadn’t turned up on time.

The moral of the story – searching through an archive may not be the best way to find the answer to some questions, but it can sure pass the time.

The blog also acts as a reminder to enhance the connections between neurons that are beginning to form – coming back to concepts after a day, a week, and a month is the best consolidation for the neuronal connections – if you don’t do this then any change is likely to be transient. Without consolidation we think we are changing but in reality we are just entertaining the possibility of change without actually moving forward (or at least our development is somewhat haphazard; dependent upon which thoughts, ideas and concepts do return to us).

 ”These (scaffolds) are forms of support temporarily provided by instructors when introducing new content and making assignments. Novice learners, like construction workers, need structures of temporary support during their efforts to build something new; once the initial phase of construction is in place, the scaffolds can be withdrawn.” 

• Part I
• Part II

“learning occurs when the learner immerses him or herself in a community of pratice, learning by performing authentic tasks, learning by interacting with and becoming a member of the community.”

Now that made me think about how stressful students might find this sort of training and whether we might need to consider a gentler approach for them. Talking with a colleague who shared my concerns made me even more interested in this possibility and looking at Linda’s blog entry on the Calgary Cambridge method (that is being used as a model) added a little more impetus to my exploration.

My visit yesterday to the Copenhagen vet school (thanks Søren for arranging it at such short notice!) was very valuabe in many respects and I think the way Rikke Langebæk is approaching communication skills with her students, may just be that gentler way that I was thinking about. One subtle (but I think significant difference) is that Rikke doesn’t use trained actors but plays the role of the client herself having built up a relationship with the students. Part of the preparation of students involves discussing video clips of consultations that go well and also some that don’t. Fun is a big and important part of the session. None of this knocks Calgary Cambridge per say, but I believe the subtelties of how the session is run could be very significant.

I’m wondering if the use of actors might then be reserved for students who have already been gently introduced to communication skills with someone they know and respect and who is actually not quite as skilled as the actor in playing a role – for me (and I believe for the experienced emergency medicine clinician who played the 2nd year vet student trying to get information from the very stressed client about their collapsed puppy) the actor was so good it was like reality, only this time - to add to the stress there were 9 staff observing too!

students interpret markers comments

I’d be interested in reading more…

Good presentations by Steven Warburton (KCL), Brian Kelly (UKOLN, University of Bath), Henry Rzepa, (Imperial College, London) and Phil Wilson (University of Bath)

All the discussion group outputs are on the wetpaint wiki and Henry recorded the presentations so hopefully there will be a podcast of the event shortly.

For me the old rule applies – fab technology when used in the right way – so just a reminder to myself and others not get carried away thinking everything should be done in a wiki. Mind you, a wiki would make a great VLE wouldn’t it?