Redefining knowledge management education with the support of personal knowledge management devices

Abstract

Knowledge Management (KM) Education is supposed to provide the key opportunities for the 21st century knowledge societies, but Bedford’s recent survey results highlight the immaturity in this endeavor. In order to rectify the situation current top-down centralized approaches ought to be substituted by bottom-up concepts focusing on the self-sufficiency and mobility of today’s knowledge workers. These efforts need to be supported by smart personal knowledge management devices able to connect with each other as well as to integrate with organizational systems. What is being taught and technologically supplied, thus, creates sustainable impacts on individuals’ academic and professional growth and their roles as contributors and beneficiaries of institutional and societal performance. The article introduces a novel Personal KM (PKM) prototype system and educational concept to fill these needs in anticipation of Levy’s imagined KM revolution that gives more power and autonomy to individuals and self-organized groups.