E-readers for Knowledge Management

e-readers as km tools : 

e-readers as km tools e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J km analysis : Meredith Doviak Brian Henry Niveda Naik Catherine Schaefer Nakul Sharma

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Hand-held, portable electronic devices used to store and display the electronic equivalent of printed material Changing the way we read and interact with electronic content Examples: Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s nook, Apple’s iPad

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Equipped with wireless internet connection Users can browse, purchase and download materials from online vendors Some devices allow users to share content with other users Features - mark-up pages of content with notes, highlight passages of text, insert notes and comments alongside content Combine text with variable media content

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Types of organizations adopting: journalism, education, libraries Ease of adoption – no hardware or software requirements, 3G use means no strain on network resources Training – no prior knowledge of specific operating systems is needed, there is an intuitive GUI interface. E-Readers are designed for accessibility.

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Current organizational uses: Reading documents, taking notes Accessibility features such as e-ink, text-to-speech, adjustable fonts Future organizational uses: Expanded use of networked features – realtime sharing of notes, hyperlinks, ideas and analysis Social learning applications

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Information Architecture -- E-readers allow “horizontal” knowledge sharing Users can author, edit, or annotate documents and make available to colleagues E-readers allow “vertical” knowledge sharing Users may contribute to, and benefit from, a central knowledge repository of documented knowledge accumulated over years from many locations

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Modern organizations are more mobile, global, and decentralized – yet in many cases paper is still used. E-Readers replace paper. E-readers vs. laptops E-readers can make paper items mobile and accessible, examples: manuals, intranet material, library materials Security – if an e-reader is lost, material can be remotely deleted Security – e-readers don’t have portals into business networks such as VPN or terminals

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Obstacles to Adoption: Fragmentation E-readers developed by content providers (e.g., Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Sony, etc.) have their own specifications, capabilities, compatibilities, etc. Rights Management Content providers can restrict e-reader access or use to their own sites/stores (in addition to some free or user-created content)

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Challenges: Cost - digital content is usually cheaper, but e-readers can range in price from around $200 to $800 Need - organizations must “carefully evaluate how e-readers might fit [their] business plan and monitor trends as they unfold”

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Intuitive vs. Complex Complex: not quite as easy as picking up a physical book or document, especially for the technophobic annotating, highlighting are generally not as easy as in their analog forms

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : E-Reader Technology and KM: Why Use? 10 Reasons (Wallen, 2009): cost savings (digital content is cheaper) greener business (less paper to throw away or recycle) space saving (digital takes less space) worker efficiency (workers can organize and access content more efficiently) increased professionalism (digital content looks more impressive)

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : 10 Reasons (Wallen, 2009) continued: staying informed (workers can more easily stay on top of relevant information and news) Improved morale (providing e-readers can be exciting and fun!) more available documentation (a library at workers’ fingertips) reduced eye strain (e-ink is easier on the eyes than computers) in-house publication (materials traditionally sent out for publication can be done in-house)

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : Current e-readers were designed for consumers Advantages – ease, flexibility, cost Disadvantages – not designed for enterprise Organizations should find unexpected applications, advantages for e-readers as KM tools

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e-readers & institutionG assessment B conclusion J analysis : E-readers make reading, and by extension, organization knowledge management, “a conversation in which authors, readers, and an entire community can use [it] to build knowledge and exchange ideas.” (Lankes)

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Questions, reactions?