This article presents the results of a preliminary study to examine the cataloging and classifica... more This article presents the results of a preliminary study to examine the cataloging and classification schemes and ideological factors that play out in book discovery platforms for children's and young adult books. Using Critical Race Theory and a Rapid Contextual Design approach to exploring the curatorial behaviors of school librarians when searching for diverse books, the study offers design ideas for retooling discovery platforms in ways that bridge the cultural disconnect that young adults from historically marginalized racial backgrounds experience in their libraries. The article concludes that in order for school librarians to find, recommend and teach about books that reflect race, equity and inclusion themes, they need more sophisticated and user-centered features that reflect critical race and multicultural analytic frameworks. This includes the need for a common vocabulary around issues of race, equity and inclusion that can simultaneously cut through the ambiguity of social tagging and yet subvert the status quo of entrenched liberalism and/or racially biased ideologies embedded in traditional classification schemes and hierarchies, such as those used in Library of Congress subject headings. The findings further suggest that school librarians would benefit from enhanced education and training in the intersections of cataloging, classification and critical race scholarship.
This article presents preliminary findings from a research study conducted by the Institute for t... more This article presents preliminary findings from a research study conducted by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education on the role of open educational resources (OER) in transforming pedagogy. Based on a study of art and humanities teachers participating in an OER training network, the study reveals how exposure to OER resources and tools support collaboration among teachers, as well as new conversations about teaching practices. These findings have implications for engaging teachers in adopting new OER use practices, and for how OER can be integrated as a model for innovation in teaching and in resource development.
For knowledge management to be successful, organizational learning and a research culture must su... more For knowledge management to be successful, organizational learning and a research culture must support it. This chapter presents various models of organizational learning as they influence the design and implementation of knowledge-based systems. The theoretical considerations presented are exemplified by a discussion of the impact of accountability movements on higher education, in general, and institutional research, in particular, and on the creation and implementation of knowledge-based systems in colleges and universities.
This monograph presents a set of emerging theories, along with current practices and recommendati... more This monograph presents a set of emerging theories, along with current practices and recommendations, that focus on the effective management of knowledge in educational settings. It provides a set of simple designs for linking people, processes, and technologies, and discusses how organizations can promote policies and practices that help people share and
This paper highlights the research for year one of the Preferences for Global Access (PGA) projec... more This paper highlights the research for year one of the Preferences for Global Access (PGA) project whose long term goal is to define a cross-platform preference acquisition system to acquire a user's needs and preferences for accessing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as part of a cloudbased Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII).
The monograph draws on the research that led to the establishment of the Half Moon Bay, Californi... more The monograph draws on the research that led to the establishment of the Half Moon Bay, Californiabased Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) and on the discussions with leaders and experts attending the first ever Knowledge Management in Education Summit in December 2002. The meeting was co-sponsored by ISKME and the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley Knowledge Management Cluster. The monograph identifies the landscape and provides a road map for leaders to follow for many years to come. I hope that the analysis and recommendations in these pages will launch further debate and prompt practical steps to help school systems, colleges, and universities improve their efficiency, enhance their decision-making capacity, and ultimately increase their overall effectiveness.
Community college presidents face a daunting challenge in trying to manage and guide an organizat... more Community college presidents face a daunting challenge in trying to manage and guide an organization that is, by its nature, decentralized and bureaucratic in its decision‐making processes, and at the same time they face external demands for greater accountability and internal demands for information. Although technological systems can accomplish these kinds of data collection tasks easily, the implementation of such systems is itself problematic. In many ways, implementing new information and technology systems, when done effectively, mirrors the open‐ended, cross‐functional deliberative processes of strategic planning. This paper discusses how institutional leaders at community colleges have used the implementation of strategic planning processes to break down information silos, increase collaboration among units, streamline information and work processes, and provide greater access to both academic and operational information. While this process may be time‐consuming and disorderly, it is a promising tool for bringing about organizational change.
International Journal of Educational Management, Mar 1, 2004
In the current climate of increased accountability in higher education, many colleges and univers... more In the current climate of increased accountability in higher education, many colleges and universities are considering ways to improve their collection and analysis of data and information to achieve organizational improvement. While there has been much written about the costs, difficulties, and challenges of implementing new information systems on college campuses, the costs and benefits of maintaining current systems are not well understood. Our research suggests that in a challenging information environment, enterprising individuals-when unable to obtain the data they need from existing information systems-compensate by creating, or participating in, idiosyncratic methods of data collection and management. These informal practicescalled workarounds-can be seen as both inventive solutions to pressing organizational needs and over time, and costly alternative to a robust and flexible information system.
Although there has been a great deal of recognition in the business world that information and kn... more Although there has been a great deal of recognition in the business world that information and knowledge management can be vital tools in organizations, it is only recently that educational administrators and teachers have begun to look at how they might use information systems to assist in creating effective learning environments. In the business research environment, the evolution from data to information and from information to knowledge plays a leading role in shaping how organizations develop strategies and plans for the future. Using examples from schools, this paper illustrates how knowledge management can enable schools to examine the plethora of data they collect and how an ecological framework can be used to transform these data into meaningful information. Although there has been a great deal of recognition in the business world that information and knowledge management can be vital tools in organizations, it is only recently that educational administrators have begun to look at how they might use information systems to assist in creating effective learning environments. In the business research environment, the evolution from data to information and from information to knowledge plays a leading role in shaping how business communities of practice in organizations develop strategies and plans for the future. Although there is a great deal of research literature on the information technology sector in business to support this idea, literature regarding information management to support educational learning is scarce. Therefore, this paper draws on theories from the business field, including information management, knowledge management, and knowledge ecology, to suggest how knowledge management, when applied with an ecological framework, can benefit schools.
In the current climate of increased external accountability and increased internal pressure to im... more In the current climate of increased external accountability and increased internal pressure to improve student performance, many colleges and universities are grappling with how to broaden access to data and information so as to improve decision-making -- a trend this report refers to as the democratization of data. In the past decade, advances in user-friendly information technology are enabling faculty, administrators, and staff to retrieve and analyze a host of information themselves, right from their desktops. For example, they can perform data searches, track student performance, monitor section enrollments in real-time, and estimate various budgetary impacts. By equipping people at all organizational levels with the data and information they need, colleges can enable them to make better decisions about how to reach and serve students. Colleges and universities are finding, however, that the democratization of data brings with it cultural as well as technical or procedural tran...
A comprehensive assessment of the effects of performance-based funding is not yet available. Yet ... more A comprehensive assessment of the effects of performance-based funding is not yet available. Yet according to early national survey results, the impact of performance-based funding on overall campus outcomes has been moderate at best (Burke and Minassians, 2002). These national findings may mirror experiences within California. In 1998, the State of California and the California Community Colleges inaugurated a performance-based funding program called the Partnership for Excellence (PFE). The program launch represented a commitment by the state legislature to earmark additional funding for the community colleges, in exchange for the colleges' agreement to develop, track, and achieve, by 2005, system-wide performance goals to improve student learning and success.Through 2000-01, the state appropriation to the community colleges for the PFE program was allocated by the Chancellor's Office to local college districts based on enrollment. There were conditions in place for moving...
Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre was formed to establish telecentres offering share... more Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre was formed to establish telecentres offering shared access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in each of India's 600,000 villages by the year 2007. The telecentres would support community development and poverty reduction, and would be run by managers trained in specific skill sets that would allow them to serve the diverse needs of the communities they support. The Mission 2007 Training Commons initiative, a collaborative, open content approach drawing on existing trainer expertise, was established to develop resources that could support trainers through a 'living curriculum': materials that were free, accessible online, and easily adapted. The primary objective of the Training Commons case study was to understand and document the practices, processes, successes, and challenges of the partnership and the content development, and to assess the overall impact on stakeholders. Several key learnings were ident...
While most institutions have data-based information systems in place, some fail to share and use ... more While most institutions have data-based information systems in place, some fail to share and use data and information effectively, which often leads to missed opportunities in planning and forecasting and in day-to-day decision making. Reasons for the failure include: 1) the lack of integration among information systems, 2) unclear priorities in the collection of data, and 3) the creation of data silos that prevent the necessary links between functions and structures across the institution. This report looks at how business officers can encourage the collection and use of institutional data across campus functions
Through interviews with the Curriki management team, analysis of internal documents, observations... more Through interviews with the Curriki management team, analysis of internal documents, observations of internal user data collection practices, and a survey and interviews with Curriki users, the Curriki case study explored use patterns and user perceptions of the site, its resources and tools. The specific questions addressed include: 1) how often and why users are coming to Curriki; 2) how they use and engage around the Curriki site, its tools and its resources; and 3) what factors help or hinder engagement and use. The goal of this case study has been to develop an understanding of the mechanisms and processes that can help to attract and sustain users over time, and to facilitate and enhance their use, reuse and content contribution experiences
Launched in 2002 by WGBH, the non-commercial public media service, located in Boston, Massachuset... more Launched in 2002 by WGBH, the non-commercial public media service, located in Boston, Massachusetts, Teachers' Domain is an online repository of multimedia open educational resources for use in classrooms and for professional development. As part of its effort to increase the availability of freely accessible resources WGBH has developed content from public media archives into high quality, open educational resources for Teachers' Domain. Using a participatory case study methodology, this report examines WGBH and Teachers' Domain's successes and challenges in 1) converting proprietary content to open content 2) engaging users in content and 3) redesigning the Teacher's Domain site to accommodate new categories of use and tools for teachers and learners of all different backgrounds and activity levels. For OER projects more generally, ongoing research on user behaviors, experiences and perceptions can be a challenging and resource-intense process; however, by asse...
Planners can reap benefits for their institutions by being proactive rather than reactive and by ... more Planners can reap benefits for their institutions by being proactive rather than reactive and by aligning external mandates related to performance funding with long-term internal goals and the institution's mission.
This article presents the results of a preliminary study to examine the cataloging and classifica... more This article presents the results of a preliminary study to examine the cataloging and classification schemes and ideological factors that play out in book discovery platforms for children's and young adult books. Using Critical Race Theory and a Rapid Contextual Design approach to exploring the curatorial behaviors of school librarians when searching for diverse books, the study offers design ideas for retooling discovery platforms in ways that bridge the cultural disconnect that young adults from historically marginalized racial backgrounds experience in their libraries. The article concludes that in order for school librarians to find, recommend and teach about books that reflect race, equity and inclusion themes, they need more sophisticated and user-centered features that reflect critical race and multicultural analytic frameworks. This includes the need for a common vocabulary around issues of race, equity and inclusion that can simultaneously cut through the ambiguity of social tagging and yet subvert the status quo of entrenched liberalism and/or racially biased ideologies embedded in traditional classification schemes and hierarchies, such as those used in Library of Congress subject headings. The findings further suggest that school librarians would benefit from enhanced education and training in the intersections of cataloging, classification and critical race scholarship.
This article presents preliminary findings from a research study conducted by the Institute for t... more This article presents preliminary findings from a research study conducted by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education on the role of open educational resources (OER) in transforming pedagogy. Based on a study of art and humanities teachers participating in an OER training network, the study reveals how exposure to OER resources and tools support collaboration among teachers, as well as new conversations about teaching practices. These findings have implications for engaging teachers in adopting new OER use practices, and for how OER can be integrated as a model for innovation in teaching and in resource development.
For knowledge management to be successful, organizational learning and a research culture must su... more For knowledge management to be successful, organizational learning and a research culture must support it. This chapter presents various models of organizational learning as they influence the design and implementation of knowledge-based systems. The theoretical considerations presented are exemplified by a discussion of the impact of accountability movements on higher education, in general, and institutional research, in particular, and on the creation and implementation of knowledge-based systems in colleges and universities.
This monograph presents a set of emerging theories, along with current practices and recommendati... more This monograph presents a set of emerging theories, along with current practices and recommendations, that focus on the effective management of knowledge in educational settings. It provides a set of simple designs for linking people, processes, and technologies, and discusses how organizations can promote policies and practices that help people share and
This paper highlights the research for year one of the Preferences for Global Access (PGA) projec... more This paper highlights the research for year one of the Preferences for Global Access (PGA) project whose long term goal is to define a cross-platform preference acquisition system to acquire a user's needs and preferences for accessing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as part of a cloudbased Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII).
The monograph draws on the research that led to the establishment of the Half Moon Bay, Californi... more The monograph draws on the research that led to the establishment of the Half Moon Bay, Californiabased Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) and on the discussions with leaders and experts attending the first ever Knowledge Management in Education Summit in December 2002. The meeting was co-sponsored by ISKME and the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley Knowledge Management Cluster. The monograph identifies the landscape and provides a road map for leaders to follow for many years to come. I hope that the analysis and recommendations in these pages will launch further debate and prompt practical steps to help school systems, colleges, and universities improve their efficiency, enhance their decision-making capacity, and ultimately increase their overall effectiveness.
Community college presidents face a daunting challenge in trying to manage and guide an organizat... more Community college presidents face a daunting challenge in trying to manage and guide an organization that is, by its nature, decentralized and bureaucratic in its decision‐making processes, and at the same time they face external demands for greater accountability and internal demands for information. Although technological systems can accomplish these kinds of data collection tasks easily, the implementation of such systems is itself problematic. In many ways, implementing new information and technology systems, when done effectively, mirrors the open‐ended, cross‐functional deliberative processes of strategic planning. This paper discusses how institutional leaders at community colleges have used the implementation of strategic planning processes to break down information silos, increase collaboration among units, streamline information and work processes, and provide greater access to both academic and operational information. While this process may be time‐consuming and disorderly, it is a promising tool for bringing about organizational change.
International Journal of Educational Management, Mar 1, 2004
In the current climate of increased accountability in higher education, many colleges and univers... more In the current climate of increased accountability in higher education, many colleges and universities are considering ways to improve their collection and analysis of data and information to achieve organizational improvement. While there has been much written about the costs, difficulties, and challenges of implementing new information systems on college campuses, the costs and benefits of maintaining current systems are not well understood. Our research suggests that in a challenging information environment, enterprising individuals-when unable to obtain the data they need from existing information systems-compensate by creating, or participating in, idiosyncratic methods of data collection and management. These informal practicescalled workarounds-can be seen as both inventive solutions to pressing organizational needs and over time, and costly alternative to a robust and flexible information system.
Although there has been a great deal of recognition in the business world that information and kn... more Although there has been a great deal of recognition in the business world that information and knowledge management can be vital tools in organizations, it is only recently that educational administrators and teachers have begun to look at how they might use information systems to assist in creating effective learning environments. In the business research environment, the evolution from data to information and from information to knowledge plays a leading role in shaping how organizations develop strategies and plans for the future. Using examples from schools, this paper illustrates how knowledge management can enable schools to examine the plethora of data they collect and how an ecological framework can be used to transform these data into meaningful information. Although there has been a great deal of recognition in the business world that information and knowledge management can be vital tools in organizations, it is only recently that educational administrators have begun to look at how they might use information systems to assist in creating effective learning environments. In the business research environment, the evolution from data to information and from information to knowledge plays a leading role in shaping how business communities of practice in organizations develop strategies and plans for the future. Although there is a great deal of research literature on the information technology sector in business to support this idea, literature regarding information management to support educational learning is scarce. Therefore, this paper draws on theories from the business field, including information management, knowledge management, and knowledge ecology, to suggest how knowledge management, when applied with an ecological framework, can benefit schools.
In the current climate of increased external accountability and increased internal pressure to im... more In the current climate of increased external accountability and increased internal pressure to improve student performance, many colleges and universities are grappling with how to broaden access to data and information so as to improve decision-making -- a trend this report refers to as the democratization of data. In the past decade, advances in user-friendly information technology are enabling faculty, administrators, and staff to retrieve and analyze a host of information themselves, right from their desktops. For example, they can perform data searches, track student performance, monitor section enrollments in real-time, and estimate various budgetary impacts. By equipping people at all organizational levels with the data and information they need, colleges can enable them to make better decisions about how to reach and serve students. Colleges and universities are finding, however, that the democratization of data brings with it cultural as well as technical or procedural tran...
A comprehensive assessment of the effects of performance-based funding is not yet available. Yet ... more A comprehensive assessment of the effects of performance-based funding is not yet available. Yet according to early national survey results, the impact of performance-based funding on overall campus outcomes has been moderate at best (Burke and Minassians, 2002). These national findings may mirror experiences within California. In 1998, the State of California and the California Community Colleges inaugurated a performance-based funding program called the Partnership for Excellence (PFE). The program launch represented a commitment by the state legislature to earmark additional funding for the community colleges, in exchange for the colleges' agreement to develop, track, and achieve, by 2005, system-wide performance goals to improve student learning and success.Through 2000-01, the state appropriation to the community colleges for the PFE program was allocated by the Chancellor's Office to local college districts based on enrollment. There were conditions in place for moving...
Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre was formed to establish telecentres offering share... more Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre was formed to establish telecentres offering shared access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in each of India's 600,000 villages by the year 2007. The telecentres would support community development and poverty reduction, and would be run by managers trained in specific skill sets that would allow them to serve the diverse needs of the communities they support. The Mission 2007 Training Commons initiative, a collaborative, open content approach drawing on existing trainer expertise, was established to develop resources that could support trainers through a 'living curriculum': materials that were free, accessible online, and easily adapted. The primary objective of the Training Commons case study was to understand and document the practices, processes, successes, and challenges of the partnership and the content development, and to assess the overall impact on stakeholders. Several key learnings were ident...
While most institutions have data-based information systems in place, some fail to share and use ... more While most institutions have data-based information systems in place, some fail to share and use data and information effectively, which often leads to missed opportunities in planning and forecasting and in day-to-day decision making. Reasons for the failure include: 1) the lack of integration among information systems, 2) unclear priorities in the collection of data, and 3) the creation of data silos that prevent the necessary links between functions and structures across the institution. This report looks at how business officers can encourage the collection and use of institutional data across campus functions
Through interviews with the Curriki management team, analysis of internal documents, observations... more Through interviews with the Curriki management team, analysis of internal documents, observations of internal user data collection practices, and a survey and interviews with Curriki users, the Curriki case study explored use patterns and user perceptions of the site, its resources and tools. The specific questions addressed include: 1) how often and why users are coming to Curriki; 2) how they use and engage around the Curriki site, its tools and its resources; and 3) what factors help or hinder engagement and use. The goal of this case study has been to develop an understanding of the mechanisms and processes that can help to attract and sustain users over time, and to facilitate and enhance their use, reuse and content contribution experiences
Launched in 2002 by WGBH, the non-commercial public media service, located in Boston, Massachuset... more Launched in 2002 by WGBH, the non-commercial public media service, located in Boston, Massachusetts, Teachers' Domain is an online repository of multimedia open educational resources for use in classrooms and for professional development. As part of its effort to increase the availability of freely accessible resources WGBH has developed content from public media archives into high quality, open educational resources for Teachers' Domain. Using a participatory case study methodology, this report examines WGBH and Teachers' Domain's successes and challenges in 1) converting proprietary content to open content 2) engaging users in content and 3) redesigning the Teacher's Domain site to accommodate new categories of use and tools for teachers and learners of all different backgrounds and activity levels. For OER projects more generally, ongoing research on user behaviors, experiences and perceptions can be a challenging and resource-intense process; however, by asse...
Planners can reap benefits for their institutions by being proactive rather than reactive and by ... more Planners can reap benefits for their institutions by being proactive rather than reactive and by aligning external mandates related to performance funding with long-term internal goals and the institution's mission.
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Papers by Lisa Petrides