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Knowledge Gardening: Sensemaking through Hypermedia Discourse

Federation

Jack ParkSRI International, Menlo Park, CA

andKnowledge Media Institute & Computing Research Centre

The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

OKMDS Panel SessionApril 17, 2008

jack.park@sri.com

2Image copyright Paul Bourke and Gayla Chandler, used with kind permission. http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/

Worlds of Wonder

Sensemaking in the Wild

Knowledge Gardening as Hypermedia Discourse Federation

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Outline

• What is knowledge gardening?• Activities

– Tagging– Annotating– Conversation– Social networking

• Architectures• Related tools

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Knowledge gardening is…Collaborative problem solving in rugged fitness landscapes

Images: http://www.turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/

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Knowledge gardening is… Facilitating large-scale discourse

ordered gardens

wild borders

ordered gardens

wild borders

Structured but emergent networks of claims and arguments

Structured but emergent networks of claims and arguments

Informally expressed claims and

arguments, awaiting ‘proper linkage’

Informally expressed claims and

arguments, awaiting ‘proper linkage’

Source: Simon Buckingham Shum

Towards a cultivated ecosystem…

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Knowledge Gardening is…• People

– Collecting– Organizing– Discussing– Cultivating

• Knowledge– Federated

Information resources

• Blogs• Emails• Stories• Dialogs• Tags• Annotations• …

• Tools– Web portals– Knowledge mapsImage copyright Alan Jaras, used with kind permission

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanjaras/

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Knowledge Gardening: Douglas Engelbart’s Dynamic Knowledge Repository (DKR)

Software InfrastructureMemory, Collaboration

DKR = People + Tools

Learning Communities

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Knowledge Gardening as Federated Human Knowledge

Learning

Cultures

Politics

History

Religion

SimulationWellness

Nutrition

Addictions

Aging

Cancer

KnowledgeGarden

KnowledgeGarden

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Knowledge Gardening: Subject-centric Federation

• Federation: – bringing heterogeneous information resources

together• Subject-centric organization:

– Co-locating representations of the same subject together in a knowledge map

– A map is not the territory it represents• Provides well-organized collective memory

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Knowledge Maps: Topic Maps

Image Courtesy Steve Pepper

Topic Map:

Lies above information and weaves that information into a fabric

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Knowledge Maps as Cultural Memory

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Annotation by Tagging

A User asserts a Tag on a Resource

“Semantic Desktop”

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Annotating By Connecting

A User asserts a relationship between ideas expressed at two different resources

Semantic Desktop concept

“is exemplified by”

OpenIris.org

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Conversation

Users Ask and Answer Questions, and Discuss the Answers

Compendium Screenshot

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Issue Map of an OpEd

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Social Aspects of Collaboration

Image Courtesy Katy Borner

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Example: Schools as Knowledge Gardens

SchoolMembers:Teachers

KnowledgeGarden

OtherStakeholders:

StudentsParents

Contributes ToSupports

SupportsMaintains

Group Network

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Architecture

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Related Tools: SRI International’s CALO

Semantic Desktop Application

Open Source IRIS Platform:

http://www.openiris.org

http://caloproject.sri.com

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Related Tools: Virtual Learning Centers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFuNFRie8wA

http://www.secondlife.com/

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TopicSpaces: A Prototype

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