Delivery of tacit knowledge in an E-Learning Setup

In today’s world it is important to not only have knowledge about a field or subject but it is equally important to have skills and knowledge which helps to implement it. We can define knowledge in two ways. The kind of knowledge facilitates the application of explicit knowledge in various scenarios. This kind of knowledge is called tacit knowledge.

In contrast, the other type is the one which is in form of a theory, fact or procedure. It can be expressed in the form of texts, mathematical formula, diagrams, notifications etc. Such knowledge is called explicit knowledge. Other  Knowledge in most of the cases is hard to notice and many a times a person himself is not aware of the possession of tacit knowledge. In traditional learning setup .i.e. classrooms, tacit knowledge is transferred to students by their teachers or instructors and via interactions with their peers. In e-learning platform however, transferring tacit knowledge is quite challenging task. But it is not impossible to impart tacit knowledge via e-learning platform.

Knowledge can be transferred via E-Learning platform using following methods,

Discussion forums:

A professionally conducted discussion can help to exchange explicit as well as tacit knowledge with the members participating in a discussion. Discussion helps students to develop cognitive, Social and Communications Skills. Discussions make students to think critically and analyse the arguments of others. This involves application of own knowledge and also adaption of knowledge shared by others.

Group assignments:

Group assignments make students to work on a problem together which involves sharing of tacit knowledge by thinking together on a problem. Working in a group setup helps to merge tacit knowledge of various members to achieve a solution to a problem.

Case Studies:

Case studies forces students to think and apply their understanding of explicit knowledge in a given scenario. Every individual has a different way of interpretation and hence individuals will have different answers for a case. A healthy discussion over the answers of individuals will help to visualize a situation from various aspects and will help students to gain knowledge about how to apply different explicit knowledge in a given case.

Game based learning:

Game based learning is gaining popularity now-a-days which makes players to use their explicit knowledge in a dynamic scenario. Teachers can use this method to enhance the learning experience of the learners. Higher the number of players, more dynamic and close to real life scenario will be created which will force players to generate new ways in which their knowledge can be used.