Cert III in RK - Info Mgt, Chapter 1

Hi Team

Well here we are, week one Chapter one of the final unit for the Cert III – it’s almost the end, hang in there you are doing fabulously!

Data, Information, Knowledge

Fig 1 How they all work together

This week we took a look at ‘data’, ‘information’, and ‘knowledge’ and we learnt that data is unprocessed information, usually statitic in nature that on its own has no meaning.  A collection of data will begin to have a context, and that is when it moves from being ‘data’ to information.  Information is usually recorded in some way (it can be any medium depending on what the original format the data was in).  Easy enough?

Then, we moved on from data to knowledge, now knowledge, unlike information, is not always recorded – sometimes it resides in our memories (think of your pin numbers or passwords for credit cards and email accounts).

The three types of Knowledge

Fig 2 Three types of knowledge; Tacit + Explicit = Organisational

We learnt that there are three types of knowledge, ‘tacit’ which is the knowledge we store in our memories, ‘explicit’; the knowledge that we document for others – think about the tip sheet that you wrote for Richard for access in assessment two of Access.  The third type of knowledge is organisational knowledge,  organisational knowledge = tacit knowledge + explicit knowledge held by all of the systems and in all of the memories of all of the staff at an agency or business.  It is the organisational knowledge that a business or agency needs to capture to ensure that business operations will continue smoothly during periods of high staff turnover.  Organisational knowledge has been identified by business as a major asset.

Information management systems

Succinctly, an EDRMS is a great example of an information management system.  However, having said that, you must remember that records by themselves are just one component of information.

From information management systems we moved to knowledge management systems and we learnt that whilst knowledge and information are different, the way we manage them are the same.  In knowledge management, they are managed as part of a four level ecosystem.

Blogger

As a major part of this assessment, all students are to participate in contributing & utilising the blog page (as per "assignment" booklet).   

When you comment & contribute on the blog you will have an option of doing so anonymously or alternatively under a created profile.  Please refer to the details highlighted in my "welcome" email for further instructions.

If you have any trouble whatsoever creating your own profile or accessing Blogger please contact me immediately so that we can find a fabulous solution to get us through. 

Assignments and assessments

For this subject you will be required to utilise & contribute to a KMS (knowledge management system).   

All students have one due date for all work to be handed in – the due date is 15th October 2013 – what are you handing in?  All students are to submit the assessment tasks detailed in my "welcome" email.  Chapter review questions and activity questions in your workbook are not required to be submitted.  If you choose to complete them as part of your own learning and submit your answers, they will not be assessed.

Each week I will be posting a question for students to comment on.  These questions will be visible on the right hand side of this post, under the heading of "pages".  If you have any difficulties please contact me by phone to discuss.

I was very pleased at the initial response from face-to-face students for using the blog.  Based upon my observations you all got the hang of it quite quickly. You may be able to share your "tacit knowledge" on using blogs.  Please feel free to comment on the "Tips" page thathas been set up. Alternatively if you are still having difficulties please contact me by phone to discuss. 

It is in both of our interests that you become competent in utilising a KMS.  You; so that you pass the course and can begin to document your life’s journey on a blog (and maybe even a little spare $$$ in your spare time).  It is in my interest that you pass the course as that is the whole purpose why I am here, to facilitate and assist you in your learning.

For those interested, here is the handout provided in class.

Next week

We will start our introduction to Knowledge management systems.

On that note, have a great week – and remember to share the knowledge!

Ciao,

Melisa Z-G

Access - Chapter 6

Hi Team, 

Another subject draws to a close.  Was it just me or did the time just fly by for this subject?!?  Before you know it we will be seeing Christmas decorations in the stores.

Chapter six

This week we go through the final chapter in our handbooks.  This chapter is solely dedicated to using State Records “Archives Search”.  If you haven’t had an opportunity to practice using this system give it a go now.  Just make sure that you don’t place any orders for the records!

There are some things that you have to consider when using Archives Search. 

• The search function of Archives one is NOT the same as Google or other common search engines;
• You must click the search button to activate the search, hitting ‘enter’ will result only in a new line;
• Spelling is crucial, this is not an intuitive system like Google that has a guess at what you might mean.  In Archives One, a misspelled word will result in a zero or minimal result;
• When typing the word ‘and’ as part of a search criteria you must capitalise the word ‘AND’ so that they system recognises that your search is for something + something else.  Failure to do this will result in your list including every document with the word ‘and’ in it.  Example of a correct search is “library AND schedules”. 

Don't forget to check out each of the search options listed under the “access catalogue” link on the left hand side of the webpage.

Keyword search:  This is not the KWAAA or GDS/RDS Keyword, but is designed for the general public to use, often people enter names, suburbs, topics or other unique identifying words.

Series search: This requires knowledge of the GDS, RDS or MRS (Municipal Record Series) numbers;

Direct search: This requires knowledge of the series or agency ID number;

Name search: Searches on names that have been indexed into the collection;

Passenger lists: Searches for  any passenger lists in the collection between 1845-1886; and

WWI photos: Searches any of  the indexed digitised images in the collection – these can also be viewed on the SRSA Flickr account.

If in doubt, click on the hyperlink on the website and an explanation pop-up will appear.

You may also want to test yourself by completing the individual activities that are in your handbooks on pages 87, 89 & 90.  There were some interesting searches that you will be able to conduct.  I am continually amazed at the amount & topics of records that are in our collection. 

Next week

Is a free week for all students to catch up with any outstanding assignments.  We will begin Information Management in the coming week so course material will be sent out sometime next week.  This will be our last subject for the course.

Have a great week folks :)

Ciao,

Melisa 

Access - Chapter 4 & Chapter 5

Hi Team,

These two chapters have been covered together as they closely relate to one another in relation to FOI practices.    This is a fairly short post (surprise!) so I open up the discussion to you all.  What did you find interesting about these chapters?  I encourage you to discuss your findings below.  

Article of the week

Through one of my weekly subscriptions I came across this article.  Even though it is from the UK, it is still very relevant for us here in Australia.  The article discusses disposal of IT equipment.  Obviously certain procedures were not adhered to which meant that security breeches occurred. 

Read the article in full here.  Would love to hear your thoughts about the practices within your agencies about the disposal of resources.

Remember if you have any FOI enquiries please direct them to the FOI hot line on 8204 8786.

Have a great week.

Ciao,
Melisa