E-Learning and Knowledge Management in the Global Context

Abstract

This chapter discusses how the independent nature of entrepreneurs, combined with the enabling features of digital information technology (IT), may lead to a situation where paper-based and campus-specific classroom education is at best uncomfortable and at worst almost meaningless. It describes how IT literacy preconditions the current generation of learners toward acceptance of e-learning technologies as they are currently emerging. The management of industry knowledge rests on an IT platform, which responds to individual needs in specialized roles in disparate parts of the world. The purpose of the chapter is to define and capture the latest thinking in applied education and relate this to the mindset of the emerging generation of entrepreneurs. To this end, industry and business education cases are drawn upon to illustrate key points, and a framework is provided for better understanding knowledge management in the emerging global context of e-learning technologies.