Specifications
Knowledge Forum (KF) Server is implemented for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, while the latest version (KF 4.8) has a Client written in as a hybrid of Java applet and web pages. KF can be used as an e-learning system or as an in-class technology. For each class and course there is a database, individually assigned for each entity.
The main feature of the product is called note. With notes, users can do the followings:
- Offer various options of finding for existing notes
- Write a new note
- Co-author, when more users share the authorship for the same note
- Reference and quote an existing note
- Annotate allows users to comment on an existing note without creating a new one.
- Reply (built-on) on a specific note.
- Rise-above notes which subsume sets of related notes.
The main technique that KF uses is called scaffolding (Scardamalia, 2004). Learners use a specific set of scaffolds that directs other toward cognitive operations that will help them to improve their understanding. The basic set of scaffolds is the following one:
- My theory
- I need to understand
- New information
- This theory cannot explain
- A better theory
- Putting our knowledge together
Read more about this topic: Knowledge Forum