Context-aware question and answering for community-based learning

Abstract

Together with the rapid change and evolution in many fields comes also the problem of keeping up with this evolution and acquiring the necessary competences and knowledge to successfully complete work tasks. Community-based informal learning in the workplace is a widespread possibility to acquire knowledge, in which collaboration between colleagues plays an essential role, both in the form of documented knowledge artifacts and as concrete questions asked between colleagues. The challenge is to find colleagues who have the necessary experience to help and are available at the given time, without putting the whole counseling load on the shoulders of the same few people. In this paper we describe an innovative solution for context-aware question and answering handling as part of a wider application supporting community-based learning in consideration for mobile workers.