Web tools to mobilize knowledge for Canadian Aquaculture
AquaPort.ca is being developed in the midst of global change of unprecedented scale and speed. The ability to connect and collaborate that has been made possible by the new web tools and technology is creating new possibilities and new conditions for science, for commerce, for politics and for communities.
Two years ago, we became aware that for the first time in Canadian aquaculture that we needed more than a piecemeal approach to knowledge transfer. We knew information was not moving very effectively from the point of origin, usually an academic research lab or field investigation, to the organizations and people who needed to put that information to use… in business, in technology, in policy, in schools and in communities. "Prior to the Internet, the last technology that had any real effect on the way people sat down and talked together was the table." Clay Shirky, 2003 We concluded that a comprehensive “knowledge mobilization” strategy was necessary and the web had to be the core of a system that would enable that to happen. So we proposed that a one-stop “web portal” be created that could integrate the knowledge transfer needs across the Canadian aquaculture sector.
But also we began to see that if AquaPort were to have a future, it would have to be more than an information funnel. It would have to help people connect to things they need to know and help people connect to each other. To do this would require not only information and a database, but web tools. “Hoarding knowledge diminishes your power because it diminishes your presence” David Weinberger, Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, 2006 And these tools would need to be placed in the hands of the users - tools for searching, for managing and customizing content, for sharing information, for contributing content, and for collaborating online.
The new web (web 2.0) is enabling collaboration, participation, and social networking in ways never imagined even five years ago. AquaPort will enable enterprises and organizations (government, non-government, academic, community) in the Canadian aquaculture sector to benefit directly from the opportunities opening up with this technology.
What Will AquaPort do for you?
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AquaPort will be a user friendly, bilingual web interface with search capability.
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AquaPort tools will search the web more completely and thoroughly than other search engines – providing you with the specific information you need.
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AquaPort will connect you with information and people efficiently and easily.
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Aquaport will build collaboration and networking with people who need to connect to each other.
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AquaPort will provide useful tools such as tagging so you can store and retrieve previously located information effortlessly and share it with others.
- AquaPort will enable you to set up alerts so information can flow directly to you without having to visit a multitude of websites.
AquaPort.ca – your connection to Canadian Aquaculture
Quotes from the Information to Ingenuity Workshop March 15-16, 2007
“Based on industry experience ... an important role for AquaPort will be in bringing skilled people together to better prepare government and industry to deal with hot button issues in the aquaculture sector.” Mary Ellen Walling, BC Salmon Farmers Association
“AquaPort could … increase the visibility and utilization of DFO’s science." Yves Bastien, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
“Innovation is a learned behaviour…. AquaPort could show Canadians that we need to do a better job of innovating or it will make little sense to continue manufacturing here.” Alan Cook, Cooke Aquaculture
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