Both the Army and the Navy continue to lead with their 'Knowledge Online' offerings. This article, specific to the Navy's knowledge dissemination efforts, is an excellent example of the growing appeal of the Army Knowledge Online [AKO - a one-stop shop for multiple applications and services] and Navy Knowledge Online [NKO - education, distance learning and collaboration portal] services across programs and divisions within their respective organizations.
Navy Library Program Offers Resources on NKO
By Darlene Goodwin, Navy Region Gulf Coast Public Affairs
PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- The Navy General Library Program (NGLP) has partnered with Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) to provide electronic books, reference materials and practice testing services at no cost to Sailors and Marines worldwide. These materials are also available to Reservists, retirees, and Department of the Navy civilian and non-appropriated fund (NAF) personnel.
The move to partner with NKO saved the Navy an estimated $15.5 million compared to the cost of having each installation purchase the resources individually, according to Nellie Moffitt, NGLP director.
"The primary reason for joining NKO was to provide greater library services to a greater number of Sailors at a cost savings," said Moffitt. "There isn't a Navy General Library at every naval installation, so we can best meet Sailors' needs through Econtent (electronic content), which is accessible worldwide. An added benefit is that NKO also provides support to Navy civilians, NAF personnel and retirees. NKO allows us to meet many needs with a comparatively small investment."
The idea to put Econtent on NKO originated with Capt. James Kantner, director of Knowledge Management at the Naval Personnel Development Command in Norfolk, Va. "These Econtent resources are the perfect fit for NKO," said Kantner. "We developed NKO to connect Sailors with the right knowledge at the right time, to support their professional and personal development. The vision was to create a learning environment dedicated to providing our Navy workforce with the tools to excel, and that requires us to harness the best Navy and commercially-produced resources available today."
NKO is the Navy's Web Learning Portal through which Sailors will be able to access the professional and personal development resources needed to support their 5 Vector Model (5VM), the Navy's premier interactive career planning model. NKO is currently averaging more than 20,000 daily logins by approximately 260,000 users.
K-Collector Topics: Education Ideas Knowledge Management