Nobody knows everything
A switch in the school shows a fault light that you have never seen. Nobody on the team has met it.
A good technician does not guess. They know five places to look, and which one to try first.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can name the five kinds of knowledge source and choose one for a support problem.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Source | a place where you get knowledge |
| Literature | written material such as books and manuals |
| Professional | a person who works in the field and knows it |
| Wiki | a website that many people can edit |
| Forum | a website where people ask and answer questions |
| Observation | learning by watching or checking something yourself |
| Dashboard | a screen that shows the live state of a system |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Five kinds of source
Literature is written material: textbooks, manuals and supplier leaflets.
Professionals are people: a manager, a colleague, or a speaker at a conference.
Websites include wikis, blogs and forums. Anyone may write them.
Media includes social media, podcasts and videos.
Observation is learning from the system itself: a dashboard, or an inspection.
Examples, strengths and weaknesses
| Kind | Examples | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literature | Textbook, manual, supplier leaflet | Checked, detailed, for the exact product | Can be out of date |
| Professionals | Manager, colleague, conference | Know your site, can answer questions | May be busy or just wrong |
| Websites | Wiki, blog, forum | Fast, many answers, often free | Anyone can write them |
| Media | Social media, podcast, video | Easy to follow, shows steps | Short, can be opinion or advert |
| Observation | Dashboard, inspection | First hand, shows what is true now | Needs skill to read and takes time |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.