Information is a part of knowledge. Information may consist of data, statistics, facts, ideas and concepts. A collection of multiple information modules is knowledge. If we say a person has knowledge, it means that he has cognitive and analytical abilities to comprehend and do functions with the information. Having mere information, on the other hand, one cannot conclude the same.
To transform one’s information to knowledge, one has to start with the basics. Start learning easy topics before overloading the cognitive abilities of your brain with new memories. When the mind becomes full, it loses the ability to connect pieces of related information. Concrete steps should be taken first in the correct order before understanding concepts of abstractions. It is highly recommended that data be perceived in an organized way. The human mind forms connections even between totally unrelated concepts simply in order to save the information in our long term memory. In this way, it is easy to remember and recollect things.
Contextualizing concepts is another important step in the process of knowledge transfer. Our minds make room for new information if it doesn’t find the old information to have any meaning. Information must be put into context by real world examples, stories, anecdotes and case studies. When the learning is online, there is no dearth of contexts.
Relating the information to one’s own experiences or emotions of humor go a long way in retaining the most of what is learnt. Search for microlearning courses which are of about 3-4 minutes and are short bursts of information so that your mind doesn’t get saturated or clogged. Enliven the experience of learning by including a multitude of multimedia. Diagrams, videos and animated images are great for long- lasting information which if processed properly through contexts, can lead to knowledge creation and retention.
