OntoShare - An ontology-based knowledge sharing system for virtual communities of practice

An ontology-based knowledge sharing system OntoShare and its evaluation as part of a case study is described. RDF(S) is are used to specify and populate an ontology, based on information shared between users in virtual communities. We begin by discussing the advantages that use of Semantic Web technology afford in the area of knowledge management tools. The way in which OntoShare supports WWW-based communities of practice is described. Usage of OntoShare semi-automatically builds an RDF-annotated information resource for the community ( and potentially for others also). Observing that in practice the meanings of and relationships between concepts evolve over time, OntoShare supports a degree of ontology evolution based on usage of the system - that is, based on the kinds of information users are sharing and the concepts ( ontological classes) to which they assign this information. A case study involving OntoShare was carried out. The evaluation exercise for this case study and its results are described. We conclude by describing avenues of ongoing and future research.