Digital Concept Maps for Managing Knowledge and Information

Abstract

Abstract. Due to the increasing amount and complexity of knowledge and information in many domains, students who self-regulate their study in e-learning scenarios often suffer from cognitive overload, as well as conceptual and navigational disorientation. Particularly, when studying in resource-based learning scenarios with complex and ill-structured subject-matter content, there is a need for both effective learning strategies and the management of knowledge and information. Advanced computer-based concept maps have the potential to foster spatial learning strategies by visualizing the knowledge and support processes of individual knowledge management, such as the acquisition, organization, representation, (self-)evaluation, communication, localization, and utilization of knowledge. In addition, they have the potential to represent and make accessible the conceptual and content knowledge of a domain, as well as information associated to it. The aim of this paper is the analysis of the potential of digital concept maps for supporting processes of individual knowledge management. Perspectives for research on the use of concept maps for individual knowledge management are outlined.

Visualizing Revision: Leveraging Student-Generated Between-Draft Diagramming Data in Support of Academic Writing Development

“…Spatial arrays of circles, squares, and triangles connected by directional links provide a powerful representation of complex content knowledge and genre conventions. These tools can be especially useful for describing concepts that are difficult to represent in a linear way (Novak and Cañas 2008;Tergan 2005).…”

Educative Experience of the Use of Concept Mapping in Science and Environmental Teacher Training Programmes

“…According to MacKinnon and Aylward (2009), ICT provide promising chances to create new teaching and learning frameworks that enrich the educational context in which students and teachers are enrolled. They show the advantages of using of ICT in teacher training programmes, describing experiences in which electronic portfolios, collaborative concept mapping and educational digital forums are used (Tergan, 2005). In addition, ICT can be used to improve information search processes, develop new communicative technologies, design any kind of didactic resources, implement simulation and modelling tools or develop collaborative and intuitive learning environments (Ojeda, Gutiérrez, & Perales, 2009).…”

Managing change in IT outsourcing arrangements

“…Multiple linkages between concepts may depict how each concept is related to other concepts. Concept maps are particularly useful for representing networks of concepts, where links do not only connect to adjacent concepts, but are often linked to concepts in different sections of the concept map (Tergan, 2005). On the one hand, creating links between concepts may indicate the ability to synthesize related statements of interviewed representatives.…”

“…Concept maps can be applied to create a holistic representation of knowledge (van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983). The idea behind methods and tools is that cognitive processing of complex subject matter can be enhanced if the task-relevant knowledge is well-organized and the structure behind ideas, knowledge and information are made explicit by means of visualization (Tergan, 2005).…”