Concept Mapping Tool Handout

  

Student Version

Table of Contents
Section
Introduction
Information about concept maps
Using CMT
 

Introduction

This page gives a brief introduction to concept maps and CMT, the Concept Mapping Tool developed by the Entomology Department at Virginia Tech. CMT is a web-based system that allows students to construct concept maps and receive immediate feedback about how well their concept maps match the instructor's master concept map. By using the system, students can improve their understanding of a topic and learn how to better organize the concepts they learn.

A brief introduction to concept maps is given in the next section; however, it is assumed you have had some introduction to concept mapping in your class. If not, please review the references at the end of this document.

Information about concept maps

A concept map is a graphical tool for representing knowledge. It consists of two elements: nodes representing concepts and directed arcs representing relations between concepts. See Figure 1. Loosely, a concept is a thing or process that we know something about. According to Joseph D. Novak, the developer of the concept map, a concept is defined "as a perceived regularity in events or objects, or records of events or objects, designated by a label." In Figure 1, "Domestic felines", "Long hair cats", "Short hair cats", "Maine coon", and "Siamese" are concepts represented by labeled graph nodes.


Figure 1 - Sample concept map

A relation shows a logical connection between two concepts and is represented by a labeled arc in a concept map. In Figure 1, "subclass" and "example of" are relation labels. In the figure, the relations indicate that domestic felines can be subdivided into two categories: Long hair cats and short hair cats. The "example of" relation gives example breeds of each category.

A proposition is a statement of fact formed from two concept nodes connected by a relation arc. In Figure 1, "Long hair cats are a subclass of Domestic Felines" is a proposition.

In our concept map system, there is a designated concept called the "main concept", which represents the topic being studied. In Figure 1, the main concept is "Domestic felines".

Concept maps are used for a number of tasks including pedagogy, brainstorming, and design. We concentrate here on pedagogy. Students draw concept maps to represent what they know about a particular topic. The goal is to go beyond rote learning and to relate new concepts to known concepts. Instructors can use concept maps to evaluate student learning and to help students learn more efficiently.

Using CMT

A concept map assignment is created by an instructor by drawing a master concept map about a topic indicated by the main concept. After the concept map is published in CMT, students in the instructor's course can access the concept map assignment through the web. Each student is given a concept map with only the main concept showing. The student completes the assignment by iteratively constructing a concept map about the main concept and submitting the assignment for grading. When a student concept map is graded, it is compared to the instructor's concept map. A score and hints are given to help the student improve their assignment.

To make automated grading of concept maps more tractable, students are limited to a set of concept and relation labels selected by the instructor. The instructor may optionally include distractor terms in addition to the labels used in the master concept map.

To use the site, you must use a web browser that supports Java applets. Mac users typically have an adequate version of Java already installed. PC users can download Java from www.java.com. Run this test page to see if your browser is set up to run applets. If you have a proper configuration, you should see an animated cartoon character on the test page. If not, download and install Java.

Note for Windows users: Early releases of Java version 6 for Windows passed the test page above; however, they would not run the Java applet. If you encounter problems with the applet, try installing the latest version 6 update.

Logging in

Go to the CMT site and use the login panel at the right to access the system. If you are a faculty, staff, or student at Virginia Tech and you have been added to the system, you can login with you PID and PID password. Your login information is encrypted and sent to our server. You will be asked to approve a certificate after you click the "Login" button. Please accept the certificate.

If you have been given both an id and password, which is typically done for people without Virginia Tech affiliation, you will need to uncheck the "Use VT PID" checkbox before logging in.

Using the CMT applet

When you login successfully, you will be taken to a main menu where you can select concept map assignments. To work on an assignment, select the course you are in, select the assignment you want to work on, and click the "Go" button. The system will open a popup window containing the CMT drawing applet shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - CMT Applet

Warning:

When an assignment is first opened, the applet will show the main concept. CMT assignments involve adding concept nodes and relation arcs to demonstrate your knowledge about the main concept. To add a concept node, double-click on the canvas (applet area not containing a node or arc). A popup window will appear with the list of concept terms you haven't used yet. Select one, and a new node will be created.

To select a node for editing, i.e., to change the label, or to add a relation arc, click once on the node. Figure 3 shows a selected node.


Figure 3 - A selected concept node

The six red squares around the select node are for resizing the node. Click one of the squares and drag it to resize the node. The yellow triangle changes the shape of the node. The node can be an ellipse, rectangle, or a rectangle with rounded edges. Click the triangle repeatedly to select the shape you want.

The blue dots are called "arc handles". When you want to connect two nodes with an arc, click one of the blue dots and drag the mouse point into the second node. The target node's border gets bigger when you drag the mouse point near or into it to indicate that a connection will be made. When you see the border swell, you may stop dragging and release the mouse button.

To select an arc, click on it, and it will turn blue to indicate that it is selected. Double click the arc to add an arc label. As with nodes, you must select one of the labels provided by the instructor; however, arc labels can be used more than once. A selected arc will contain two dots near the middle. Grab and drag the black dot to bend the arc. Drag the cyan dot to move the label along the arc.

You can change the ends of arcs by first selecting the arc and then dragging the dot at the head or tail or the arc. You can use this technique to change the location on a node to which the arc attaches, or you can change the node to which the arc attaches.

To delete an arc or node, select it and press the delete or backspace key.

You can color nodes and arcs and change the font size of a label by right clicking the object. On a Mac, hold the command key and click to perform the right-click operations. When an object is right-clicked, a menu tree pops up that allows you to select colors and font sizes. Note: The command/click technique no longer works in some versions of OS/X. Some versions support Control/Shift click (while holding the shift and control keys, click the mouse button to perform the right-click function.) You can also deal with this problem on some Macs by using the System Preferences, Mouse pane to configure a secondary button for your mouse or touch pad. The secondary button will function as a right click in the CMT applet.

Saving your work

The concept map applet attempts to save your work to the server whenever there is risk of losing your work, such as when you close your browser. The applet page has a "Save" button on it that you can use to save your work explicitly.

You can also save a local copy of your work. Use the applet "File>Save Local" menu item to create a copy on your workstation. After saving the local copy, use the "File>Open Remove" menu item to insure that future copies of your work will be saved on the server.

There are cases, such as in browser crashes, that an empty concept map might be saved to the server. To restore a previous version of your work, go to the main menu page and use the "Restore a Previous Version of a Concept Map" section. Select the assignment and click "View Versions". Carefully follow the instructions on the versions page to restore your previous work.

If you find you need to restore a backup version of a concept map, please let your instructor know and provide details surrounding the event where you lost work. This information will allow us to improve CMT.

Grading

Pressing the "Grade" button at the bottom of the applet window will save your work to the server, run an expert system to grade your work, and pop up a window containing your grade and some hints. You may iteratively improve your grade by editing and grading repeatedly.

The grading system evaluates your concept map with respect to the instructor's master concept map. The primary grading technique is to compare propositions in your concept map to those in the instructors concept map. As noted above, a proposition consists of two nodes linked by an arc and represents a statement of fact. Propositions that do not match exactly are given partial credit.

Partial credit is also given in situations where a student leaves out some intervening nodes in a path from node "a" to node "z". See Figure 4. Figure 4a shows the instructor's concept map, and figure 4b shows the student's concept map. The grading program will give the student partial credit and indicate he or she has a path length problem.

Figure 4 - (a) Instructor and (b) student concept maps

The system also gives you credit for using the correct node and arc labels. If you don't include a particular concept, you will be given a hint. If you use a distractor node or arc label, you will be penalized.

A common error is to view a concept map as hierarchical and leave out cross links at a given level. Figure 5 shows a simple concept map. Figure 5a shows the instructor's concept map, and Figure 5b shows a student map with a missing cross link. If your score is not perfect and the grading program gives you limited hints, be sure to look for relations between concepts at all levels of your concept map.

Figure 5 - (a) Instructor and (b) student concept maps


Instructor Feedback

Your instructor can add comments and suggestions to your concept map using TeacherNotes. A TeacherNote is a yellow rectangle containing the instructor's comments. It is typically positioned in the area of your concept map where the suggestion applies. You can select and move a TeacherNote, but you cannot delete it.

Each TeacherNote has a big red dot above the left, top corner. Clicking the dot will hide the TeacherNote. The dot will remain, but it's color will be yellow to indicate a hidden note. Click the yellow dot to make the TeacherNote visible. You can also right-click on the blank part of the applet canvas to either hide or show all TeacherNotes. While all TeacherNotes are hidden, the red and yellow dots do not show. When you show all TeacherNotes, you will only see the yellow dot for any TeacherNote you've hidden.

Troubleshooting

If you have trouble with CMT, please provide your instructor with a concise report. Please include the name of your browser and its version, the version of your operating system, the version of the Java plug-in you are running, and a description of the problem.

If you are having trouble on your workstation, it is sometimes beneficial to try accessing the site from another workstation.

Feedback

If you have comments or suggestions concerning CMT, please e-mail the developers at cmt at ultra.isis.vt.edu.

References on concept maps