Digital concept maps for managing knowledge and information

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. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.