Concept Mapping: Connecting Educators Proc. of the Third Int. Conference on Concept Mapping A. J. Cañas, P. Reiska, M. Åhlberg & J. D. Novak, Eds. Tallinn, Estonia & Helsinki, Finland 2008 E-LEARNING USES OF CONCEPT MAPS Marcela Paz González Brignardello Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain Abstract: Concept maps can be considered as a multi-resource in e-learning environments. Concept maps present a strong power of integration, navigable and meaningful representation. Under this point of view, a student centred framework can be approached, as the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) requires. In the present work, we show five types of different significant uses of concept maps for learning purposes: a) as a guide for navigation inside the virtual environment; b) as a learning activity; c) as an expert model of knowledge representation; d) as an evaluation tool; and e) as facilitators of the construction of collaborative work. 1 Theoretical framework Concept maps are potent tools of knowledge representation that allow to transmit complex conceptual messages in an understandable way. They facilitate both teaching and learning. Novak & Cañas (2006) define concept maps as graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. This representation includes concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between concepts indicated by a connecting line. Words on the line referred to as linking words or linking phrases, specify the relationship between the two concepts. These authors define concept as a perceived regularity in events or objects, or records of events or objects, designated by a word. Propositions are “statements about some object or event in the universe, either naturally occurring or constructed. Propositions contain two or more concepts connected with other words to form a meaningful statement” On the other hand, e-learning is a general term covering a wide range of approaches and it may combine a mixture of different elements such as: information and communication technology, interaction, learning resources, collaborative and individual learning, formal and informal learning and support (Clarke, 2004). On May 2000, the European Community Commission adopted the initiative “E-learning: designing tomorrow’s education”. This initiative is defined as the use of new multimedia technologies and the Internet, to improve the quality of learning and facilitate access to resources and services, such as exchanges and distance collaboration (European Community Commission, 2001). The emergence of learning technologies is fundamentally changing the nature of how people learn. People are more and more encouraged to learn by themselves and they do it in interactive way. To be successful in e- learning is necessary to have big doses of self regulation skills (Nagy, 2004) and technology skills (Clarke, 2004). The tools of an e-learning system (computer based learning) and content’s design can help the students to manage themselves easily across the course, including a more fruitful approach to the learning activities and the online resources. A number of studies with the broad subject of e-learning have examined the evolution of different types of systems over time. First generation e-learning systems, for example, were often seen as a substitute for classroom training, on-line courses tended to be developed as direct analogues of conventionally delivered courses (Darby, 2002). Actually, online learning must move towards a model that offers the student opportunities for individual exploration and self-learning. The student needs to build relations, discover the process from within, and feel stimulated to draw his own roadmap. Thus, he will not only learn, but will learn to learn (Pedreira, 2004; Novak, y Gowin, 1996). In agreement with Pedreira, this kind of learning can only be obtained through action strategies. Contents should be represented not as an objective but rather as necessary elements towards a series of objectives that will be discovered along the course. The use of concept maps like instrument facilitators of meaningful learning (Ausubel, Novak and Hanesian, 1986; Novak and Cañas, 2006), turns them into a valuable resource in this new paradigm of learning, in conformity with the European Higher Education Area requirements (EHEA) which promotes student centred learning. 2 An integration proposal In this poster we propose, and show, a meaningful utilization of concept maps as a potent multi-resource in e- learning environments: a) as a virtual guide inside a course, that is to say, as a facilitator of the relationship between the learner and the course structure and didactic contents and, at the same time, as a good organizer of