Concept maps, which represent topics that are connected
in a circle or square, are normally used as a study or review tool. An
assistant professor of engineering at Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto,
decided to put the map to use as a primary course resource.
Jacob Moore created the Adaptive Map Digital Textbook,
which shows the topics covered as points on map. Each topic is connected with
related themes and when students click on the point, they are taken to a
content page that includes video lectures, example problems, and diagrams.
“A lot of people focus on students making concept maps
at the end of semesters to review what they know,” Moore said in an article on Penn State News. “But another way you can use them is as a guide to help
students fit smaller topics into the big picture of the course.”
The digital textbook is available on all devices and
it’s free. Moore uses a Creative Commons noncommercial license to keep all code
and content open-source.
“It’s
not uncommon to see students skip buying textbooks just because they don’t have
the money, or they split the cost with a roommate and they have to pass it back
and forth all the time,” he said. “If you remove those cost barriers, everyone
will have better access to these tools. With the Adaptive Map Digital Textbook,
as long as students have access to a computer, they have their textbook.”
