The task for this week in the course E-learning 3.0:

Create a model graph of some aspect of the E-Learning 3.0 course (it doesn’t have to be an actual graph, only a representation of what an actual graph might look like. We’ve already seen, eg., graphs on the relations between people in the course. Could there be other types of graphs?
In your model, consider how the states of the entities in that graph might vary. Consider not only how nodes might vary (eg., a person might have a different height over time) but also how the edges might vary (eg., a person might have a different strength of relation (calculated how?) with another person over time).
In your model, consider how knowledge about the changes in states in the graph might be used.

I just wonder whether the nodes of vertices should be people and the relations or edges should be between people (or their blogs). I’m more inclined to have ideas or topics as nodes and draw the relations between ideas. Such a graph would be very similar to a concept map.

How would the states of the entities in the graph or concept mqp vary? One could use a tool such as Mindmeister to have a timeline of versions. The first map, corresponding to the start of the course, probably would probably depict a limited number of rather general ideas, but as the course grows and the map gets more complex, the ideas would become more differentiated and the strength of the connections could also very.

Other tools such as TheBrain allow you to build giant databases in the form of mind maps or even one big all-encompassing map (I won’t elaborate here on the differences between mind maps and concept maps). It’s possible to have the system show the different entities in a random way, offering you the different perspectives on the map in quick succession.

Not sure whether the concept maps count as “graphs” but I think they do and I’d love to try this out.

Course participant Matthias does something similar on this blog, using Cmap. (He made his own tool as Jenny says in the comments on this post).