Brainbank Learning – Building Topic Maps-based E-portfolios

BrainBank Learning (BBL) is a suite of intuitive tools for learning of concepts and their content, and how they relate. The core of the suite is BrainBank®, the ontology of a topic map for acquired knowledge in a lifelong perspective. Topic Maps is a standard that defines an effective way of representing information. BBL is a web-based topic maps editor that works with standard Internet browsers. This means that educational institutions are not dependent on local installations or state of the art equipment to use this computer aided learning software. Users enter the application through individual accounts. Topics are entered and described and eventually connected to other topics as associations with names and/or descriptions. Digital resources such as documents, pictures, movies and sound clips can be attached to the topics, and these resources can either remain external and be linked to or be uploaded to and stored in BrainBank. Topics can be grouped in themes or courses (e.g. classes), but they can also be interconnected across subjects and levels/grades and can thus serve as a scaffold in lifelong and lifewide learning perspectives. A research project with 8th grade pupils from in Norway has shown that in addition to the well-documented advantages of using concept-based tools in learning, the pupils became aware that they were actually building their own content/knowledge management system, and they were additionally motivated by this.