Some of the courses in the Adult Education program will use Cmap It is a tool that can help you visually organize relationships between concepts, philosophies, methodologies, as well as your own thoughts. Cmap allows you to graphically organize data, concepts, thoughts, etc. on your personal computer and share them on established Cmap Servers anywhere on the Internet. Your Cmap can resemble anything from a very ordered flow chart to a free flowing group of thoughts.
For more details on Cmap, please visit their website.
To create and view Cmaps you will need to download the Cmap program to your computer and install the software. The download file is very large so please use a high speed connection.
Download the Cmap program (make sure you have version 4.18)
Instructions for posting Cmaps to the Cmap Server (aka: Shared Places) will be posted in your individual classes along with the password used for that class folder.
The following FAQ is derived from previous students' experiences with the Cmap program. You might find it helpful in troubleshooting technical and program issues. You may also find useful information on the Cmap FAQ on the CmapTools website
| question | answer |
|---|---|
| What are the user id and password for the course folder on the department Cmap Server on Shared Places? | Refer to the course schedule page for the related user id and password. |
| When I attach a document into Cmap, I cannot get it to open after it is attached. Any suggestions? | With the Cmap open, click on the document icon, and then click again on the name of the document [link] when it appears. |
| Is it possible to run Cmap off of a flash drive, or does it need to be installed onto my computer to work? | Yes, there are detailed instructions on the CmapTools FAQ. Scroll down about halfway or search for "USB" |
| How do I set/change defaults for fonts and other settings? | When your screen to Cmap pops open go to Window (on the menu bar at the top) and select "Show Style Palette" |
| How do I connect two concepts without a linking phrase in between? | Press and hold the `Shift` key down while you create your link to either an existing or new concept. |
| I can’t get the folder to show up in Shared Cmaps in Places | Make sure your preference settings, IP Address, Port #, Web Server Port #s match the ones provided in your course. Failing that, 1) Try rebooting. 2) Try connecting from another computer. 3) Try reinstalling the Cmap program. Firewall/security can also cause a failure in the connection. If you are behind a firewall please check with your system administrator. More detailed firewall, port, and proxy information is on the CmapTools FAQ |
| Does is matter where I start creating my Cmap on the screen? | It’s a good idea to start your Cmap on left-hand side of screen: Cmaps automatically expand to the right and from the bottom of the screen. Because of this, you may wish to consider where you start your Cmap on the screen. |
| Can I create several Cmaps and link them together? | Yes. If you feel your Cmap is getting too large, you can create smaller Cmaps and link to them from your main Cmap. For example, If you’re creating a Cmap about Adult Education Philosophies, you could create a main Cmap showing the philosophies’ relationships to one another and then you could link to separate Cmaps for each philosophy for the details. |
| Do I need to follow a naming convention for my files? | Cmap files and resources should not have any spaces in their naming convention. If you desire a space, use underscores as your spaces. For example, Grant_Ad_Ed_Cmap |
The assignment, examples, and demonstrations were originally created by Nanette Grant as part of an independent study project.
