Using WordNet to support interactive concept map construction

Concept mapping is a knowledge elicitation technique which stimulates learners to articulate and synthesize their actual states of knowledge during the learning process. Several approaches have been proposed for automating the assessment procedure of learners´ concept maps based on an expert´s map as a reference point. However, these approaches do not handle cases where learners have misspelled a concept or they have used a synonym or a concept related to the appropriate one. In this paper we present an alternative approach in which the process of the error identification is performed through the use of an expert map and of WordNet which is an electronic lexical database containing semantic relationships between words. This way we handle cases such as misspelled concepts, synonyms and related concepts. After error detection WordNet is also employed for providing the learner with appropriate feedback based on the identified errors, with the intention of helping the learner to correct them.