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Concept mapping is a method of graphical learning that can be beneficial as a study method for concept linking and organization. Concept maps, which provide an elegant, easily understood representation of an expert's domain knowledge, are tools for organizing and representing knowledge. These tools have been used in educational environments to better connect the relationships among theory and practice as well as among other concepts covered in a course. They also help the learners build relationships between previous knowledge and newly introduced concepts, encouraging meaningful learning rather than rote learning. The overall interactions among hardware, computer basics, computer functions and etc., used to be simple and transparent enough for understanding computer systems. Nevertheless the modern computer technologies have become increasingly more complex which makes it very difficult to understand the whole system of the computers. This study is an analysis of the contribution made by concept maps to a Computer Architecture and Organization course (CAO). For a period of one semester, students were asked to prepare concept maps that they were later allowed to use when revising for their final exam. The students' success in the exam was then evaluated and their attitudes towards the course, the concept maps and the questions on them were surveyed and analyzed. The results lead to the conclusion that not only did concept maps make a positive contribution to the students' overall success during the course, they also helped with their exam preparation.

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert