Metacognitive learning is thinking about one’s learning process. A student can reflect on their learning path to judge whether there is a more effective way to progress or to find patterns in what they have learnt. One way to visualize such patterns in one’s learning is through a graphic organizer. A graphic organizer is a visual representation of information that is efficient at showing connections between different concepts. A common example is a mind map that usually has several connecting concepts stemming from one core idea.

E-learning technologies allow users to create and interact with graphic organizers much more quickly and easily compared to doing so by hand. E-learning technologies also allow for more information to be represented in the graphic organizer as content can be separated into slides or sections that are hidden away unless a student interacts with part of the primary graphic organizer. One example of an interactive mind map is http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/emcon.html. This website has pages on most high school physics topics, all connected by an interactive mind map. Students can see how the different concepts connect and where the different branches of physics lie. This allows students to see the bigger picture and develop an understanding of how the physics concepts that have been taught in school are all related. Such a mind map would be difficult to produce without E-learning technologies because the amount of information is too vast to fit in a single image or on a single page.

E-learning technologies also allow multiple users to add to or edit a graphic organizer at the same time. A common example is a website like https://ideaflip.com/ where multiple users can add their ideas on a sticky note to a virtual board. This allows for all participating users to reflect on the ideas of others in real-time which further enhances the collaborative process and supports each user’s metacognitive learning.