Continued with plan that has timeline accessable from the top, concept map on left and document/content for a node on the right.
Setting users and dates for nodes:
Originally discussed placing controls on the concept map nodes to select users responsible for the nodes and an associated date(s). This idea did not go over well.
Instead we supported a design where this information (users/date) appears at the top of the pane where the document (for the selected node) appears, and the data can be edited from there. A mode (which can be turned on/off) will allow for display of these names and dates on the actual nodes.
Resolving usability problems with the current concept map tool:
Possibly change the toolbar icons so that only the node creation tool has a shaded background to avoid confusing it with the other shape creation tools.
Possibly have + and - controls next to expandable nodes. There seem to be bugs in the current implementation of this. This might be irrelevant given the change of tools discussed next.
Much discussion on eliminating having two tools to "navigate" the concept map. Currently there is a selection tool and a navigation tool. Instead, we decided to move to a single tool where a single click selects the node and shows its document content in the side pane. Double clicking expands or hides the children of the node. The document's metadata is editable from the side pane.
I'm also going to change the tools so that when you select a tool it stays selected (CHG).
Other items:
There was discussion on using color to provide information (possibly to show which user had responsibility for a node), but we decided against it so that the teachers and students can use the colors for their own purposes.
We also began a discussion of how the integrated timeline and concept map views would interact. Decided this was important to discuss, but tabled to a future meeting due to lack of time.