How to model curricula and learnflows by Petri nets - a survey

Petri nets represent a prominent formal method for modeling distributed systems both visually and with sound mathematics. They are very successful in modeling different workflow processes. In particular, Petri nets can be used to model curricula including causal dependencies of courses, necessary and optional courses etc. Having a Petri net model of single courses and the model of the whole curriculum in a particular field, each run of the Petri net model will represent a possible individual learnflow of a student. In this survey we show how to construct Petri net models of courses, models of the whole curriculum and models of individual learnflows. The presented method is suitable both for planning, management and control of e-learning courses and study programs as well as for classroom courses and study programs.