Mindmapping technologies are really popular choices for teachers to use in the classroom. The most popular mindmapping software is Inspiration and Kidspiration. We have these in the TEC lab in the MCKB building if you ever want to play around with them. Mindmapping, if you’ve never heard of it, is drawing pictures (like boxes and circles) and connecting them with arrows to show the relationship between different ideas. It can be a useful way to brainstorm ideas around a topic, or to diagram how ideas relate to each other (for example, all of the social/economic/political causes related to the Civil War). It can also be a good way for groups to brainstorm ideas together and then present their ideas to a class. Finally, you could use mindmapping to create a storyboard or script for a class project.
Yesterday, one of my colleagues in my Personal Learning Network (Clif Mims, click here for his blog) shared a free online mindmapping technology called Creately. If you’re interested, check it out and tell me what you think of it!
As a thought question for this week, how do you think you might use mindmapping technologies in your teaching? What kinds of lessons or student activities might you use it for?
This mindmapping thing would be fantastic when teaching writing! I am in 276 this semester and in a couple of weeks I have to present a lesson on 5P essays. I am meant to include a web in my presentation . . . I’m checking this out!