Networked POV: Creating Collaborative, Web-based Graphic Organizers and Mind Maps March 6, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Emerging Tech, Learning, Open Source, Productivity, Teaching & Learning, Technology, webtools , trackbackGraphic organizers–and there are a lot of them–are extremely useful tools for people who need to clarify their thinking. Whether we use them to…
- improve reading comprehension,
- refine scientific concepts,
- consistently make content area information more accessible to second language learners,
- enhance writing and thinking,
- take better notes, or
- facilitate an illustration of the order and entirety of a learner’s developing mental model,
they give us a better idea of what others are thinking. When we or our students use graphic organizers we have a means of generating a picture of reality from our own cognitive point-of-view. Thanks to numerous examples housed at the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods, administrators, educators, and pupils need not feel as though all they can use is a Venn Diagram or a T-Chart.
For over 20 years, the makers of Inspiration have shrewdly integrated technology within classrooms and industry while concurrently providing schools and business with an outstanding means of making both outlines and graphic organizers. Along with its kindergarten/kiddie counterpart, Kidspiration, Inspiration is a must-have tool for instructors/trainers who want to effortlessly switch from left-brain to right-brain forms of expression. An added-bonus of using Inspiration is that, once a graphic organizer has been produced, it can be instantly transformed into a webpage or website. If frugality is an issue, try Cmap Tools, a product of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. FreeMind, another no-cost tool for making graphic organizers, should also be explored.
Recently however, a series of web 2.0 based approaches to building graphic organizers have come into existence. Each of these resources allows users to collaborative with others via the internet to generate “mind maps” complete with icons and interactive features. MindMeister (currently in Beta) makes it possible for teams of individuals to simultaneously construct a diagram that captures the essence of a concept.
Equally impressive is Mindomo. Both resources (and others like them that are sure to follow) have the potential to clear up misconceptions and promote better understanding…if teachers make a conscious choice to allow students to use them. Imagine a classroom in which students are encouraged to carefully and collaboratively assemble a mind map/graphic organizer as they visit and revisit an idea throughout the day or over the course of a week or two. This kind of situation would be akin to taking a single student’s point-of-view regarding a topic and networking the unique perspective with the complimentary viewpoints of his or her peers. Think of it as a real-time, classroom “neural” internet.
Comments
Wow. I’m not sure which one I like more: Mindomo or Mindmeister. Mindmeister has the sharing and collaboration aspect, but Mindomo is simply LOADED with options and features. I think it’s about as powerful as Inspiration. Very cool.
[...] complex ideas through means other than didactic lecturing. Fortunately, there are a number of web-based graphic organizers designed to help learners see the “big picture” underlying a concept, event, or [...]