Thursday, September 18, 2008

Let Me See What's On Your Mind

Recently, an elementary Language Arts teacher asked me if I knew of any good, free resources for helping her students generate cognitive maps. She was particularly interested in any resource that didn't require downloading and/or installation of software. Without missing a beat I suggested she check out Text2MindMap, a web-based resource that quickly converts text outlines into pretty spiffy mind maps. All a user has to do is create an outline in the box on the screen and click the CONVERT TO MIND MAP button. That's it!

What makes this resource so handy is that it can be used beyond the Language Arts classroom, any place where an outline is being explored. For example, if, in a Science classroom, a group of students are discussing the structure of the Solar System, an outline could be generated and typed in the box.

After a general consensus about the information, the students click the CONVERT TO MIND MAP BUTTON.
Within a few seconds, the group of students has a mind map of the topic.

The group can tinker with the mind map by working with the CONTROLS features.
Best of all, the mind map can be SAVED and used offline!
A click of the SAVE MAP button yields a jpg image that can be used in a slideshow or word processing document.


Why not have your students check out and use this snappy tool for learning?

No comments: