Mindmeister-+Lauren

= MindMeister =

By: Lauren Crosse
= =

What is MindMeister?
MindMeister is an innovative mind mapping tool that can be used by businesses, individuals, teachers, and even students to brainstorm, collaborate, plan, present, take notes, and organize ideas. It also has a collaborative piece in that you can invite other people to edit the mind map and add any of their ideas to the work in progress. When I first saw this Web 2.0 tool, it reminded me of Inspiration and Kidspiration, which are software programs our school uses in our Language Arts curriculum. However, with those software programs, you are not able to collaborate with others to work on the same project as you can with MindMeister.

How does MindMeister work?
When you first register with MindMeister, you will have a Demo MindMeister map that is titled My First Mind Map. It looks like this: This mind map is a way to show you tips and tools as to how to use MindMesiter in its most effective way.

Using the side toolbar, you are able to do so many things. You can edit the format of the text, import files, insert icons, import images, link websites, and type notes. Using the bottom button titled "Share Map", you can even share your mind map with others. There is an option to export your mind map into many formats, as well. You can export it as a PDF, an image, a Microsoft Word Document, and others. Printing your mind map is also an option. There is even an "Online Help" feature that allows you to find help while you are working if you need it. You also have the choice as to whether you would like to make your mind map public or keep it private.

I started playing around with this website to see just what all you can do. Here is a quick example of a work in progress that I could use with my students. I could link a PowerPoint presentation, use images to help students understand the essential questions, and even link to a movie to activate prior knowledge.

Theme 1: All Together Now

How can MindMeister be used in the classroom?
This tool can be used by classroom teachers in a variety of ways. Students can use MindMeister to brainstorm ideas, collaborate with group members for a project, and take notes from a lesson. As a teacher, I can see myself using this to introduce any new concepts or themes, create an interactive graphic organizer, brainstorm ideas with my students on a certain topic, create an interactive study guide, and even use it with my colleagues to plan out different instructional units. When I chose this website, my husband saw me using the website and said his college professor used MindMeister to create a study guide for his final. He said she highly recommended the website and suggested that everyone become a member and use it in their workplace.

I like this website because not only is it a tool for teachers to use with their students, but students can also use it to collaborate with each other and edit their project at from anywhere there is access to a computer. This would most likely be a feature used by the upper grade levels I would think. If you assign students to be in a group to create a presentation of some sort on a topic, they do not have to find rides in order to meet together over the weekend. Instead they can each edit the presentation from their home computer on their own schedule. How amazing!

Here is a mind map example that I found to be a neat example and could be very useful in the classroom: