Brief Description- Mindmaps ( Link to check it out )
I feel a little silly that this is the teaching tool I selected, but during my placement I needed something like this when having students design a creature for our final assessment and didn't even think to look for it. I had students use a graphic organizer we made in our notebooks, but Mindmaps would have been a much better tool to use. The tool that I have selected for this post is called Mindmaps and it seems so simple compered to all of AI power houses that can basically run an entire class. This tool allows you to quickly and easily generate a map of your ideas or connections to a central topic, we have all created a mind maps but this tool lets you create it with ease and there is no need to worry about space constraints if you were using a board or on paper. Below is a screenshot of something I made in 4 minutes to illustrate how I would have liked to use it in my placement. There is very little barriers to use and there isn't a steep learning curve.
I believe this would have/will be a good teaching tool because it allows students to build and quickly see how ideas grow and and concepts can connect to each other. Mind maps are also just a great visual and exercise when trying to organize thoughts.
Versatility: There is limited use for this tool, but a hammer isn't always necessary either, does that make it a less important or useful? A tool is good when it accomplishes its intended purpose effectively and consistently, which Mindmaps does. This tool's intended purpose is for organization and collection of thoughts. This tool allows for students to further explore their thoughts and put it into a visual representation.
Likelihood of Use: I could see myself using this in several ways, the first being with the class and creating a mind map together on the main screen. There is a very real possibility of being able to keep up with students thoughts and presenting them in real time with this tool. I could also see myself creating a template with idea prompts and providing students with spaces to write their own information. I could see it being useful to make a visually appealing graphic organizer.
*I was also messing around with Imgur, which allows for meme creation. This can be cringey when teachers do it, but I also think its funny when students complain about memes and try not to laugh at them. These can be useful to spice up a presentation or when doing "Teach To" at the start of the year*
Jon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your honest and earnest review of this tool. You have convinced me to check it out! It seems like a really good tool for a subject like science that is very conceptual and process-based. What is the AI aspect of this tool like? What are the advantages of this tool as opposed to just drawing a mind map on good, old-fashioned paper?
Great question! I think the advantages of this tool is ease of use and lack of physical restrictions that could happen with paper. I know in my own experience as a student I would get frustrated if my graphic organizer didn't look like the teachers, plus this tool removes the handwriting barrier a lot of my students had. Many of them couldn't read their own writing when they were going quickly. I don't believe there is an AI component to this site. Thank you for the great question.
DeleteHi Jon,
ReplyDeleteThis was a tool I hadn’t explored on my own, but after seeing your post, I really like the versatility it has to offer, especially with the colorful tools and how visually engaging it can be. I could definitely see this being something I’d use in my future classroom. One idea that came to mind is using it to map out a sequence of events in a story. I could project the Mindmap from my computer screen and have students help fill in the gaps as we go. It feels like a fun and collaborative way to support comprehension while keeping things interactive. For your own classroom, and if students are able to create their own Mindmaps, would you be interested in having small groups or partners work on a Mindmap together, then rotate to another group’s Mindmap to add new ideas, build connections, etc.?
Hey Jess,
DeleteThat is a wonderful idea, using the Mindmap to help track the events in a story! Doing group work or swapping maps is another great idea! I could see students being excited to share their thoughts and see the maps getting bugger and more connected.
Hey Jon,
ReplyDeleteI will likely use Mindmaps in the future. I really like your idea of creating a mindmap as a class. I can see it being very useful for teaching more complex texts like Shakespeare! Also I like your meme- my mentor teacher had seniors make a senioritis meme at the end of the year and Imgur would have been great for that.
Hi Hannah,
DeleteOh using this tool for Shakespeare would be a great idea, and Jess had the awesome thought of using a mind map to help track events in a story, you could use it to sort characters and their motivations. I think having students creating their own meme is a fantastic idea too, I bet there was a lot of buy in for that lesson.
Hello Jon!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen something such as this program before, but I can see how useful this could be in your classes! Is this dedicated to creating graphics, or does Mindmap have other capabilities that you could use instead of using additional AI sources? I haven't played with too many AI programs, but this one seems really unique to me and I like that you can create a visual mind map like that. Cool find Jon!
Hey BJ,
DeleteI wish this tool was more capable in terms of design and customization, but it does one job and I feel it does that job well. There doesn't appear to be any AI integration at this point.
Hi Jon,
ReplyDeleteDon't feel silly for selecting Mindmaps. I had actually planned on using it at first, but I gravitated more towards MagicSchool AI due to the various tools it offers. I envision myself using Mind Maps in my classes, as many of my students enjoy visualizing their thoughts. Great choice!
Hi Veronica,
DeleteThank you for the kind words, and I fully agree with you! Students need to see the same information in different ways and organized in unique ways often in science class so I thought this tool could be useful for that.