Most teachers are already familiar with mind mapping and similar brainstorming techniques and know about their use in facilitating creativity and the free flow of ideas. However, in contrast to regular paper mind maps, online mind mapping offers a range of additional possibilities for both students and teachers that make it one of the most practical applications that can be employed in a classroom.
What Is Online Mind Mapping?
Online mind mapping is a means for teachers and students to work collaboratively and brainstorm together in real-time. Maps can easily be shared with single or whole groups of students who can then contribute to them by adding their own ideas, images, links to external websites, files, notes or even tasks. Being web-based, the mind mapping software runs inside a standard web browser and requires neither installation nor updating. This is especially important because it frees up IT resources and can easily be managed by teachers, who are able to grant and revoke access to mind maps and add new students to the system with just a few clicks.
5 Important Uses in the Classroom
Note Taking and Revising: Teachers can easily prepare an overview mind map for a new topic, and share it with their entire class. Each student can then expand the map with their own notes and use it for later revisions of the material.
Creating Stunning Presentations: Using the built-in presentation mode, users can turn their mind maps into engaging slideshows with just a few clicks. Besides being able to present their slideshows in class, teachers can also embed them in blogs or websites.
Monitoring Student Participation: With history view users can go back in time and replay the entire change history of a mind map. Teachers can thus make out the thought process of their students as well as retrace the participation of each contributor.
Research and Writing: Mind maps are the ideal format to brainstorm and outline texts before starting the actual writing process. Students can then export their outline as a Word document and use it as the basis for further expansion.
Conquering Learning Disabilities: Students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia or high-functioning autism can benefit tremendously from the visual depiction of information provided by mind maps.
“Mind mapping records the interconnections and structures of complex texts for me and takes the pressure off me holding them in my head.”
Donna Nicholson Arnott, dyslexic student in higher education
Students struggling with the task of reading and processing large amounts of information can use mind maps to divide them into smaller, more manageable chunks and make out connections and hierarchies.
“MindMeister has allowed my son to independently organize his reading comprehension assignments. It is so simple and practical, I can see him using it for all kinds of other subjects and tasks in the future.”
Elsa Cayelli, mother of a 13-year-old student with high-functioning autism
Clear Benefits and Results
Online mind mapping has helped millions of students to optimize their study time and improve test scores, and more and more teachers are convinced by the numerous benefits this technique offers:
Improves collaboration and teamwork
Structures information visually
Displays connections and hierarchies
Enhances memory through the use of mental triggers
Increases productivity and makes note taking more efficient
Facilitates a free flow of ideas and fosters creativity
Is a great presentation tool
Doesn’t feel like work!
The Market Leader in Online Mind Mapping
MindMeister is the market leader in online mind mapping and is already used by over 150.000 educational users worldwide. The tool offers free mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, which enable students to effectively bridge home and school activities. The intuitive user interface is especially designed for a quick and easy mapping experience that doesn’t require training and is suited for students of eight years and up.
“My grade 3 students had it figured out in no time”
Jennifer Friske, Elementary School Teacher
Start a Free Trial Now
MindMeister’s Edu Campus plan is available for 6 € per user and semester and offers a number of features developed especially with the needs of academic institutions in mind, such as group sharing, bulk export of mind maps, and multiple license admins.
MindMeister also integrates with various Google products such as Apps, Drive, Docs and Hangouts. Schools using Google Apps for Education can easily add MindMeister to the suite via the Google Apps Marketplace.
Contact sales@mindmeister.com now to start a 30-day free trial, or visit www.mindmeister.com/edu for more information.