Maximizing your Teaching in the Classroom with MindMeister

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During my career as a professor and assistive technology consultant which has spanned over 30 years, I have seen the many benefits of providing students with visual and graphical supports to help them understand material. As much as students have benefited from the use of mind maps and graphic organizers, I would have to say that if anyone has derived benefits from  using these tools, it has been me. Early on in my teaching career, as a Professor of Education, I needed to come up with a strategy to deliver content to my students in the classroom that could provide a quick way to attach documents, notes, and links to web sites. As I was reflecting on this need, I quickly realized that I could use </span><a href="https://www.mindmeister.com/education-software" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to help me organize my in-class lectures and resources. MindMeister could provide me with a very fluid and powerful way to organize my lectures and provide my students with the resources that they would need for class. </span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister provided me with a set of tools that would make the planning for my classes a whole lot easier. Starting out with a basic mind map I was able to structure the map with the material I would be presenting for the class. Using a mind mapping application like MindMeister gave me a way to quickly see how all the elements of the lesson came together for the class. More importantly, MindMeister has a host of time saving features which made the process of putting my lessons together a breeze. Since I am teaching educational technology courses and do a great deal of hands on with my students, being able to load my MindMeister mind maps with links to web sites has proven to be invaluable. Using the Wunderlink feature has saved me a great deal of time. I simply have to type the topic into the mind map and click on the Wunderlink icon to have MindMeister  suggest the website link. Using the Wunderlink feature has saved me countless hours of having to look up the website address. Prior to class, I link or embed the MindMeister mind map in our Learning Management System (Moodle) and when students come to class they can simply open the mind map, and click to go out to the web site when we are accessing it in class. Since </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Ed_625_Class_3 (1).jpg" height="593" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/xbGxulBI5p9-O8Pkczq_VrYNcpqTkKw-JATDvg5NNeBwx5qR3MBiLLCWeq4jOLKrqvOhzIi-pSCMsE69QTqXFKSB_Ftl8ftc_afQKEoX76k4Hug180_-FxOEu6J8-IMK_kpKR-Sr" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister  is web based any changes I make to the mind map are automatically updated which makes it an ideal learning tool. When I am in class I simply open the MindMeister  map and go through my lecture with all my resources attached to the map.</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to linking websites, I often take advantage of MindMeister’s capability of accessing YouTube videos which I can embed right within the map. Being able to search for YouTube videos right within MindMeister is another time saving feature when designing my lectures.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="417" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WxeevxHyZe9NEjeDb0uJmRu25ot1boU2ugc3rKi2UAQie-zI_3YGz3FmM9-KrR2DtRw-KTrEBFxf9YQ9THQEspqrtwKo63ik83t4sSyziCF3IMLmm0aZyVrTiDUgH8oIYRJfbX8m" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course if it only had these aforementioned features that would be enough to get through my classes, but with the ability to attach documents and have student comment on the material it makes MindMeister and indispensable learning tool in my classroom. One of the big advantages of using MindMeister in this way, is that from year to year, I can tweak the lecture maps and quickly update them with new websites and resources and I am up and running for the next semester. If you are teaching and have to organize your lectures for students then you should really take a look at how </span><a href="https://www.mindmeister.com/education-software" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can help solve your problems of delivering content and resources. </span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you liked this article, you might also be interested in:</span></div><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/teach-mind-mapping/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to Teach Mind Mapping to Students</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/teaching-ideas-you-can-use-next-monday/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 Teaching Ideas That You Can Use Next Monday</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/visual-learning-mind-mapping-guide/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visual Learning with Mind Mapping (Guide)</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/8-lesson-plans-promote-lifelong-learning/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 Lesson Plans to Promote Lifelong Learning</span></a></div></li></ul>

Maximizing your Teaching in the Classroom with MindMeister

During my career as a professor and assistive technology consultant which has spanned over 30 years, I have seen the many benefits of provid...

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Introducing MindView AT

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4iJeSvrAWTLp4Zka55j1gKByWDIttLF34_o_De5IhI7DRxG5fiWi82PGkOCUrCRsGyIM7viFNRtImUqGAEMNBfMCNNUB9Tfhd98Sr9lmj67v3Cmr7jDcSKFF8TvR5w7yHTYPnNS0K3t8/s1600/mvat.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Mindview 6 AT" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4iJeSvrAWTLp4Zka55j1gKByWDIttLF34_o_De5IhI7DRxG5fiWi82PGkOCUrCRsGyIM7viFNRtImUqGAEMNBfMCNNUB9Tfhd98Sr9lmj67v3Cmr7jDcSKFF8TvR5w7yHTYPnNS0K3t8/s200/mvat.png" title="" width="155" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have been using <a href="http://www.matchware.com/" target="_blank">MindView </a>for years and is one of my favorite mind mapping applications. I use it to brainstorm ideas, plan workshops and for writing structured </span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">proposals and documents. For some time now Matchware has been working on an assistive technology edition that has lots of great features. These include: text-to speech, high contrast, integration with TextHelp Read & Write 9 Gold and Dragon Naturally Speaking. If you are interesting in learning more about </span><a href="http://www.matchware.com/education/assistive-technology.htm" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Mindview AT</a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"> they are holding a FREE webinar on May 12, 2016 at 11:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT which you can register for by clicking on this </span><a href="https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1610030643773329668" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;" target="_blank">LINK</a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">. MIndView is an exceptionally designed mind mapping application that has lots of great features to meet the needs of students who need the built-in supports. </span>

Introducing MindView AT

I have been using MindView for years and is one of my favorite mind mapping applications. I use it to brainstorm ideas, plan workshops and f...

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MindView 6 from Matchware- Solid Upgrade

When I heard that <a href="http://www.matchware.com/" target="_blank">Matchware </a>was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. For the past several years I have been using MindView 5 to craft my very structured consulting reports that I deliver to the schools that I work with. Over the years I have developed some templates that really have helped me to communicate ideas in a very clear fashion. One of the chief reasons that I go back to MindView time and time again is because I have always found that MindView has some of the best Microsoft Office integration when exporting mind maps to Word, Excel and PowerPoint. <br /><br />The timing of the release for MindView 6 could not have been any better for me since I needed to complete a Request for a Proposal (RFP) for an assistive technology grant that the state was offering. I decided that I would test out the capabilities of this version by using MindView 6 to write up the proposal and estimate the costs for the proposed project. MindView 6 has a much cleaner look and <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hz5tLKFxjl_RvMbZtS-xKFqhHEuca5h0LPGVJoDBk86Cmx1u8qyRyzjiqw0Mn2pGyTFf0L5AdzItzs_L84fnjuPuhIc8jJQl-EPzsUmMZFa_6SMK_aE6B7UZanf8xatonySK4QnYxaw/s1600/interface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="toolbar in MIndview 6" border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hz5tLKFxjl_RvMbZtS-xKFqhHEuca5h0LPGVJoDBk86Cmx1u8qyRyzjiqw0Mn2pGyTFf0L5AdzItzs_L84fnjuPuhIc8jJQl-EPzsUmMZFa_6SMK_aE6B7UZanf8xatonySK4QnYxaw/s1600/interface.jpg" title="toolbar in MIndview 6" width="640" /></a></div><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="323fe4d5-f292-4317-bd09-fb6f967bb5f7" id="1f1bd704-a9a0-4a90-a33d-738ec10d5db9">now</gs> adheres to the user interface conventions set forth by Microsoft. Users of previous versions will feel right at home using MindView 6 since the Ribbon structure has not been changed. When I am developing an RFP, I really like the ability to brainstorm ideas and what better way to do but in a mind map. Using MindView 6, I can get all my ideas down quickly and then begin to organize my ideas and activities. Moving ideas around MindView 6 is fast and intuitive and the interface shows you exactly where your idea will land-no guess work here. Once I had roughed out my ideas I was able to attach notes to my activities which would become the body of my RFP. The interface of MindView 6 to create notes feels as if you are in a mini version of Word, complete with a full array of formatting tools at your disposal.<br /><br />One of the requirements of any grant is to spell out the costs and this is an area that you would not normally think of using a mind map for but in the case of MindView 6 you would be wrong. MindView 6 has powerful calculation features which <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d61d3f80-f9d3-44d7-8ab6-567a185a321d" id="86713db5-0278-40e6-8061-c80a30ac08bc">enables</gs> the user to create formulas that automatically update throughout the mind map. The ability to see your costs roll up on any activity in <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWig8G8nHV5PHakCkYXWQaBJURJewT73VfcHHw2xVO02uh5Eo2pHcs9fuAb9ElbifllL1J8N2fGwGCY3ytGiuV5M0M1kVPxDZBnJQGVJim6100V3JYlGcMyQts1VT9i0pteOow_014X8/s1600/rollup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWig8G8nHV5PHakCkYXWQaBJURJewT73VfcHHw2xVO02uh5Eo2pHcs9fuAb9ElbifllL1J8N2fGwGCY3ytGiuV5M0M1kVPxDZBnJQGVJim6100V3JYlGcMyQts1VT9i0pteOow_014X8/s1600/rollup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c7bb2e75-1bc3-47aa-92eb-26fbbd04daeb" id="f976d849-8fd8-41ba-9b39-32eb7f375c5b">the</gs> mind map works really well and it lets you do what if's in real time. Using the SUM feature you can easily roll up cost for a particular activity and see the impact it has on the overall estimate for the grant. In MindView 6, like <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="00386938-dddc-4802-ac57-d46df1cde701" id="da22c8cd-af8a-46e8-8fb8-499cea4617d3">it's</gs> predecessor, there is a Calculation panel that lets you create items, cost and formulas. Once you get the hang of it you will find this a handy feature when you need to work with numbers <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="92e90e16-eaed-4e84-a308-a8b79f04e096" id="1de358ef-00d8-46d0-b73d-ce70435147c5">inside</gs> your mind map. With the release of MindView 6 you can now enter and edit <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjojkCzDz2KqMKQVkfxE37hdcpWrKVHLfSGAQshnsPkCPf8XMUXO_hqLE_anshgs4x7p1Risf54eH9zyrUIPTx3boJBQUmmueEtdpUt78B31MY7YHnx3lPQ3hpvE9X2Iz6jZHFfNn5bvY/s1600/excel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Excel Export dialog box" border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjojkCzDz2KqMKQVkfxE37hdcpWrKVHLfSGAQshnsPkCPf8XMUXO_hqLE_anshgs4x7p1Risf54eH9zyrUIPTx3boJBQUmmueEtdpUt78B31MY7YHnx3lPQ3hpvE9X2Iz6jZHFfNn5bvY/s1600/excel.jpg" title="Excel Export dialog box" width="320" /></a></div><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ee913091-ccf8-4181-93da-ccc1088b21d4" id="9179668f-ea3c-43f0-a178-68fb87816c85">numbers</gs> directly on the item itself without the need to go into the Calculation <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ee913091-ccf8-4181-93da-ccc1088b21d4" id="f1871312-489e-4a6d-9ed7-0298f91329f0">Panel which</gs> saved me and inordinate amount of time. It is now easier <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="329529d0-ae12-4c0a-a869-f54cb1f98429" id="15f18d87-9bf8-4da0-b0fa-2de8d9a1c149">then</gs> ever to set currency defaults-which saved me some time as well. While there were <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5969aa4d-6d57-4dcb-bfad-2f7b1cbb37ab" id="fb07d7f0-9465-4a36-af21-0fe523073856">certainly</gs> a large number of improvements and features in MindView 6 most users will find them to be very subtle and well integrated into the application without feeling overwhelmed by feature creep. Once I had entered all my costs into the mind map I was able to export the <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4a1e067b-8fe2-4b0e-8ec7-b28cc47f2958" id="e63c8051-e32d-42b4-b837-bd20f49b9487">financials</gs> into a well formatted Excel report that I could attach to the RFP. Hopefully, if I am successful and receive the grant I will be able to monitor the activities in the project management side of this application.<br /><br /><br />All in <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="41468407-c7a1-4efe-b594-007102eafc54" id="8f691c4c-b7f5-42ed-80d1-fe9aa63da48c">all my</gs> experience with MindView 6 was very positive in future posts, I will highlight some of the features that would make this an ideal tool for students.<br /><br />I want to thank the folks at <a href="http://www.matchware.com/en/default.htm" target="_blank">MatchWare </a>for providing me a copy of MindVirew 6 so that I could do the review.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

MindView 6 from Matchware- Solid Upgrade

When I heard that Matchware was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. ...

Read more »