I just thought I'd let you know about this free mind mapping software I found. I previously tried the MIndjet and Freemind softwares and found them not that easy to use and the designs that I could create were a bit blah. Anyway a company called edraw make a bunch of pay for software but they also have a free mind mapping one which is really easy to use and colourful! Here is the link http://www.edrawsoft.com/freemind.php.
Supposedly you can export the data into word as text as well but I havent tested that yet. Anyway hope someone finds it useful!
Thank you so much for sharing that, Kat, i was recently looking around at options for mindmapping tools, and I will definitely check this one out. You can't beat the price thanks again
Having had the importance of it drummed into me by one Tony Buzan years ago, (he invented them...), I just feel it's appropriate to state the case for "MindMapping" being done correctly.
It's not just a case of "sticking things down in pictures". If you are going to seriously consider representing non-linear thought this way, may I suggest you pick up one of his books and understand the theory behind MindMaps so that you can execute in the most effective manner, ("The MindMap Book" being the best).
OK - it does have a bit of self-publicity in there and is occasionally a bit too wordy, but you do not get to where he has by being a wallflower!
Freemind is a great alternative to the products on the pay-to-use market. I also like CMAP for some uses. Also free, but really tuned around a "then - then - that" model of diagramming. This works pretty well for building out a visual model for step-actions and task > step > operant level break-downs:
I thought initially that it was too simple, but it becomes so handy when you have to work on the mindmap with people who don't usually build/use web based apps - or mind maps for that matter.
I have used this to build out scenarios in branching simulations.
Sharing worksheets is great and export is good - Free is a must!
@Tomasz - I had missed that one some how. Looks good though
@Steve - I had seen that but it wasn't "pretty" but now that I look at it again it appears it can do some stuff that edraw might not be able to i.e. words between objects... interesting....
@Anna - I really like that site too except I wanted something that was not online. I have thought about embedding that in one of my courses as a brainstorming activity. Haven't quite decided how it would work but thought it would be fun and interactive!
I used this in a Development Class that was run in Moodle.
What I did to make it easier for people to coordinate themselves, was to invite them all to participate from inside the bubbl.us platform and also posted links to the help in bubbl.us AND posted several examples of what a finished piece could look like - although what was returned was way way cooler than the stuff I thought of.
Might not be the application you are looking for, but if you are looking for ideas on how to integrate this into a learning session (even just using stickies!)... let me know I have a couple of resources on the topic.
I've tried several such as mindjet and mindmeister, but I always go back to mind42.com
What do I like about it? It has a collaboration element to it...where several people can update it at the same time and is immediately available.
You can embed it in a website or even as a web object in Articulate (since it is a static URL) . If you want to hear how I used it, click here. Sorry in advance for the rambling
Publish it as a document...not so pretty, but all the information is there.
I've been using different ones along these year: mindmanager, xmind, freemind, they all have their pros and cons, but particularly I don't like they don't provide any means to search globally in all the mindmap at the same time, and once you create several tens of mindmaps it's very difficult to find that one you wrote some time ago..
Lately I've started to use wezinc (www.wezic.com) and I'm really happy, it gives me the ability to integrate any object into the mindmap, files, passwords, other mindmaps, images, and of course search in all the mindmaps at the same time. It's a cross between mindmanager and evernote... and I like that.
It's great to be here with everyone, I have a lot of knowledge from what you share, to say thank you, the information and knowledge here helps me a lot. us map
16 Replies
Thank you so much for sharing that, Kat, i was recently looking around at options for mindmapping tools, and I will definitely check this one out. You can't beat the price
thanks again
Here's an older thread about MindMapping.
http://community.articulate.com/forums/p/3227/18343.aspx#18343
Having had the importance of it drummed into me by one Tony Buzan years ago, (he invented them...), I just feel it's appropriate to state the case for "MindMapping" being done correctly.
It's not just a case of "sticking things down in pictures". If you are going to seriously consider representing non-linear thought this way, may I suggest you pick up one of his books and understand the theory behind MindMaps so that you can execute in the most effective manner, ("The MindMap Book" being the best).
OK - it does have a bit of self-publicity in there and is occasionally a bit too wordy, but you do not get to where he has by being a wallflower!
Good luck.
Bruce
Hi all,
my personal winner is portable version of http://xmind.net/
regards,
Tomasz Jankowski
Thanks for sharing your find, Kat.
I've been looking for an easy-to-use mind mapping tool like this. It's simple yet effective - and free! What more could you ask?
Thanks again!
Jackie Van Nice
Freemind is a great alternative to the products on the pay-to-use market. I also like CMAP for some uses. Also free, but really tuned around a "then - then - that" model of diagramming. This works pretty well for building out a visual model for step-actions and task > step > operant level break-downs:
http://cmap.ihmc.us/
I really enjoy https://bubbl.us/
I thought initially that it was too simple, but it becomes so handy when you have to work on the mindmap with people who don't usually build/use web based apps - or mind maps for that matter.
I have used this to build out scenarios in branching simulations.
Sharing worksheets is great and export is good - Free is a must!
Take care,
Anna
@Tomasz - I had missed that one some how. Looks good though
@Steve - I had seen that but it wasn't "pretty" but now that I look at it again it appears it can do some stuff that edraw might not be able to i.e. words between objects... interesting....
@Anna - I really like that site too except I wanted something that was not online. I have thought about embedding that in one of my courses as a brainstorming activity. Haven't quite decided how it would work but thought it would be fun and interactive!
Kat,
I used this in a Development Class that was run in Moodle.
What I did to make it easier for people to coordinate themselves, was to invite them all to participate from inside the bubbl.us platform and also posted links to the help in bubbl.us AND posted several examples of what a finished piece could look like - although what was returned was way way cooler than the stuff I thought of.
Might not be the application you are looking for, but if you are looking for ideas on how to integrate this into a learning session (even just using stickies!)... let me know I have a couple of resources on the topic.
Anna
You can also try our tool, Mindomo.
All of the one posted before are really good, but just give it a try. We have a free account with maximum 3 mind maps at the same time
Thanks Kat. I just downloaded it and will check it out.
Also check out Visual Understanding Environment from Tufts University. I have found this one to be really helpful.
http://vue.tufts.edu/
I recently came across an online tool called Text 2 Mind Map, here's a link:
http://www.text2mindmap.com/
I've tried several such as mindjet and mindmeister, but I always go back to mind42.com
What do I like about it? It has a collaboration element to it...where several people can update it at the same time and is immediately available.
You can embed it in a website or even as a web object in Articulate (since it is a static URL) . If you want to hear how I used it, click here. Sorry in advance for the rambling
Publish it as a document...not so pretty, but all the information is there.
Let me know how you like it or not :-)
Here is an amazing resource for these kind of tools and others.
http://www.mindmeister.com/12213323/best-online-collaboration-tools-2012-robin-good-s-collaborative-map
I've been using different ones along these year: mindmanager, xmind, freemind, they all have their pros and cons, but particularly I don't like they don't provide any means to search globally in all the mindmap at the same time, and once you create several tens of mindmaps it's very difficult to find that one you wrote some time ago..
Lately I've started to use wezinc (www.wezic.com) and I'm really happy, it gives me the ability to integrate any object into the mindmap, files, passwords, other mindmaps, images, and of course search in all the mindmaps at the same time. It's a cross between mindmanager and evernote... and I like that.
It's great to be here with everyone, I have a lot of knowledge from what you share, to say thank you, the information and knowledge here helps me a lot. us map