Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference
Teaching, Learning, & Technology
Transforming the Learning Environment
April 4-6, 2004
|
Mary B. Martin Track 2 - Promoting Transformation in the Learning Environment |
Abstract
A tool for examining relationships between concepts is the concept map.
Mindmaps are similar to the concept map but are more interactive and more
oriented towards analyzing information that is a mix of linear and
non-linear connections. The presentation will introduce the audience to
mindmaps, display student produced mindmaps, and provide an overview of
related software. Audience members will be asked to produce mindmaps of
their own within the session.
Description
An acknowledged tool for representing relationships between concepts is the
concept map. Mindmaps are similar to the concept map but are more
interactive, more oriented towards analyzing information, and oriented also
towards retention of knowledge. Based on work initially done in Europe in
the 1960's, these maps have been widely used in industry for everything from
design analysis to productive brainstorming. Education in the United States
has remained more fixed on the concept map.
Recently, several software packages have brought mindmaps back to the
forefront and have caused educational institutions to reexamine the
possibilities. Mindmaps emphasize thinking about your construction of
information in order to better remember it, access it more easily for use,
and retain information longer. According to recent brain research, mindmaps
utilize a significant number of the brain's learning paths and therefore
enhance learning efficiency. Mindmaps can be designed for class notes,
paper organization, or your to-do list. They are non-discipline dependent.
Mindmaps are structured around the use of color and physical proximity to
help represent the relationships of ideas. Although technically not a map,
they do represent abstractly the relationships between ideas as well as the
components or factors within a topic or process. Mindmaps are more process
oriented; the act of constructing them contributes as much to the learning
process as the act of reviewing the map at a later time. For this reason,
mindmaps are more interactive for the learner than most learning process
activities.
The presentation will begin with an overview of mindmaps, the brain research
that supports their use, and the connections to learning and metacognition.
Several examples will be provided, along with examples from students. The
audience will construct two or three examples. The presentation will
conclude with a demonstration of the existing software.