Mapping made stylish and simple with MindMeister

I simply love this tool. I think it's even better than Bubbl.us...don't take me off your delicious bookmarks just yet (!)... MindMeister offers something a little different which Bubble.us, at least for the time being (see their blog for updates about the new version), does not.

These are the features I particularly love:

1. Work on your mind-maps off-line: with Google Gears off-line library, you can work on all your maps wherever you are. Although Bubbl.us maps can be added to even if off-line (as the main flash files have already loaded) you cannot save the work without going on-line again.
2. Add ideas to your maps on-the-fly: Insert ideas into your default mind map on MindMeister directly from your Mac Dashboard or Windows Sidebar.
3. Easy images into mind-map: Insert images from the default library, have MindMeister insert an image based on the key word of a node or just upload your own photos or illustrations - fantastic!

And many other tools...



Here is one mind-map that I made for a job interview a couple of days ago (got the job too!): Tom's Learning Journey. Just click the image on the left to see a larger version. There are many possibilities with this online tool; I have only used the basics!


The only catch, if you want to use the free version, is that you can only store 6 maps. Mind you, you can export your brilliant creations in various formats incl. .pdf or as an image so you could always get rid of a mind-map and keep creating new ones. It is rather cheap to upgrade though, take a look on the main site.

5 Great Presentation Tools

How often do you use PowerPoint in your lessons? How do you make presentations useful without information overload... Here follows a brief list of tools that I use regularly to make my messages stick (a little bit longer...).

ZohoShow: create the presentation on-line or upload a PowerPoint file from your local computer. The site gives you a range of tools to make the presentation sleek and professional. A Great tool indeed.

ToonDoo.com: Create graphics and cartoon strips to highlight a key issue or significant point see French Revolution for an example

PicLens plug-in for PowerPoint 2007: This is a real gem and transforms your PowerPoint 2007 slide shows to powerful and animated presentations.

Rich Chart Live: Although this is more complex and a bit technical, you will get used to this tool quickly after a few attempts. I like this flash-generated chart tool as it makes somewhat dull looking statistics look great!


Glogster: Glogster is in many respects a simple 'poster' tool, but you can create effective, purposeful displays with students or to use within your own presentations as they can be stored online and include music, videos and hyperlinks. Glogster is ridiculously easy to use and will benefit your presentations well particularly when it comes to emphasizing key issues or give concrete examples of a concept or idea. See what you think.