Wednesday, November 30, 2011

CS Odessa Breaks Boundaries in Mind Mapping and Project Management With New ConceptDraw Mind Map Exchange Solution


ConceptDraw Solution Park has a new solution that dramatically improves productivity in project management and mind mapping. Users can now exchange data freely between ConceptDraw MINDMAP and numerous other project management and mind mapping applications.
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- CS Odessa announces today the availability of the new Mind Map Exchange Solution, extending the collaboration capabilities of ConceptDraw MINDMAP v7. The new Mind Map Exchange solution offers the ability to exchange data between Microsoft Project, ConceptDraw MINDMAP, ConceptDraw PROJECT, Mindjet MindManager, XMind, FreeMind, Microsoft Office, and many other project management and mind mapping applications. ConceptDraw MINDMAP supports all major office documents including project charts and reports, mind maps, outlines and presentation materials.


Tight integration of the Mind Map Exchange Solution with the ConceptDraw MindTweet solution provides users with the ability to publish images of mind maps to social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Mind maps can now be sourced from a variety of applications, including MindManager, XMind, FreeMind, and other mind mapping applications.


The Mind Map Exchange Solution allows for single-point access to many popular document formats used in mind mapping applications. It extends the current knowledge-exchange capabilities of ConceptDraw MINDMAP and assists individuals who organize projects and mind maps. The Mind Map Exchange solution is a step towards a universal graphic format for mind mapping documents. This common format will be a major assistance to individuals involved in business communication.


ConceptDraw Solution Park


ConceptDraw Solution Park is an online collection of plug-in solutions for ConceptDraw products that provide productivity-increasing options for knowledge workers. ConceptDraw Solution Park delivers solutions in diverse areas such as Project Management, Business Productivity, Universal Diagramming and Collaboration.



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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Mind mapping focus moves to collaboration



The market is moving toward a focus on making teams work together more effectively, says a Mindjet general manager
Mind mapping is in the midst of a shift away from its traditional roots and is increasingly focused on being more about collaborative work management, a vendor has claimed.


Mindjet Inc.’s general manager of the Asia Pacific Australia Japan (APAJ) region, Cameron Ackbury, said the information overload caused by the rise of the internet has forced enterprises to seek out new ways to cut through the chaos.


“The problem we’re trying to solve is that there is a lot of information out there and there are people trying to work out where their documents are,” he said. “There are websites that they get information from, and people are overloaded with information.”


Running the APAJ operations for the visual collaboration software business, Ackbury said this information overload has caused a shift in priorities for enterprises, with the future of mapping set to be focused on making employees more productive.


“I do believe that mapping as a concept will not be particularly strong,” he said. “But if you look at the way mapping is going and moving more towards collaborative work management, it is going to be making teams of people more effective.”


While he didn't want to speculate on what mind mapping will look like in the next five years, Ackbury said using software to drive revenue may be at the top of the minds of IT managers.


“It could be anything from helping sales teams improve revenue, by driving sales processes,” he said.


“It could be through helping reduce expenditures of an organisation, [or] it could be about creating more compliance through having rapid and repeated processes to follow.”



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Friday, November 25, 2011

Mind Maps – Key to Successful Detailed Project Plans

Mind-map-manager
Image via Wikipedia

This article will focus on why you need detailed project plans and how to develop them effectively using a simple yet surprisingly successful communication tool. A disclaimer up front: this article will discuss this in terms of technical projects like application development, but it is applicable to all types of projects like fund-launches, barbeques, bah-mitzvahs, or whatever goal you seek to achieve.

WHY DO I CARE?

I bet you have a routine. One you follow every day. Get up, brush your teeth, pack your lunch, grab your cell phone off the charger, kiss the spouse good-bye, etc. Now how often do you arrive at work and realize you missed something?  "Shoot... I forgot my socks again".  Well that may be extreme, but you get the point.

And I am sure it doesn't happen every day. But, maybe once every few months? Keep in mind this is your routine 5 days a week 48 weeks a year (I know YOU don't take vacations, but others do.).  So now imagine what might happen if you are trying to remember all the steps you need to deploy your application into production. You do this maybe once every 3 months...6 months?  What are the odds you might forget some critical step? Maybe slightly higher than forgetting some part of your daily routine?

What is the consequence of forgetting to restart one of the web application servers after the release? Well I suspect your boss would be far angrier than he would be looking at your bare, hairy ankles.

Bottom line is people forget things, even routine stuff.  And the risk that someone overlooks a step that is crucial but unique to some project is high likelihood and high impact. When that happens you need look no further than the closest mirror to place the blame. Lord knows your boss has all your numbers on speed dial and will use them when he finds out customers are occasionally getting "Server Down" messages.

There is another type of problem lurking in the dark. You may remember your routine, but because Joe doesn't know what you plan to do, he may not realize he has a role to play.  Example. You are going to update the database tables during deployment. Well the DBA doesn't know this, so that Friday night he will be bowling. When, in reality, he should be at home executing and verifying a full backup of the database.

WHAT DO I DO TO AVOID THIS?

The question remains how do you avoid taking the blame for someone else's brain spasm.  Well I like to fall back to a simple but highly effective approach to help the whole team out.  It is called Mind Mapping.  Don't think Vulcan Mind Meld... think more whiteboards and those delightfully scented markers. These work best because the fumes free the mind, but online collaboration software will do the trick too.

I assure you, no matter what media you choose, this tool alone will allow you to substantially reduce the number of "oopsies".  It also avoids "gotchas" and totally eliminates the "who'd a thunk its".

What is a Mind Map?  It is a simple diagramming method that focuses the team on a single topic.  Mind you (no pun intended) that "The Project" is not a topic. That is too large. But, depending on the size of your initiative "Deployment" might be a topic. Or for larger projects "The Database" might be a topic. There is some judgment to be used here but you'll do fine.

The basics are as follows:

  • You get the relevant parties together and have them focus on "the topic"
  • Each person calls out ideas or tasks related to "the topic"
  • For each task or idea called out the team is asked to consider that task and call out items related to that task, etc until the ideas are exhausted
  • Again, this is the basic idea. You can do more with these and I am sure there are variations on the theme. But you get the idea.

WHY DOES THIS WORK?


That is simple enough. It opens communication channels, and makes the team talk things out and play off of each other.  "Oh hey, you are going to update tables in the database? Whew, good to know. I will skip bowling and backup the database." Wow. 10 seconds of talk just avoided a huge risk.

The fact is, no matter how many times you do something, no matter how much of an expert you are, you cannot remember everything every time. It just isn't human.

And you certainly cannot know every aspect of the impacts you have on other team members. That is why communication tools are some important. I have worked with amazing developers who are so confident of what they do that they think other experts are unnecessary. And they might never think to have the database backed up because they were sure their updates would be flawless.

RECAP

People aren't perfect. We forget our socks. We don't think that Joe would want to skip bowling to backup a database. Unfair as it may seem your job is to ensure that we all remember our socks and ensure that Joe misses bowling occasionally. Mind Maps are a simple, effective tool to do that.

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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Mindomo Presenter - The First Real Presentation Mode for Mind Maps


November 23, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Expert Software Applications announced today the immediate availability of Mindomo Presenter - a radical new way to present Mind Maps online and offline. The strength of Mind Maps comes from their brain-friendly hierarchical structure. However, that strength is also a weakness when it comes to sharing a mind map.


"A mind map has a single starting point and it has multiple ending points, it has no single path which will guide you trough every idea in a mind map. When creating a mind map there is no way to include a guidance to viewers which would make it easy to interpret your mind map. Mindomo Presenter solves this problem by allowing mind map creators to break-down their mind maps and present it slide by slide," said Zoltan Lorincz CEO of Mindomo. "I believe the Mindomo Presenter is a big step forward in presenting mind maps interactively."


What you can do with the new Presentation Mode:

  • New interactive presentations - quickly capture your ideas on a topic and present them to others
  • Transform your existing mind maps - present your own flow of thoughts
  • Focus on ideas - spread your ideas with a fun and interactive presentation mode

Who is it for?

  • Ideal for speakers at events - present interactive resources
  • Teachers - present information about complex subjects
  • Consultants - present proposals for clients after your brainstorming sessions

As you can see, we took mind mapping to a whole different level. You can now create elaborate plans that you were not able before and present them in a unique way.


Video: Mindomo Presenter






Pricing & Availability


Mindomo with Presentation mode for creative presentations has been generally available since the 17th of November, with a starting price of $6 per month.


You can immediate access Mindomo by registering with a trial account, which you can upgrade to premium whenever you want.


More information about Mindomo pricing here: http://www.mindomo.com/pricing.htm


Supporting Resources:


Signup for an Online Mindomo account here: http://www.mindomo.com/signup.htm. You can download Mindomo Desktop free here: http://www.mindomo.com/desktop/. See gallery of mind maps created with Mindomo: http://www.mindomo.com/mind-maps


Mind mapping as a way of thinking


Mind mapping is a graphical solution in developing plans and ideas out of a main idea or subject.


The mind map is a tree like shape, with connections leading to other ideas.
Mind Mapping helps you split large projects into micro-projects, so that you can plan efficiently and do not loose the essential information.



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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Essential Features of Good Mind Mapping Software




In general, mind mapping software is comprised of many different features designed to help increase efficiency in the creation and documentation of certain writing or business projects. It has the intention of helping you become more organized in finding ways on how to accomplish your ultimate goals for a certain project on time and within the available budget. Several mind mapping software companies are presently available for those who need it and they can choose from among the whole lot of them. However despite the many available companies, the overall features are almost the same.


A mind mapping software is usually characterized by a colorful and open interface with tool bars that can be easily navigated. Through this, you can instantly create thoughts, ideas and sub-topics and organize these the way you want it to be. You may include in this your priorities, URL links to any of the topics you have created and the task completion time. As new topics or sub-topics are created, new colors, pictures or categories may be assigned to help in the visualization of the task.


When you want to add new topics, you have to know that it can be quickly done in the main interface. Through this, you are free to place in each new topic additional descriptions and notes. You are given the freedom to make changes with respect to the size of each created topic so you gain control over how the project will be viewed in its entirety. Most of the needed actions for the software can be automatically activated. For instance, when the mouse is moved to certain topics, possible options or notes on what you will perform next will be displayed through pop up boxes.


Most of the time, mind mapping software tools give you a few options when it comes to the selection of maps. You can choose from among a whole lot of different maps like logical diagrams, cause and effect, logical diagrams, traditional balloon style and the organizational chart mind map. All of these have different features so you can easily move things to different branches and various categories of the project.


Other mind mapping software applications have the feature of allowing audio clips to be added. Naturally, these audio clips are intended for the further enhancement of topics or in giving examples with audio commands that are direct to employees. Audio clips coming from outside sources may be utilized in educating ways for the enhancement of a certain stage for a proposed or an existing project. This helps in reducing chances of confusion when undergoing a certain project.


It is undeniable that mind mapping software can be a useful tool in allowing work to be done in an efficient manner and in promoting and displaying projects. Works done may be saved through PDF files and instantly emailed or uploaded to a website. Projects may be presented in any format that you choose which allows you to specialize it in accordance to your choice. You can also do a lot of things for it aside from just describing a new concept like allowing your audience to visually take your idea in an innovative manner instead of just letting them hear you talk.



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Monday, November 21, 2011

Effective way to always stay organized with mind map

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Mind-map showing a wide range of nonhierarchic...
Image via Wikipedia


This is a tip to help you: remember things better, solve problems faster.
First thing I want to mention here is the methology to accomplish thing and self-disciplined. It’s about how to use mindmap effectively. For the beginners, mind map is a note-taking method that different from tradition methods. Mind mapping utilizes the full range of left and right human cortical skills to tap into the unused mental potential. Benefits of mind map:
  1. Learning: Reduce those 'tons of work'. Feel good about study, revision and exams. Have confidence in your learning abilities.
  2. Overviewing: See the whole picture, the global view, at once. Understand the links and connections.
  3. Concentrating: Focus on the task for better results. Using all of your cortical skills attracts your attention.
  4. Memorizing: Easy recall. 'See' the information in your mind's eye.
  5. Organizing: Be on top of all of the details for parties, holidays, projects or any other subject.
  6. Communicating: In all forms with clarity and conciseness.
  7. Planning: Orchestrate all details and aspects ? from beginning to end ? on one piece of paper.
  8. Meetings: From planning to agenda, to chairing, to taking the minutes the jobs are completed with speed and efficiency.
  9. Training: From preparation to presentation they make the job easier and much faster .
  10. Thinking: Having a method to analyze thoughts ? almost a way-station' for them.
  11. Brainstorming: Random thoughts are generated and appropriately assessed in real time.
Now we need a way to use mindmapping technique effectively. A variety of tools avaible for desktop computer could help you is MindManager, Freemind, Novamind or lots of alternatives. But it isn’t always convenient, because you just can’t take the laptop with you everytime. The only thing you always bring with you is your phone, and you need a mindmapping application running on your phone.



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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Web Designing - Use of Mind Mapping Tools


Mind Mapping is one of the best ways to make your task of web designing easy. Mind Mapping is about creatively organizing words, ideas and task and interconnecting them so that the task is easily completed or the issue is easily resolved. Mind-Mapping helps at website designing and writing its content too. At first thought a web designer may not find the mind-mapping tool to be very useful but a second thought can make the designer think differently. With the help of mind-mapping the creativity can be properly channeled. The issues related to development of the website can be resolved very easily. 


There are many advantages of mind mapping. It helps to expand the ideas that already exist in the designer's mind. It increases the motivation of the designer.  It assists in strategic planning.  With the help of mind mapping the past mistakes can be easily explored and promptly addressed. The thoughts can be easily cleared and clarified. The thinking skills can be sharpened. The imagination of the designer can be given new wings.  


Some of the prominent tools for mind mapping are as follows


MindMeister
This tool applies the mind mapping concepts to web designing. With the help of this tool various elements can be collaborated in real time. This tool allows the user to create, share and manage mind maps. The mind maps can be accessed from anywhere. Multiple users can use this tool simultaneously to amend mind map. The changes being made to the mind map can be seen by others.   


WiseMapping:
This tool of mind mapping adds power to mind maps by blending the Web2.0 with vectorial languages likes VML and SVG. This tool does not need any plug-in. 


Cmap Tools:
The Cmap Tools program allows the user to create, share, navigate and even criticize the concept make that represent the models of knowledge. With the help of this tool the designer can create Cmaps in the personal computer. The user can share the Cmaps and link them to other Cmaps too. The user is facilitated with automatic creation of the web pages of the concept maps that are on the servers. The editing of the map can be synchronized with other internet users. The designer with the help of this tool can conduct the search for relevant information about concept map.        


Mindomo:
This mind mapping tool is web based. It is free to access. This tools runs in the browser of the web (web browser). The central database on the server is the storage device for all the information. 


ConceptDraw MINDMAP:
This tool is one of the best tools for visual organization. This tool offers accesses to information for all the organizations and even individual design service providers.


Mapul, iMindMap, Mindjet, Xmind Pro, MyThoughts for Mac, DropMind and Mind42 are some other mind mapping tools that the web designer can use. 


In web design and web development, there are plenty of online readymade tools are available. Such clever tools are useful and made developers and designer's task easy and creative. But depends how individuals can effectively use it. 


Read more

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Friday, November 18, 2011

MindV online mind mapping tools, based on cloud compting, is published


Mindv online mind mapping tools
MindV mind mapping tools, called MindV, is an online tools. Mind map is an effective mode of thinking, applied to memory, learning, thinking , so mind map is also called a "thinking map", which will facilitate the diffusion of thought of the human brain. Mind map has been widely used around the world, including a large number of Fortune 500 companies have been using mind maps to enhance their creativity. Now more and more people began to learn mind map, learning that the 21st century way of thinking, detonated his own inspiration, enhance their creativity, to change itself, change a business, even a country's competitiveness. The inventor of Mind Map is Tony Buzan.
What mindv mind mapping tools can help me do?
New document tool: MindV simply, is a new document tool, like Word, PPT, Excel. In a mindv map, multimedia, hyperlinks, attached document can be embedded. A mind map can be easily converted to other format such as png, jpg, html, text, doc, pdf and ms project xml file. Mindv meets the Open XML file format specification.Mainly used to record a lecture outline, a book catalog, lesson notes,meeting minutes, etc.
Visual teaching and learning: Explanation of knowledge with multimedia; facilitating students to record key learning points.
Management of creativity and design: anytime, anywhere to record your ideas, keep your design work in the local computer or more secure cloud.
To solve daily problems:Put visualizable list of various components of the problem on the mind map, throught in-depth study the relationship between them, you can find a creative solution.
collaboration and sharing idea: share your good idea to your team member,put a mind map inside a web page ; team members were able to offer advice on a question.
Project management: from project start to finish, you can quickly and easily design and improvement through the tool .
Management tasks and priorities: the division of tasks into manageable sub-tasks, quickly and easily arranged according to priority.
Development platform
MindV using cross-browser, cross-platform technology development silverlight 4. First time a user clicks the link in your browser to run mindv, if your machine is not installed Silverliht 4, you will be prompted to download from the Microsoft website and install Silverlight 4; you just follow the prompts step by step; After Silverlight 4 is installed, MindV will run.
Check it at MindV.com

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Mind Mapping Software for iPhone and iPad


iMindMap Mobile is a mind mapping software for both iPhone and Ipad, the two crown jewel product line of Apple. These tools are developed and designed specifically for both iPhone and iPad users only.


There is not much difference of what iMindMap Mobile can do from the other computer based version of the mind mapping software like theiMindMap Elements, iMindMap Professional and the iMindMap Ultimate except that these mind mapping software allows users to make mind maps on the fly.


iPhone and iPad are both mobile devices. These machines permits users to bring it with them anywhere. This powerful machines as well as the powerful software application which is the iMindMap Mobile allows them to perfectly come together.


iMindMap Mobile allows iPhone an iPad users to be able to capture ideas in any moment, anywhere and at anytime. This allows more users to utilize the tools and harness its huge benefits without sitting in front of their computer. This will allow individuals who are using iPhones and iPads to be able to capture ideas and be able to create mind maps anytime.


It will also allows users to be able to create, share, present mind maps anywhere, may it be for project plans, action plans, or product presentation and many more. It will permit users to be able to make decision and study ideas, concepts or thoughts conveniently using their iPads and iPhones.


With the ultimate convenience that the software enables the user due to its partner devices, lets not forget what iMindMap Mobile can do to the user.


iMindMap Mobile will allow your brain to think more freely as well as process information in less amounts of time. It will relieve your brain from mental stress most especially when doing critical thinking for business plans, projects and in making the right decisions.  Best of all it will allow your brain to do visual thinking.


Visual Thinking allows your brain to see what it thinks giving you the ultimate perspective of your ideas through its mind maps.


iMindMap Mobile is the ultimate software for your brain and a lot are using it already to effective results.


iMindMap Mobile comes in 2 versions, one each for iPhone which is the


iMindMap Mobile Pro and one for iPad which is the iMindMap Mobile HD.


Video: Introduction to iMindMap on iPad (iMindMap Mobile HD)



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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Why the Mind Map Technique is Essential for Success




A Mind map is a diagram that is used to express ideas, tasks or words. The words are arranged round a keyword. This is used for decision making and solving problems as this structures help to visualize, generate and classify ideas. Mind maps help to prompt mind to generate memories to help come up with a solution. Mind maps are very effective during brainstorming sessions as different people will be able to come up with at least one idea broadening the diagram.


When creating mind maps there are some guidelines you need to follow and they include:


Start with an image related to the topic in at least three colors. Write the subject that is related to what you need to come up with. Color helps to build ideas as it is easy to remember colors or even simple images. Use codes, images throughout the whole session each standing on its own line. Select keywords and print them out. Try to use simple words that will help members involved in the mind map be able to have a free flow of ideas. Complex words or meaningless phrases just cluster the mind map making it unreadable or just plain waste of time. Connect all lines and use emphasis this will help you to see the connection of all the ideas that have been brought forward and then you can formulate them into solid strategies.


Mind maps are an excellent idea for building morale and creative environment. It helps increase teamwork and creates good work relationships. At the end of these sessions most people feel like they are part of a team that has produced the ideas and increases staff motivation. It helps to create bonds and most staff will get to know each other better knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses. Using of mind maps is very effective mainly for:
Summarizing information you come up with Consolidating information that has been acquired from different sources. Thinking through very difficult problems an organization may be facing. Used in presentation to show how a particular project will be handled.


Mind maps assist individuals to remember the guidelines to follow when doing a particular task as it is easy to remember by just imagining the images you saw. They engage the mind more as compared to using normal notes that may take really long to recall what exactly was contained in them.


Mind maps have main topic lines coming from the centre where it starts and has subtitles and branches that radiate from the titles like branches in a tree. There is no particular way how the structure will appear just let the lines flow freely in all directions.


A Mind map can be done by hand , but if you need to use it for presentation purposes there are software's that can help give elaborate work, something that looks of high quality. Software's like mind genius help to improve this processes. This makes it easier for the work to be edited, produced, and distributed or even to restructure it.



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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Mind Mapping Maximizing your brain untapped potential

Mind Map "MyThoughts Considered"
Image by MyThoughtsMindMaps via Flickr
Our brain It has been estimated that in each human brain there are a thousand billion of brain cells.  Each brain cell is able to contactand embrace up to 10.000 or moreclose brain cells in a single Instant.
Mind mapping, in a nutshell:

  • Mind mapping is an associative and radiant thinking technique • Mind Maps work in the same way as the brain
  • They are design to mirror the structure of the brain and its most basic building block, the brain cell.
  • Originally developed to help student of all ages to understand and remember more effectively
Great presentation!

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Monday, November 14, 2011

MindGenius Now Supported on Biggerplate Mind Map Community




MindGenius are pleased to announce that they are now supported on http://www.biggerplate.com, one of the largest communities of mind map users in the world.
Glasgow (PRWEB UK) 13 November 2011


MindGenius are pleased to announce that they are now supported on www.biggerplate.com, one of the largest communities of mind map users in the world.


Becoming a member of Biggerplate is free and, once registered, allows users to share map content with others and to download from a choice of thousands of maps.


MindGenius has many different communities of users including project managers, consultants, and compliance managers, as well as those in a client facing role such as sales and marketing professionals, and MindGenius believes that Biggerplate is a fantastic way for users to connect within and across these different communities.


Initially MindGenius will be sharing a project management set of maps which includes a mix of real life project management examples, reusable templates, and information maps covering areas of project management such as Planning, PRINCE2, Agile methods, etc. As an added advantage for MindGenius users, the MindGenius import capabilities offers immediate access to most of the content on Biggerplate, not just the MindGenius maps.


Check Biggerplate regularly as MindGenius will be continuing to upload fresh content and be sure to share your own maps. Maps can be rated and are searchable in a variety of categories including Business, Academic and General with hundreds of additional sub sets.


Derek Jack, Director of MindGenius, said “MindGenius are looking forward to being a part of the Biggerplate community and giving MindGenius users access to content across a wide variety of areas. Our starting point is project management since we have recognised a big growth in this community and feel this is a great way for them to connect with other users to share knowledge. We will also be uploading maps on many diverse subjects in the near future. We would encourage our users to take the opportunity to use this medium and share their own expertise, and gain fresh ideas on applying MindGenius.”


Liam Hughes, Founder of Biggerplate said “We are very excited to welcome MindGenius and their users to Biggerplate, especially as this has been highly requested by members of our community over the past six months! The focus on project management within the MindGenius business and user-base means we expect to see a significant increase in both the quantity and quality of map content in this area being shared on Biggerplate. As we continue to strengthen our position as a leading source of mind mapping content and community, our new partnership with the fantastic team at MindGenius represents another significant and exciting step in the right direction for Biggerplate and our members!”


Visit www.biggerplate.com today to get involved.


Source: PrWeb

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Friday, November 11, 2011

Mind map for effective learning


A mind map is a graphical representation of ideas and concepts. Mind maps are truly the best study tool and are literally a map of the material to be learned.
Mind mapping is also termed as concept mapping as it involves writing down a central idea and connecting new and related items that radiate outwards from the main theme at the centre.


It is really a tool that promotes creative thinking and generates appropriate solutions to the problems. They also enhance the quality of thinking and provide better insight into the course of study.


Mind maps help the students a lot while preparing for the annual examination or the board examination. Preparing mind maps for important chapters and taking a quick glance through them before the examination will give opportunity for excellent revision, enabling long term memory. Create your own style while preparing mind maps. One of the major reasons why this technique works so well is because it is a reflection of the uniqueness of the creator’s mind. Let your imagination be your guide in making the best mind maps.


The following steps are useful in making mind maps:


Start at the centre of a blank landscape page, ideally with a colourful image to represent the main subject. Use simple key words and write legibly looking for a relationship to establish cause and effect. Leave spaces in between where new information or ideas can be inserted later. It is a functional tool hence beautification of the map is not needed. Use highlighters   for better effectiveness. Draw lines or arrows to connect things together.  A complete map will have many lines radiating from the central theme. If necessary, relocate words or phrases to establish better logical relationship.


Mind maps work so well because they employ many of our intelligences in making, reviewing and revising. Moreover, the visual nature of the maps makes them easy to remember. Be a good visual learner, who learns best by seeing a representation, either in pictures or in written words. Always remember that learning to write for an examination is as important as studying. Students often get confused in deciding how to start an answer, take it forward and conclude it.   Hence, at school level, we should provide necessary training to our students in effective learning techniques, such as mind maps and others.


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Map Your Mind Wherever You May Be With Free, Portable Blumind (Via PCWorld)



Blumind (free/donationware) is a simple and friendly mind-mapping application. The entire package weighs in at less than 1 MB, and it is free and portable. This makes it diametrically opposed to TheBrain, which is large, commercial, and definitely not portable. What the two have in common, however, is the first thing you see when you start: a single node, or "thought". You can then start typing to change its content, press Enter to add a sibling node, or press Tab to add a sub-node.


Blumind doesn't pack much in the way of bells and whistles, but it does come with multiple color schemes (you can also individually set the color used for every element). Blumind is good for more than mind maps, too: You can use it to create org charts, logic charts, and tree diagrams. You don't have to decide in advance which format works best with your data; even after you've added nodes to your mind map, you can easily turn it into an org chart with a single click.


Much like with the MindMeister web-based mind-mapping tool, you can expand or collapse nodes, and you can create lines connecting different nodes (even if they're not siblings of the same parent). You can also add an icon for each node, from a range of built-in icons such as smiley faces, stars, and other clear and readable symbols. You can also grace any node with a progress bar, if you like to use your mind map as a project management system. One key feature MindMeister has over Blumind is versioning. Blumind contains an Undo function, but it is far less powerful than MindMeister's visual timeline.


The Blumind user interface is sparse, consisting mainly of a single toolbar at the top of the window and a property grid docked on the right. You can use the grid to change a node's color, icon, progress bar, shape, and more. It is a powerful control and makes for a consistent user interface, but it doesn't make it easy to tell which properties are more important than others, and you may end up scanning the list over and over for whatever it is you're trying to change.


Blumind is easy to get started with, and since it is free, portable, and tiny, it provides a gentle introduction to the art (and science) of mind mapping. And if you ever feel a need to graduate to a more comprehensive system, Blumind can export your creations using the Freemind mind-mapping format, which you can then import into MindMeister and other mind-mapping applications.


Read more at PCWorld.com

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Prewriting - Brainstorming - Mind Mapping




Pre-writing exercises that incorporate the Mind Mapping concept can enhance a student’s ability to integrate complex thoughts into a cohesive unit of text.  The difficulty for most Japanese students who are learning English as a second language is not the language barrier itself, but the student’s desire to maintain a comfort level that is most familiar to the learner.  There is a natural reliance and tendency for students to write according to their first language structures.  As an instructor, we must be cognizant of our student’s learning behaviors, and in giving guided lessons that students can readily incorporate within the framework of formalized writing styles.


Video: Prewriting - Brainstorming - Mind Mapping




You can think about the subtopics and details of the topic you want to write about and assign relationships among them in different ways.  Some people draw simple straight lines, some make a circle in the middle and more circles with lines connecting them, and some draw a more complex combination of pictures, words, and lines.  These are all ways to help you organize the million things that come to your mind before you begin writing. Like the brainstorming technique, you don’t have to use everything from your notes in your text.  You pick only one or more related subtopics to discuss, exemplify, explain, etc.—in your text.

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