The Joys of Mindmapping

One of the best thinking tools I have discovered is called by different names by different people - concept webbing or mindmapping. Basically, it is a way of thinking throught the related ideas and issues to a specific concept, and showing relationships.

It can be used to take notes, to study, to solve problems, and many other uses. It is particularly useful for visual learners. For me the benefit of using concept webs or mind maps over using bullet points or traditional note taking methods, is that it is easier to show relationships that are not linear. The way we as educators often present information through powerpoints and outlines, creates the illusion in students that the world is linear and all information occurs in a linear fashion. We know that it is not true. The world of knowlegde consists of many interrelated topics and concepts, and mind mapping allows us to show the non linear nature of information.

Mind mapping was popularized by Tony Buzan. You can see a 5 minute videoclip of Mr. Buzan talking about his process here:



You can see more of Mr. Buzan's process on his website: http://www.imindmap.com/.



There are other options available. Wikipedia has a very good description of the concept at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map, and a list of software at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mind_Mapping_software


Teachers are probably familiar with Inspiration and Kidspiration software (http://www.inspiration.com/)


A mind mapping tool I really like to use, is cmap developed by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). It is available for free download to people who work in educational institutions from http://cmap.ihmc.us/.


Try using this method of thinking through topics and issues.

Technology Resources

Three great new technology resources you can use:

1. Open Educational Resources Commons
Their blurb says: "OERs are teaching and learning materials that are freely available online for use by everyone, including instructors, students, or self-learners. The site's mission is to provide a single point of access through which educators, students, and all other types of learners can search for, browse, evaluate, and discuss these resources."

Look at the resources at: http://www.oercommons.org/

On the site, you can search bycategories or collections, subject area or grade level. You can create your personal portfolio where you can easily access materials you specify.

2. School Web Lockers are web-based storage “lockers” for users to store school related files that can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. Each student is given 100MB of storage while teachers and administrators get 1GB. Many schools are now finding these lockers an excellent solution. Students are constantly struggling with a place to store file for a length of time. A teacher can simply upload one document and post it in every student’s locker instead of making some 30 copies of the same assignment. In turn, students can complete the assignment on the computer and upload the document into the homework due folder, which is then sent directly to the teacher. Files never override each other, so if 20 students turn in an assignment called homework1, all 20 files will appear in the teacher’s locker as homework1. Each document has the user’s name next to it and the date it was uploaded. It’s a paperless work of art.

http://www.schoolweblockers.com/

3. Curriculum Wikipedia - Curriki

Another open curriculum resource. Teachers from all over the world is using it to post curriculum units. It takes time to delve through, and sometimes the lessons are not appropriate for US students if itis written in other countries, but grear source of ideas.

http://www.curriki.org/

Question for my students

Today I am posting a question for my students in SPE 581:
How are you using technology in your classroom? For the purpose of this blog, technology means specialty software, machines, digital and electronic tools, computers, internet, and so on.

Share with us what you do, so we can learn from it.

To post your part, add a comment.

Thanksgiving: Family, football, and learning new skills

Thanksgiving in Tuscaloosa is about family and football.

Football was undeniably a disaster, since the Alabama football team lost to Auburn for the sixth time running - the longest losing streak in our history. What amazes me is the frenzied reaction to inevitable disappointment after insanely unrealistic expectations. Quite a list of superlatives.

Bama fans started the year with a mild expectation that our new football coach would do something (anything!) to improve the football program. The University pays him an enormous amount of money for which he is expected to bring in even more enormous amounts of money and excellent football players. People were saying then a 7-5 season would be wonderful! After some improvement early on, expectations changed and now this season is being described as one of the worst in the history of the football program. It wasn't great, but we beat Arkansas and Tennessee! (I was there for that one). We also lost to Georgia (ouch), LSU (double ouch) and LA Monroe (words cannot describe that one!)

It made me think of how often we have unrealistic expectations and a desire for immediate graitification of those expectations. We forget that anything worthwhile takes effort, and effort takes time and practice to become automatic.

Any parent knows and any sports coach knows that learning the basic skills of life and the game takes time. It takes modeling from a person who are reasonbaly proficient, and patient instruction until the student gets the idea. Then there has to be ample opportunity for practice before we try out our new skill in public. We forget that when we teach children, they need modeling, and time to practice, and the opportunity to try out their new knowledge and skills in a safe place. There is such a rush to cover whatever the state and the district tells us to cover that we do not have time to allow practice and learning. Even gifted kids need time to practice and apply skills. They don't know everything. People sometimes expect the so-called gifted kids to know everything. They may have the ability to learn more quickly, but they must still learn. If we have unrealistic expectations, we shortchange them.

If you teach high ability kids, don't expect them to know everything. They need instruction. To see a taxonomy of skills you can teach those kids, go to http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/typeiips.html

NAGC national convention 2007

I have just returned from Minneapolis where I attended the annual national convention of the National Association for Gifted Children (www.nagc.org). I want to encourage anyone interested in gifted education to check out their website, and consider joining the organization. It can provide a lot of information and is the premier advocacy organization for gifted children.

The president of the organization is my friend and one of my mentors, Dr. Del Siegle of the University of Connecticut (http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/). Do look at the website of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at www.gifted.uconn.edu for a lot of information about gifted children and gifted education.

This year the conference had in excess of 3,300 attendees from all over the country and overseas. This includes teachers, parents, and university faculty of all sorts and persuasions. The keynote speakers were Dean Simonton (genius and eminence), Robert Sternberg (Project Rainbow), and the inimitable Garrison Keeler (Prairie Home Companion).

My favorite sessions were:
"Standing on the shoulders of giants" moderated by Joe Renzulli - a session with GT greats like Jim Gallagher and Sandra Kaplan talking about the great people and issues in the field of gifted education.
"Myths is gifted education" moderated by Del Siegle. The participants were well known folks in the field and they addressed what they considered to be erroneous beliefs held by people in gifted education.

Since Minnesota was the place where Dr. E. Paul Torrance started his research on creativity, there was also a large session devoted to his memory that included many of the teachers and students who participated in those first research studies.

Next year's convention is going to be in Florida. Do make an effort to go. It is worth every penny and every hour of sleep lost.