Concept Mapping

[Cyndi Danner-Kuhn]

Teachers from the Trenches
What software do you use for Concept Mapping and what benefits do you see. If you don't use one of the Inspiration products, what do you use and why. What are your recommendations and thoughts about Concept Mapping?

TECS 290 Students:
Now that you have explored the Inspiration software and ready what the Teachers form the Trenches have to say, how do you see yourself using Concept Mapping in your classroom someday.

[Fred Griffith]

I just tried out Bubbl.us for the first time. This is great! I can think of all kinds of ways to use this! Thanks for sharing it!
Fred G.

[Melissa Beyer]

Thanks for sharing. I have already tagged bubbl.us so that I remember it. I checked it out and it provides the same concpet as Inspiration minus the graphics and pictures.

[Alice Mercer]

Durff and I are working together with Cathy Evanoff on Making Connections using bubbl.us and MindMeister. I have also used Inspiration a bit in the last year, and Kidspiration a little. Edublogs is down today, but I'll try to put up a link with some examples of what I did on Inspiration last year. Going forward, is anyone interested in working in Mind Meister? I will need your email to invite you there. Bubbl.us is good, but you can only edit one at a time, whereas you can work together on Mind Meister.

Advantages of Inspiration, more color, ability to add video clips and images, a library of images to work with, you can use it in non-networked/internet situations. Disadvantages, not synchronous, not as collaborative, not online (you can save results and post online). It is pretty cheap (~$50 last I looked) for pay software.

I'll second Durff's comments about the visual. I found that my students had a very hard time taking information from the maps and making them linear, paragraphs of writing, so they were poor for pre-writing, in my experience.

Here is a great resources on visualization methods, that might get you thinking... http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html

[Fred Griffith]

Great table there Alice! Thank you for sharing that!
Fred G.

[Melissa Beyer]

Are you responsible for paying for Inspiration or does the school district provide it for you?

[Ryan Meng]

The visual-literacy site is really interesting and creative. This whole concept-mapping is kinda new to me as a physical education major. I don't really remember this being taught when I was in school. Maybe it just wasn't labeled as such. I could really see myself using this site as a health classroom teacher...

[Ginger Lewman]

We also use bubbl.us, as it costs very little (free). :) While it doesn't have the templates or pretty pics that Inspiration or Kidspiration has, it still can accomplish similar effects. However, Bubbl has sound effects (great for MS boys), as well as the all-so-important sharing aspect. It's very nice to have kids put their maps together, then share them with the teacher instantly. I don't have to carry around a lot of paper, and can make my own questions/suggestions on there before they procede with working. Also, the maps are a great finished product in some cases, instead of a beginning map.

[Alice Mercer]

Here is an example, that I saved out to Word, format

[Fred Griffith]

How did you get the little square boxes around the perimeter of the mindmap? Also, how did you import the picture of the bear? DId you do this after saving it to Word or beforehand?

Fred G.

[Alice Mercer]

I did this all in Inspiration, and there is a library of picture you can import (or you can just paste in a .png, jpg, gif image that you copy from elsewhere). I exported the inspiration mind map to word so everyone (even folks without Inspiration software) could view it.

[Kim Pfeifer]

For Comp I/II, students use graphic organizers for every paper they are required to write over the 2 semesters: narrative, description, literary critique, comparison, summary, pro/con, proposal, persuasion, argument and argumentative research paper. I use two forms of GOs: concept maps and structure maps. Students must create a brainstorm map, plus a visual outline map in lieu of a formal, linear outline. They are free to choose the format of the brainstorm, but have models and guidelines to follow for each essay’s “outline.” They have the choice to use Inspiration, bubbl.us, or even a word processor if they wish. These students are high school seniors or college fr/so, so they always know what format they prefer.

An example of what is included on the argumentative research paper “outline” includes a box or bubble for their “hook” idea, exposition info (who, what, where), proposal statement, 3 or more claims with linked bubbles for quotes, links to sources of data or quotes, refutation statement, and conclusion. They must “frame” their paper, so I make sure I include a connecting arrow from the intro bubble to the conclusion bubble with a space for students to explain the connecting idea (anecdote, relevant question & answer, interesting fact).

Whew! That would have been easier to show you! I’ll post it later on this week when I get back in into my classroom. Visual is so much better!

I always like to use a character-plot-setting-theme map(s) with relevant questions and neat pics relating to the work when I teach short stories or novels. When I taught JH and HS underclassmen, I had students create and present their own maps to the class. My seniors create their own, but generally share within their small peer editing groups.

[Fred Griffith]

There are some great links in the assigned reading. I will be use to keep those handy to use with my classes. Because of the cost, I do not forsee using Inspiration software on more than one computer in a classroom... Bubbl.us, however, could be used for any and every computer in the classroom.

Some of the links in the assigned reading would provide good examples of the types of ways to organize one's thinking. Students could be introduced to a new way of thinking about a subject or an assignment, and then assigned to use that type of format in bubbl.us. Or, for the technologically challenged, there is also the old fashioned paper and pencil, or slate and chalk! Fred G.