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RUNNING HEAD: Mind Maps or Conceptual Maps

Mind Maps or Conceptual Maps

By Prof. Jonathan Acua Solano
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Twitter: @jonacuso
Post 170

Though the concept of mind mapping is not new in education, its value
for student development of knowledge cannot be questioned. Defined as a
type of graphic organizer used to help students organize and represent
knowledge of a subject (Inspiration.Com, n.d.), mind maps are a need to help
students systematize their readings, their presentations, and their research
projects. Mind Mapping has become a great way to have learners focus on what
the core information on a text is.
Professionally speaking, I cannot state the fact that I have gotten into
any trouble while working on mind-mapping with learners, but I must suggest
other alternative ways I have used before in my university courses. Mind maps
reflect, -based on scientific observation of brain cells dendrites-, the way
human beings store information in their long-term memory (Acua, 2012,
September). Based on this premise, students can develop mind-mapping
projects in online platforms such as Mindomo.Com, a webpage that allows
them to create state-of-the-art maps with pictures, videos and links. For those
who like to use Google Drive, among the apps available to be added, Mind
Mups is a great option to create simple but eye-catching works.

Prof. Jonathan Acua Solano

Mind Maps or Conceptual Maps

Cmaps, the one option presented by Prof. Fressie Aguilar, one I must
admit had not seen or used before, seems to be a good option for people who
do not have access to the Internet at all times. Since it is locally run in ones
computer hard drive, it is a good working tool for teaching professionals who
also require students to produce their own mind-maps or who need to create
maps to present concept relations to their students. Downloadable from
http://cmap.ihmc.us/, the tool has great potential for instructors to create a
nice and neat maps for their current or future students, or to engage them in
the production of their own concept maps.
As mentioned before, the use of mind maps is something I constantly
address with my university students. As a professional in education, I highly
recommend other instructors to use a mind-mapping tool to have learners
submit brainstorms or outlines for speeches or research projects to help them
focus on what it is really important for their presentations or papers.
Additionally, mind maps can become a great tool for students to summarize
information in connection to partial or final examinations.
References:
Acua, J. (2012, Sept.). Mind Maps as Vocabulary Enhancers: Three Useful
Tools to Explore. Retrieved on 2015, May 9 from the Reflective Online Teaching
webpage at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/2012/09/mind-mapsas-vocabulary-enhancers.html
Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. (2014). Cmaps [Software].
Available at http://cmap.ihmc.us/
Inspiration Software Inc. (n.d.). Teaching and Learning with Concept Maps.
Retrieved on 2015, May 9 from the Inspiration Software webpage at
http://www.inspiration.com/visual-learning/concept-mapping

Prof. Jonathan Acua Solano