I chose a simple topic of making a chocolate cake (to go with my Home Ec theme) just so I could easily try out the tool. It was easy to use, however, I didn't like it as much as freehand drawing a mind map on a whiteboard or butchers paper ... I love the curvy lines you can create with a pen, and the ability to let the mindmap go in whatever direction you like. If found the online tool was a bit restrictive in that I had to keep moving "trains of thought" as they were bunching up with others (a formatting issue).
But I could see how the online version would be beneficial for a classroom ... you can easily save the finished mindmap and could print off / email to all the students for their copy (or they could create and save their own).
I found another mind mapping program that I preferred ... NovaMind5. This is not a free program, but I was able to download a free 30 day trial. NovaMind5 was much more user-friendly and allowed me to customise the mind map to the way I preferred. It was easy to move paths around, and it allowed for either structured links or fluid links (like I would do when handwriting a concept map). I also liked how I was able to add text/notes to each picture or concept. This would be beneficial for students so that they can add extra information about the concept or picture. In this concept map, I used the notes function to add the source of the images. As the NovaMind5 website claims, their online concept mapping can cater to the learning preferences of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. I agree with them, because being a visual learner, I liked being able to insert pictures and modified the layout of the map to the way I like to think. Here's my experiment with the NovaMind5 concept map, using obesity as the topic (not an exhaustive concept map on obesity, but just a start to play with the tool):
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