10.12.07
Mind Map Resources-Map your Brain!
Are lists taking over your life? Can’t seem to get started on your next project, lecture, or assignment? Need a different way to take notes?
Mind maps might be an effective way for you to organize your thoughts and concepts-and even make note-taking fun!
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. There is a good article from Wikipedia with the basic history and idea behind mind maps.
Useful for:
- Taking notes during a lecture
- Brainstorming
- Group discussions
- Problem solving
- Notes while reading
- Outlining talks or reports
Reasons to use a mind map:
- Visual representation and key words make important concepts stand out quickly.
- Associative quality of map helps reinforce memory-the brain remembers associations and links, not lists of items.
- You can work in all directions when you start in the middle.
- Lots more information can fit on a page (one page of notes for a presentation)
- Using color and drawing helps use creative side of the brain
- Mind Maps are fast to create and no effort is wasted
- Hierarchy and categorization are visually and clearly defined
Examples:
- Flickr has lots of pictures of different kinds of mind maps
- Here is a directory of mind maps organized by subject
Directions:
Mind map software:
Some people like to make mind maps online using free or bought software or websites. Here are a few to try out for free!
