SpiderScribe

SpiderScribe is a state-of-the-art mind mapping/brainstorming tool that is ideal for education.  SpiderScribe is a great tool that educators can use for project based learning, group collaboration, and much much more.  Best of all, SpiderScribe lets users link a wide variety of items into their "maps" such as: files, calendars, notes, etc, and can easily be shared and generate detailed reports.

I highly recommend checking out SpiderScribe by clicking here!!!

For a more detailed review check out Technology & Learning by clicking here.

Circly

 

*Circly's collaboration features make it an ideal tool for "remote learning" while schools are closed down due to the virus.  Students can even use it to do group projects from home.

Circly is a wonderful new graphic organizers that educators can use to brainstorm, manage tasks, create collaborative group projects, Venn diagrams and more.  Circly, is uses a drag-n-drop interface making it easy to use as well as lets the user change colors of circles to maximize data points.  Finally, the most unique feature of Circly lets users collaborate in real-time w/ built-in video caller lets user work in groups remotely.  This is a great feature for educators looking to do more group
projects as well work w/ peers remotely.

*Circly is one of the 50 nominated for the Blue Tulip Awards Education and Work Section in the Netherlands, and one of the Top Sites/Apps of 2020 in Technology & Learning magazine.

Check out how smooth Circly's "ZOOM" feature works...

I highly recommend checking out Circly by clicking here!!!

Circly's latest press release details how they can help classrooms get over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coggle

Coggle is an interesting new site that uses cutting edge technology to create beautiful looking mind maps, brainstorming, graphic organizers, and more.  Best of all, Coggle is simple to use, allows for group projects for collaborating, and lets users have complete control over diagram (i.e. branches, images, etc.).

Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out Coggle by clicking here!!!

15 Sites for Graphic Organizers

"A graphic organizer, also known as knowledge map, concept map, story map, cognitive organizer, advance organizer, or concept diagram, is a communication tool that uses visual symbols to express knowledge, concepts, thoughts, or ideas, and the relationships between them.^[1] The main purpose of a graphic organizer is to provide a visual aid to facilitate learning and instruction.<sup>[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_organizer"  

Graphic Organizers are used daily in education for any curriculum to help teach any subject (i.e. mind maps, brainstorms, etc.)   Being a great learning tool for visual learners, websites have made it easy to make beautiful looking graphic organizers.

*This list is in alphabetically order</sup>

15 Sites for Creating Graphic Organizers

1. bubble.us - One of the most popular sites around for easily being able to create brainstorms or mind maps.
2. iBrainstorm - A free iOS app (iPad/iPhone) that lets users brainstorm ideas through the use of sticky notes.
3. Checkvist - A great site for creating outlines or organizing a brainstorming session.
4. Conceptboard - An ideal site for creating an interactive whiteboard w/ lots of robust features (i.e. file/screen sharing).
5. Mind42 - Nice collaborative mind mapping site w/ lots of templates and easy to use.
6. MindMeister - Beautiful looking mind mapping site w/ the ability to embed into a site or blog.
7. Mindomo - One of my favorite brainstorming sites that also lets a user flip their classroom, collaborate, comment, and much more.
8. Popplet - A excellent app that allows students to think and learn visually by brainstorming and mind mapping.
9. ProcessOn - A cool site for creating online diagrams through real-time collaboration.
10. StormBoard - Online brainstorming and collaboration in real-time making it easy to generate ideas and get the creative juices flowing.
11. Storyboard That - A excellent site w/ educational portal that educators are using in a variety ways, such as creating timelines, storyboards, graphic organizers (t-charts, grids, etc.), and more.
12. Super Teacher Worksheets - An amazing site w/ lots of educational resources, printables, and worksheets for all subjects including graphic organizers.
13. Venngage - Is a wonderful site for creating stunning infographics, mind maps, and more.
14. Webspiration Classroom - From the creators of Inspiration a very popular web based program for creating visual brainstorms that can then be turned into an outline w/ a click of a button. 
15. WiseMapping - a great site for creating visual mind maps and brainstorms.

dotstorming

dotstorming is a new site for brainstorming that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's excellent blog.  The way this works is a by placing "dots" on a digital canvas acting like a sticky note (i.e. padlet).  Once the dot is place, a user can then add text or an image next to it.  Finally, other users can then vote on the "dots" or notes that have been placed.

I highly recommend checking out dotstorming by clicking here!!!

ExamTime

ExamTime is a site I covered a long time ago but thankfully reminded about from one of their emails.  This is an excellent learning tool for educators or students looking to create and share resources such as: flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, and more.  Also, a user can generate detailed reports to gauge their learning progress.  Finally, ExamTime is browser based making it ideal to use on any mobile device.

I highly recommend checking out ExamTime by clicking here!!!

20 Tools for Brainstorming/Mind mapping

Brainstorming/mind mapping has been an educational technique that has been around since the beginning of cognitive thought. This is a tool that facilitates ideas and collaborative in nature. W/ the use of web 2.0 technology this concept has evolved into an ideal 21st Century Technology for education. "A mind map is a diagram used to representwords, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate,visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study,organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. (wikipedia)"  That being said, I've decided to update my list and curate twenty of my favorite resources for brainstorming/mindmapping.

*This list is in alphabetical order

20 Tools for Brainstorming/Mind mapping

1. BigMind Pro - A fantastic iPad app for creating mind maps that includes text, images, notes, and more.
2. Brainstormer - One of my favorite iOS apps for brainstorming that generates a plot, subject, and setting, by the spin of a wheel.
3. Bubbl.us - One of the most popular sites around for easily being able to create brainstorms or mind maps.
4. Conjo Whiteboard - A robust iPad app that allows users to create images, drawing, mind maps, brain storms, and more w/ an abundance of tools/templates.
5. Diagrammr - Create diagrams by typing sentences no registration is required, easy!!!
6. Exploratree - A great visual site for creating a mind map w/ lots of templates.
7. IdeaStorm - A free and simple to use diagramming tool that is ideal for making a quick brainstorm.
8. iBrainstorm - A free iOS app (iPad/iPhone) that lets users brainstorm ideas through the use of sticky notes.
9. Memofon - A great site that takes text notes and turns them into mind maps that users can edit.
10. Mind42 - Nice collaborative mind mapping site w/ lots of templates and easy to use.
11. MindMeister - Beautiful looking mind mapping site w/ the ability to embed into a site or blog.
12. MindMup - A easy to use site for creating brainstorms or mind maps.
13. Mindomo - One of my favorite brainstorming apps that also lets a user flip their classroom, collaborate, comment, and much more.
14. Popplet - A excellent app that allows students to think and learn visually by brainstorming and mind mapping.
15. PrimaryWall - Brainstorming for El Ed w/ educational portal.
16. ProcessOn - A cool site for creating diagrams online through real-time collaboration.
17. Slickplan - A easy to use site where a user can create beautiful flow charts and embed into a site or blog.
18. Stormboard - Online brainstorming and collaboration in real-time making it easy to generate ideas and get the creative juices flowing.
19. TotSplash - A fun site for creating and organizing ideas into a brainstorm or mind map.
20. Webspiration - From the creators of Inspiration a very popular web based program for creating visual brainstorms that can then be turned into an outline w/ a click of a button.

Conojo Whiteboard

Conojo Whiteboard is a fascinating iPad app for drawing lessons or for brainstorming/mind-mapping ideas.  Conojo Whiteboard allows users to draw their lessons w/ an abundance of tools w/ the ability to invite others via bluetooth to collaborate in real-time.  Best of all, an educator can record their voice to create a flipped lesson, guide instruction, or more.  Also, there are a wide variety of templates which helps a user create the exact kind of presentation they are looking for and the ability to export their finished product via a link, Evernote, and more.

I highly recommend checking out Conojo Whiteboard by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Brainstorming/Mind-Mapping click here.

IdeaStorm

IdeaStorm is a nice simple free iPad app for brainstorming/mind mapping.  A user can use an abundance of drawing tools to sketch, draw, and paint their ideas on a canvas.  They can also save their sketches into stacks for future use.

I recommend checking out IdeaStorm by clicking here.

For a more detailed review check out Edshelf.

For my Pinterest board on Brainstorming/Mind mapping click here.

MindMup

MindMup is a new site for brainstorming or mind-mapping that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a easy site to use where a user only has to hit return after typing to create a text box.  These boxes can be rearranged and ideal for creating brainstorms or mind-maps.  One of the best features is the ability to embed a mind-map into a blog or site.

I recommend checking out MindMup by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Brainstorming/Mindmapping click here.

Memofon

Memofon is a new site that is great for brainstorming and creating mindmaps.  It's a rather unique site to use as all a person has to do is type in text in an outline format and watch as the mindmap is created on the right side of the screen.  Some other nice features are the different templates/styles to choose from and the ability to add images into your mindmap.

I recommend checking out Memofon by clicking here!!

Thanks to Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip.

For my Pinterest board on Brainstorming and Mindmapping click here.

TotSplash

TotSplash is a gem of a find from the great educator, David Andrade.  This is a fantastic site that is a cross between Prezi (being able to make a zoomable presentation) and a brainstorming/mind mapping tool.  This is a very user friendly site where users start creating nodes (called tots) of ideas or brainstorming and then either add text or images.  Then they add their "splash" or effects to make it a innovative interactive presentation.  Best of all a user can share their presentation by embedding into a site or blog.

I highly recommend checking out TotSplash by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Brainstorming and Mind Mapping click here.

My Simple Surface

My Simple Surface is a new (beta) site for brainstorming or mind mapping.  The way is done is by creating a surface or whiteboard that users can create and organize notes on.  This site reminds me a lot of Inspiration and users of that should feel right at home w/ this.  Once a surface is completed it can then be shared w/ others for viewing or editing.

I recommend checking out My Simple Surface by clicking here.

For my top 10 sites for creating a mind map or brainstorming click here.

Exploratree

Exploratree is a great site for educators to use for creating mind maps or brainstorming. This is an easy site to use that allows for group collaboration and comments as well. Best of all, Exploratree has a number of different templates to choose from to find the right "mind map" for you.

I highly recommend checking out Exploratree by clicking here!!

Click here to see my top 10 sites for creating outlines.

Thanks to Richard Byrne's blog for the tip!!

Spider Scribe

Spider Scribe is a new (beta) site for online mind mapping and brainstorming. Like other similar sites users can link many items such as: files, calendars, notes, etc. These maps can then be shared w/ others or made private.

Thanks to Richard Byrne's excellent blog for the tip!!

For my top 10 sites on brain storming click here.

Webspiration Classroom

Webspiration Classroom is designed by the team who brought you Inspiration and is designed for grades 5-12. Users of Inspiration will feel right at home as this is an ideal site for collaborating, brainstorming, and creating visual mind maps. Plus, w/ being on the web and the added web 2.0 elements there is a lot here to like!

I highly recommend checking out Webspiration Classroom by clicking here!!

Popplet

Popplet is a new (beta) site that is an online graphic organizer. It kinda reminds me of Inspiration w/ a "web 2.0" spin on it for collaboration. This is a great site for brain storming, creating mind maps, presentations and so much more. Also, works nice on mobile devices such as the iPad.

I highly recommend checking out Popplet by clicking here!!

Below is a demo video...



I'd like to thank the wonderful blog, Education Technology Guy for bringing this great site to my attention.

Slatebox

Slatebox is a new (beta) site that I read about on Richard Byrne's incredible blog. This is the ultimate tool for creating "web 2.0" style mind maps and organizational charts.

Right off that bat, you'll be impressed w/ how easy it is to login. If you have an existing Google/FB/Open ID etc. account you can log right in. If not, simply register for a new one, by giving an email address and password. Once you are in, you are treated to some very easy to follow tutorials.

Another great aspect are the different templates you can choose to create your own slate. This is done by selecting one of the themes and then editing it to meet your needs.



Finally, after you have created your slate or chart, you can collaborate w/ other users which is very easy to do using SB. Of all the "web 2.o" apps I've tried this ranks right up there w/ how user friendly it is.

Below is my sample slate...



Give Slatebox a try by clicking here.

Creaza

Creaza is a site I learned about from Larry Ferlazzo's wonderful blog, and it is a bit complicated to say the least. However, once you spend the time looking it over you'll notice that there is a lot of useful tools to be found.

Basically, Creaza is a multi-media suite (vaguely similar to Adobe's) which lets users create: cartoons, Movies, and Mind Maps. Their site states, "Creaza offers you an integrated, web-based toolbox for creative work, both at school and in your free time. You use the toolbox along with various fully developed thematic universes: historicalperiods, fairy-tales, fantasy worlds, and current challenges, such as climate/environment."

Another great aspect to Creaza is the "web 2.0" features which lets users: share, publish, comment, in a secure environment. The only downside is, there is no built in filtering going on. This leads to a tricky issue when dealing w/ CIPA compliance. While a user can potentially swear/bully, they have people monitoring all content so it will get removed and the user will be punished.

Below is a short breakdown of each area of Creaza:


Cartoonist - complicated cartoon creator which had me scratching my head just to add a speech bubble. However, there is a lot here and has a great deal of potential.



Movie Editor - has a similar look to iMovie 09 or Boinx TV. It has the ability to create nice visual mash-ups w/ pre-set: graphics, video, effects, etc.



Mindomo - is a lot like any other graphic organizer/mind mapping tool. Not as simple as drag/drop (my sub-topics kept getting stuck) but there are some good things to be found here.



I highly suggest giving Creaza a try, you'll be glad that you did. Click here for more info...