Week 1 - Inspiration Software

I found the Inspiration Software quite fiddly and I didn't feel that it was particularly intuitive for a first time user. The finished results, however, were a lot better than anything you could achieve using the whiteboard or computer software alone. With a bit more practice I can see that this would be a really useful tool for whole-class teaching, particularly with regard to demonstrating how to organise information, cluster ideas or create a hierarchy of ideas using features such as colour, line thickness etc.

With regard to getting students to use the software to create concept maps and mind maps my main concern would be that it could be quite a time consuming process, particularly with younger children. I also feel that the lesson may end up focusing on how to use the software rather than on how to create a good concept map or mind map. I would therefore get students to create these diagrams using more traditional methods before using the Inspiration Software to create a final version.

Following the workshop I had a look at some of the other mind mapping software programs - bubbl.us, MindMeister and Mindomo - for comparison. I felt that bubbl.us wasn't as visually interesting as the Inspiration Software and it lacked many of the technical capabilities. However, I could see that it may be useful when working with older children or as a brainstorming tool when working with other teachers. I can also see huge potential in simultaneously working with other students on the same mind map as offered by MindMeister and I would definitely look at ways of using this in my classroom.