Hi All
I use an excellent piece of software for producing my mindmaps - the supplier has a discount running in December - worth a look http://www.camsp.com/cornerstone/buy_it/index.html (40% discount normally £99)
Mike
Mike Morrison
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Free mind mapping
There are also some open source packages for mind mapping, including:
VYM (View Your Mind)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/vym/
FreeMind
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
More are listed under the Freemind link.
is open source best??
Hi Robin
yes you are right – but have you compared the quality of the output??? no contest!!
there are of course other professional packages minmanager – an excellent mindmapping software with project manager capability
or imindmap
You pay your money and take your choice…
Try Before You Buy
The question, Mike, is what program best suits the user’s requirement, and it just isn’t true that the more you pay the better the result.
Savvy users will insist on trying before they buy.
They will also read the small print with regard to the software licence on offer. For example, how many copies of the software can the user make from their £100 purchase of the licence? If the licence costs £100 per 100 students, that is one thing. If it is £100 per student it is another.
Of course, with Open Source software the cost is the same: £0 per student, and £0 per 100 students. So the question really is: does a proprietary program provide anything unique that its Open Source equivalent doesn’t?
Of bullets and feet
As I understand it, automating the mind mapping process will, in practice, make the learning/memorising process less efficient.
BECAUSE
The actual (manual) drawing, labeling and illustrating of a “live” mind map are all parts of the learning/memorising process.
Happy Christmas
to draw or to software?
Robin – yes of course it is a style thing and I would not advocate anyone buying any package like this without downloading a free trial – I just saw this offer and love the outputs and wanted to draw people attention to it.
As you say about licenses – I have looked at the CAMSP site and in-fact they do a high volume license product aimed at students and schools at a very low cost! (http://www.logo.com/cat/view/thinking-pictures.html). Mind-manager and other also offer volume discounts, but sorry I have yet to see ANY open source product provide a quality output.
Most of these commercial packages also come with a library of clip-art that can be used royalty free – you don’t get that with the open source applications. This is a critical factor in the purchasing decision for many.
Don’t get me wrong, open source has its place – this is not one of them.
Andrew – yes you are right – BUT there are at least two legitimate reasons for using software over hand drawn maps:
1) if you want to use a map as a resource for training or a presentation – it can provide better presentation
2) those with massive confidence issues about drawing – it can help them.
Mind mapping – or more accurately concept mapping is generally more effective when hand drawn for personal learning and planning. But software variants do have their place.
Happy holidays to all
Mike
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