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Faculty/staff who are interested in learning how to use this tool should email shalin@k-state.edu to request training.
(Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series on the FreeMind software tool for creating “mind maps” of data.)
Now that the FreeMind mind map has been finalized, you may want to start thinking about how to deliver the contents. The FreeMind mind maps may be exported in both static and dynamic file types. Continue reading “Exporting publishable files from FreeMind, a brainstorming tool (Part 3 of 3)”
(Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a three-part series on the FreeMind software tool for creating “mind maps” of data.)
After a FreeMind mind-mapping (.mm) native file has been properly saved, it may be opened again for updating.
To see what the working interface looks like in FreeMind, a branch from an existing mind map is captured here. This branch shows some of the tools introduced in the E-Learning and Teaching Exchange wiki (ELATEwiki) that originated at K-State. Below is the opening screen of this mind map, which leaves the text highly readable but with some content flowing off the top and bottom of the screen. Continue reading “Working in FreeMind, a brainstorming tool (Part 2 of 3)”
(Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series on the FreeMind software tool for creating “mind maps” of data.)
There are a number of open-source and freeware software tools that enable individuals or groups to brainstorm ideas in a spatialized way. This is useful for identifying concepts, interrelationships, and knowledge structures.
FreeMind is one tool that is easy to use, has a clear layout, and enables online interactivity (all its branches may be activated as HTML links). Continue reading “FreeMind brainstorming tool: Getting started (Part 1 of 3)”
Wikis are simple software packages that allow people to co-edit information and to make that information sharable, either within a password-protected space or a wholly public one. A “wiki” means “fast” in Hawaiian and was used by Ward Cunningham for this type of software. Cunningham was the originator of a wiki back in 1995 (see Wikipedia’s WikiWikiWeb entry).
The power of wikis
The power of a wiki resides in being able to evolve a knowledge structure that changes based on the available information. The interlinked pages, the search functions, and the “random page” generator enables people to find what they need but also to interact with the contents in serendipitous ways.
Wikis are also unusual in that they allow virtually anyone to edit the contents (although the access may be limited to those who have to pass through an authentication layer if password protection is required). Many wikis contain the broad range of mainstream multimedia: text, imagery, links to videos and audio files, and simulations.
MediaWiki
A well-known open-source software is MediaWiki, most well-known for being the underlying wiki structure for Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), which is available in a number of languages.
Continue reading “Spotlight: Open-source MediaWiki for shared knowledge creation”
