I have long been an advocate of the mind-mapping programs Kidspiration and Inspiration. I have worked in countless classrooms modeling the use of these products and have taught a number of workshops that focus on the theory and use of graphic organizers. You can view some of my workshop materials at my Making Connections Using Inspiration and Kidspiration in the Classroom site. It’s no wonder I am absolutely fascinated by the online tools that make graphic organizers cost-efficient and Web 2.0 apps that lend greater collaborative opportunities. I hope you find my research helpful as you use free generators and Web 2.0 applications (in addition to software packages like Inspiration and Kidspiration) to help your students make learning connections in your classroom, in the computer lab, or from home.

The following generators are quick and easy to use and are very similar to the reproducible resources I shared in my post yesterday…

• Graphic Organizer Maker – Teachnology has developed a few free graphic organizer generators that you might want to try out. It can’t compete with Kidspiration or Inspiration (in my opinion), but if you are home and don’t have access to the graphic organizer progams I mentioned, this is a nice (basic) alternative.
• Recipes for Success Graphic Organizer Generator – this site is trying to sell a subscription, but you can personalize and create basic graphic organizers online and print them off at no cost.
• Read, Write & Think Interactive Organizers

The following Web 2.0 applications provide collaborative or individual opportunities to build mindmaps that emphasize brainstorming and concept-building and they are online…no need to download or install any software.  Oh, and the best part….they are free (for now anyway)…

Mind 42.com – this application requires an email registration/confirmation.  I would suggest that you browse some of the various mindmaps that are posted on the site before you click on the launch button.  The examples posted will give you a strong idea of what the application can do.  Once you launch the program you will find it is quite intuitive.  Simply click on the center node (the title you assign) to add another node.  You can add notes, images (the search feature did not work for me), and links to the various nodes.  You can also change the font size and color.  Collaboration is as simple as inviting your collaborater(s) via an e-mail.  Maps can be saved, published, imported, or exported.

Bubbl.us – this application requires an email registration/confirmation and is also quite intuitive.  However, I do not feel it is as full-featured as Mind 42.com.  I like the fact that the application allows you to create actual “bubbles” and you do have some control regarding the color of each bubble, but I could not find a font management tool and I did not find any easy way to add hyperlinks or notes.  I also had trouble with their drop menu options…they were very touchy.

Text2Mindmap – this is a great little “down and dirty” application.  I quite like it because it is so easy to use.  The learning curve is minimal…if you can type you can use this application.  Registration is required, but quick.  I did not see any collaborative opportunities with this application, but I could easily envision a teacher projecting this image during class for an interactive, collaborative class review.

WiseMapping – this is a great little beta application that includes all the features of Mind 42.com with a more graphic feel and a toolbar that makes changing colors, font size, etc. very simple and intuitive.  Use drag and drop strategies if your nodes do not link off the node where you would like them to appear.  There are also some really neat bells and whistles associated with this application.  For example…if you add a link to a node is adds the link, but also adds a snapshot image of the site you are linking to…great for creating portals or asking students to site their facts.  You can also add simple icons (like thumbs up, thumbs down), change colors, and undo several steps if you want to revert to an earlier version of your map, etc.  Oh and by the way you can save your maps and invite people to collaborate too.  This is the most full featured online application that I have reviewed to date.   This is definitely an application you (and your students)  will want to spend some time with!

I will be wrapping up my graphic organizer series with a few more resources and reviews in my post tomorrow.  Enjoy!