Concept Mapping
Most schools use Inspiration as there concept mapping software of choice. But a while back another concept mapping software product was made available to schools for free. CMapTools was originally developed for research scientists to create knowledge models. Now its developers, the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, are encouraging its use beyond research science. “Concept maps have been shown to be useful at all ages and for all domains, and CmapTools is simple enough to use for children to grasp it fast, but at the same time powerful enough to be used in a professional environment.”
I’ve been playing around with it recently as I’ve been trying to map out some research on ubiquitous (one-to-one) computing. I must admit that I have never really been a fan of Inspiration. I find it a bit clunky and not always user friendly. It also doesn’t look very pretty most of the time. I have found CMap tools to be more effective. There are a number of things that you can’t do with Inpiration (at least I don’t think you can): drag and drop resources (such as links, documents, audio and video files), nest and merge propositions, place a background on your entire map, share your map on a public server, look for othe maps on numerous public servers around the world, and collaborate synchronously with others on a map. More detail can be found on their site.
I would recommend schools check this out, especially for middle and high school. It may not have the cute graphics of Inspiration, but it does provide some powerful tools, tools that help move the web into the two-way zone it was intended to be.
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