Maximizing your Teaching in the Classroom with MindMeister

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During my career as a professor and assistive technology consultant which has spanned over 30 years, I have seen the many benefits of providing students with visual and graphical supports to help them understand material. As much as students have benefited from the use of mind maps and graphic organizers, I would have to say that if anyone has derived benefits from  using these tools, it has been me. Early on in my teaching career, as a Professor of Education, I needed to come up with a strategy to deliver content to my students in the classroom that could provide a quick way to attach documents, notes, and links to web sites. As I was reflecting on this need, I quickly realized that I could use </span><a href="https://www.mindmeister.com/education-software" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to help me organize my in-class lectures and resources. MindMeister could provide me with a very fluid and powerful way to organize my lectures and provide my students with the resources that they would need for class. </span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister provided me with a set of tools that would make the planning for my classes a whole lot easier. Starting out with a basic mind map I was able to structure the map with the material I would be presenting for the class. Using a mind mapping application like MindMeister gave me a way to quickly see how all the elements of the lesson came together for the class. More importantly, MindMeister has a host of time saving features which made the process of putting my lessons together a breeze. Since I am teaching educational technology courses and do a great deal of hands on with my students, being able to load my MindMeister mind maps with links to web sites has proven to be invaluable. Using the Wunderlink feature has saved me a great deal of time. I simply have to type the topic into the mind map and click on the Wunderlink icon to have MindMeister  suggest the website link. Using the Wunderlink feature has saved me countless hours of having to look up the website address. Prior to class, I link or embed the MindMeister mind map in our Learning Management System (Moodle) and when students come to class they can simply open the mind map, and click to go out to the web site when we are accessing it in class. Since </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Ed_625_Class_3 (1).jpg" height="593" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/xbGxulBI5p9-O8Pkczq_VrYNcpqTkKw-JATDvg5NNeBwx5qR3MBiLLCWeq4jOLKrqvOhzIi-pSCMsE69QTqXFKSB_Ftl8ftc_afQKEoX76k4Hug180_-FxOEu6J8-IMK_kpKR-Sr" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister  is web based any changes I make to the mind map are automatically updated which makes it an ideal learning tool. When I am in class I simply open the MindMeister  map and go through my lecture with all my resources attached to the map.</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to linking websites, I often take advantage of MindMeister’s capability of accessing YouTube videos which I can embed right within the map. Being able to search for YouTube videos right within MindMeister is another time saving feature when designing my lectures.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="417" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WxeevxHyZe9NEjeDb0uJmRu25ot1boU2ugc3rKi2UAQie-zI_3YGz3FmM9-KrR2DtRw-KTrEBFxf9YQ9THQEspqrtwKo63ik83t4sSyziCF3IMLmm0aZyVrTiDUgH8oIYRJfbX8m" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course if it only had these aforementioned features that would be enough to get through my classes, but with the ability to attach documents and have student comment on the material it makes MindMeister and indispensable learning tool in my classroom. One of the big advantages of using MindMeister in this way, is that from year to year, I can tweak the lecture maps and quickly update them with new websites and resources and I am up and running for the next semester. If you are teaching and have to organize your lectures for students then you should really take a look at how </span><a href="https://www.mindmeister.com/education-software" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MindMeister </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can help solve your problems of delivering content and resources. </span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you liked this article, you might also be interested in:</span></div><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/teach-mind-mapping/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to Teach Mind Mapping to Students</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/teaching-ideas-you-can-use-next-monday/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 Teaching Ideas That You Can Use Next Monday</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/visual-learning-mind-mapping-guide/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visual Learning with Mind Mapping (Guide)</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://focus.meisterlabs.com/8-lesson-plans-promote-lifelong-learning/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 Lesson Plans to Promote Lifelong Learning</span></a></div></li></ul>

Maximizing your Teaching in the Classroom with MindMeister

During my career as a professor and assistive technology consultant which has spanned over 30 years, I have seen the many benefits of provid...

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Co-Teaching and Technology: Enhancing Communication & Collaboration- Just Released!

<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the expansion of co-teaching as a means to improve student outcomes, technology can be an invaluable resource.  Co-teachers need to plan collaboratively, jointly implement lesson plans, and cooperatively assess student progress.  This reference guide provides practical  strategies on how technology can facilitate co-planning, expedite sharing of student data, and streamline many other tasks that ultimately assist in accomplishing co-teaching's goal: improved student outcomes. Whatever your preferred computer platform, co-teachers can apply these <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb9-MJ4b8z8LIEgisdOErKOK3vmpG3IGlglOtp3g7Dwe8Wksd0KNgm8GKdCsZXfV2c1A9wLeGpmJSXfAYH9Q0Noafyjgtp64ctHByaCjcAy2vz8Gmfwfg3Sk7ObvDj3un2XKd5-QllnA/s1600/co-teaching-technology-cover__56828.1467129305.225.300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb9-MJ4b8z8LIEgisdOErKOK3vmpG3IGlglOtp3g7Dwe8Wksd0KNgm8GKdCsZXfV2c1A9wLeGpmJSXfAYH9Q0Noafyjgtp64ctHByaCjcAy2vz8Gmfwfg3Sk7ObvDj3un2XKd5-QllnA/s1600/co-teaching-technology-cover__56828.1467129305.225.300.jpg" /></a></div>strategies and applications to accommodate all learners' needs.</span></span><div><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div class="p2" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Written by the nation's foremost authority on co-teaching, Marilyn Friend, and Brian S. Friedlander, an expert in the use of instructional and assistive technologies, this handy tool </span>features an overview of co-teaching fundamentals, along with recommendations of over two dozen free and low-cost applications and programs for</div><ul class="ul1" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 30px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Expediting co-planning</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Improving communication</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Streamlining data collection</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Augmenting assessment</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Simplifying data analysis</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Creating guided notes</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Facilitating differentiated instruction</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Increasing student engagement</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Enhancing note-taking skills</li><li class="li1" style="margin: 0px 0px 2px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Implementing electronic scaffolding</li></ul><div><span style="color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px;">To order your copy- please contact <a href="mailto:brian@assistivetek.com" target="_blank">Brian</a> - Volume pricing is available and School Purchase Orders are Accepted. This 6 page guide makes for a great professional development hand-out! Order your copy today!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px;"><br /></span></span></div>

Co-Teaching and Technology: Enhancing Communication & Collaboration- Just Released!

With the expansion of co-teaching as a means to improve student outcomes, technology can be an invaluable resource.  Co-teachers need to pla...

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Co-Teaching & Technology- Enhancing Communication & Collaboration

<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am happy to share that Co-Teaching & Technology-Enhancing Communication & Collaboration (a laminated guide) by Marilyn Friend and I will be released shortly and is packed with practical suggestions on how you can get the most out co-teaching and technology.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the expansion of co-teaching as a means to improve student outcomes, technology </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT-QdMqPTK1BgbZ2x74GENzzsGvkzQanna9w-e0WfBMLSYaTaRM6pn-5gtBqFKSXsfWO2GbH-v3mwklQuG1lprgIKHe5tDgbQ6U_q5VdkjZJUJ5o9qrTdFQrAId1QKJSDgRnScEyjUgw/s1600/Front+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT-QdMqPTK1BgbZ2x74GENzzsGvkzQanna9w-e0WfBMLSYaTaRM6pn-5gtBqFKSXsfWO2GbH-v3mwklQuG1lprgIKHe5tDgbQ6U_q5VdkjZJUJ5o9qrTdFQrAId1QKJSDgRnScEyjUgw/s320/Front+Cover.jpg" width="249" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">can be an invaluable resource.  Co-teachers need to plan collaboratively, jointly implement lesson plans, and cooperatively assess student progress.  This reference guide provides practical  strategies on how technology can facilitate co-planning, expedite sharing of student data, and streamline many other tasks that ultimately assist in accomplishing co-teaching’s goal: improved student outcomes. Whatever your preferred computer platform, co-teachers can apply these strategies and applications to accommodate all learners’ needs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Written by the nation's foremost authority on co-teaching, Marilyn Friend, and Brian Friedlander, an expert in the use of instructional and assistive technologies, this resource provides the essential tools to significantly enhance co-teaching practice.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Please contact <a href="mailto:assistivetek@gmail.com" target="_blank">me</a> if you are interested in ordering this laminated guide which is packed with great ideas and strategies. Individual guides are $12.95 and volume discount pricing is available. School purchase orders are accepted. Get your copies today!</span>

Co-Teaching & Technology- Enhancing Communication & Collaboration

I am happy to share that Co-Teaching & Technology-Enhancing Communication & Collaboration (a laminated guide) by Marilyn Friend and ...

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Adobe Presenter 9- Using the Drag & Drop Feature

<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the release of Adobe Presenter 9 comes the Drag and Drop feature which gives developers a way to create interactive drag and drop questions to a quiz. The Drag and Drop feature is intuitive and allows you to create a number of different types of questions that can include both text and pictures. In the Halloween example, I created a simple Drag and Drop quiz called the Candy Challenge that allows the user to match a picture of the candy bar with the name of the candy. In the screencast below you will see just how easy it is to create a Drag and Drop question in Adobe Presenter 9.</span><br /><br /><!-- copy and paste. Modify height and width if desired. --> <object data="http://content.screencast.com/users/AssistiveTek/folders/Snagit/media/f1423f1f-f97e-4b5a-b0a5-6bd666882721/scplayer.swf" height="383" id="scPlayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="650"><param name="movie" value="http://content.screencast.com/users/AssistiveTek/folders/Snagit/media/f1423f1f-f97e-4b5a-b0a5-6bd666882721/scplayer.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/AssistiveTek/folders/Snagit/media/f1423f1f-f97e-4b5a-b0a5-6bd666882721/FirstFrame.jpg&containerwidth=1366&containerheight=766&xmp=sc.xmp&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/AssistiveTek/folders/Snagit/media/f1423f1f-f97e-4b5a-b0a5-6bd666882721/11.02.2013-17.25.mp4&blurover=false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="scale" value="showall" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="base" value="http://content.screencast.com/users/AssistiveTek/folders/Snagit/media/f1423f1f-f97e-4b5a-b0a5-6bd666882721/" /><iframe type="text/html" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="overflow:hidden;" src="http://www.screencast.com/users/AssistiveTek/folders/Snagit/media/f1423f1f-f97e-4b5a-b0a5-6bd666882721/embed" height="383" width="650" ></iframe></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To actually try the Candy Challenge click on the <a href="https://assistivetek.adobeconnect.com/halloween/" target="_blank">link</a>. </span></b></div>

Adobe Presenter 9- Using the Drag & Drop Feature

With the release of Adobe Presenter 9 comes the Drag and Drop feature which gives developers a way to create interactive drag and drop quest...

Read more »