Thing #14

I like flow charts! They are extremely helpful and help me organize my cluttered mind. In history, flow charts are helpful in mapping out stages in historical events, such as the French Revolution or the Civil War, and the evolution of the American political parties. They provide cohesion and clarity to a subject.

I've never heard of a mind map, and they seem a bit too complex for me to use in a history class. Like Dr. Wall said in her blog, I think they are better for creators than readers. If you're a writer, a mind map would be very useful when detailing the characteristics of your plot and character traits, but I think it's too complex to work in a history class. For history, one would need something linear, so you could see the cause-and-effect relationship.

Gliffy is really cool because you can create all sorts of diagrams (and educators LOVE diagrams). This is perfect because, to me, it's easier than using Microsoft for diagrams and charts. You can even create floor plans! I thought that was pretty neat. Mindmeister was pretty cool to explore. As I said, I have never heard of mind maps, so it was interesting  to explore. While I don't think mind maps would have a place in my classroom, they would be great elsewhere, as in an English or creative writing classroom.