Mindmeister Review

Name of the Tool:

Mindmeister

URL of the Tool: 

www.mindmeister.com

Primary category for this tool: 

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Tool

Please describe this tool in your own words in about 150-250 words:

Mindmeister is on online tool that can be utilized by multiple users to create mind maps.  Mindmeister makes it easy for users to share and collaborate through chat rooms and make real time changes to the mind map.  Once a change has been made to the map it is highlighted so that others can see and discuss the updates and continue to make reviews.   As stated on mindmeister.com, users can “infinitely undo any changes”.  This is a great feature that really makes the web tool user friendly.  Another user friendly feature is that users can log on using facebook logins instead of having to set up a new account.  Mindmeister is easily accessible; others can be invited through email or through a direct link and can access it through a computer, tablet, or mobile device. 

What do you need to know before using this tool? 

Mindmeister requires the user to be computer literate.  The tools are symbols which helps, but it does take a while to get used to how to make the changes you want.  With some time it is a very user friendly program.

What do you need to have before using this tool?

A computer, tablet, or mobile device and internet connection.

How do you use this tool?

Locate or create your own example of an educational resource created with this tool and discuss what you found or created. Also, please include the URL for this example or embed it into your blog post, if applicable.

Please describe a scenario of how you might use this tool in a teaching environment (150-250 words):

There are many possibilities in utilizing Mindmeister.  Our senior students do a group research project.  Mindmeister would be a great tool for students to collaborate and share information.  It would also be very helpful in creating lesson plans.  Another option would be teaching through a mindmap.  Links could be added and students could be involved in creating the map to help comprehension on how concepts are interrelated. 

A specific example would be in the treatment planning course.  In advanced treatment planning, the feedback received from students is that they often don’t know where to start because the process does not follow a linear pattern.  If students were to collaborate and create a mind map for the treatment planning process for each disease site, it would force them to understand how each process and modifier is interrelated and contributes to the overall product.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this tool in a teaching environment? 

This tool has an unlimited back button which really helps if using in a teaching and collaborative environment.  One mind map can be edited by multiple users at the same time while they can also chat. and it allows multiple users which can also chat. The only disadvantage is it takes a little bit to get used to using it. 

Would you recommend this Web 2.0 tool to others, or suggest that they explore a different tool?

I would definitely recommend this tool.