Mapping is a powerful instructional tool. It requires many higher level thinking skills to sort, compare, contrast, and classify concepts. Mapping can be used as an introductory brainstorming activity to activate learning, an activity during a lesson to organize concepts, or as a review or summative activity. Used in any of these modes Mindmaps increase learning as students interact with content.
Moodle's Mindmaps activity allows you to create maps that are editable by students. This allows various learning opportunities such as:
- create multiple blank Mindmap activities for individual students or groups. Then ask students to compare or evaluate each other's maps.
- Create an incorrect or incomplete map and ask students to finish it or correct it.
- summarize content after a lesson. Individuals or groups could be ask to summarize a day as a graded assignment.
- an optional activity for students who might benefit from visually organizing information.
- Create a timeline of events
- organize a process/Cause-effect pattern
- Generalization/Principle Patterns
Also read "Focus on effectiveness, Research based strategies, Non-linguistic representations." http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/nonl.php
To create a Mindmaps activity.
- Turn editing on.
- choose Mindmaps (it's toward the bottom)
- Name your Mindmap.
- Choose editable if you want students to be able to edit the Mindmap.
- If you are using groups, you have the option of separating the map by group.
- Save and Display to begin creating a Map.
- Use the toolbar to edit your map. See the image below for control details. Also read this page for directions. http://docs.moodle.org/20/en/Mindmap_module
