Comments on: Teaching “kismet” http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/ technology, libraries, and schools Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:29:26 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Roy Grubb http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/comment-page-1/#comment-971 Roy Grubb Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:46:31 +0000 http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/#comment-971 > a tool to use with students to drill down into Wikipedia visually Good point ... you're right! On reflection, I realize that's why I had fun playing with it. > a tool to use with students to drill down into Wikipedia visually

Good point … you’re right! On reflection, I realize that’s why I had fun playing with it.

]]> By: Carolyn Foote http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/comment-page-1/#comment-967 Carolyn Foote Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:37:45 +0000 http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/#comment-967 Roy, good points all. I was thinking of it as a tool to use with students to drill down into Wikipedia visually, since some of them may learn better that way. For example, I did a search on the Civil War, and it brought up many civil wars. I was able to click on the tab for "American Civil War" and move it to the center. So it showed me the connection between those ideas graphically. I thought that might be illuminating for students to see those connections, and to see visual ways to narrow their search. As far as mind mapping themselves, I see your point. Thanks also for the link to the mindmap site! Roy, good points all.

I was thinking of it as a tool to use with students to drill down into Wikipedia visually, since some of them may learn better that way.

For example, I did a search on the Civil War, and it brought up many civil wars. I was able to click on the tab for “American Civil War” and move it to the center.

So it showed me the connection between those ideas graphically. I thought that might be illuminating for students to see those connections, and to see visual ways to narrow their search.

As far as mind mapping themselves, I see your point. Thanks also for the link to the mindmap site!

]]> By: Roy Grubb http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/comment-page-1/#comment-966 Roy Grubb Mon, 04 Jun 2007 06:50:00 +0000 http://futura.edublogs.org/2007/06/03/teaching-kismet/#comment-966 Wiki MindMap is very cool, I agree, and I had fun playing with it. But it raises a thought in my mind -- a big part of the value of mind mapping is the process, isn't it? The end result is useful for sure - for reviewing work, for plannning, and increasingly now for organizing information - but the act of mind mapping (or concept mapping) helps in comprehending the material, in generating new ideas or even in analyzing and thinking about stuff we already know but, perhaps, didn't know we knew. There's also the minor point that the mind map will reflect wiki editors' thinking on the topic, not the thinking of the person using WikiMindMap, and the structure chosen for the Wiki article, which was probably not conceived in mind map form. I think other people's mindmaps are always interesting, but that we should make our own mind map on a topic before looking for others - then the comparison tells us more. There's a directory of 600 mindmaps from all over the web at <a href="http://www.topicscape.com/mindmaps/" rel="nofollow">mindmaps directory</a> which is useful for students wanting to compare their mindmaps with others'. Roy Wiki MindMap is very cool, I agree, and I had fun playing with it. But it raises a thought in my mind — a big part of the value of mind mapping is the process, isn’t it? The end result is useful for sure – for reviewing work, for plannning, and increasingly now for organizing information – but the act of mind mapping (or concept mapping) helps in comprehending the material, in generating new ideas or even in analyzing and thinking about stuff we already know but, perhaps, didn’t know we knew.

There’s also the minor point that the mind map will reflect wiki editors’ thinking on the topic, not the thinking of the person using WikiMindMap, and the structure chosen for the Wiki article, which was probably not conceived in mind map form.

I think other people’s mindmaps are always interesting, but that we should make our own mind map on a topic before looking for others – then the comparison tells us more.

There’s a directory of 600 mindmaps from all over the web at
mindmaps directory which is useful for students wanting to compare their mindmaps with others’.

Roy

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