I recently stumbled across some tools that seems like they would produce a heretofore difficult service to classroom teachers & their students. No matter what you call them; Mind-Maps, Concept Maps, or Graphic Organizers concept mapping can be a great instructional tool. Whether planning a series of science experiments, or doing an English class prewriting assignment, concept mapping can engage VS students in otherwise non-Visual-Spatial learning activities. Current data shows a growing number of Visual-Spatial learners and 30-50% (depending on the source of the data) of students are stated to have a moderate to strong VS learning emphasis. One of the preliminary problems with doing these concept maps electronically is the requirement of “one more piece of software” with all of the associated costs & training issues.

While there are a bevy of closed source & Mind-Mapping software titles, I recently stumbled across a free, Web 2.0 online tool called Bubblus http://www.bubbl.us/. Students can create their own account, create multiple concept maps in realtime, and save & export them as .pdf files.

In addition, there is also an Open Source option. This option is called Free Mind that runs on Windows, Mac OS X, & Linux operating systems. It is a free download and easy to use. While this requires a download and install, whereas bubblus does not, it is still a free option.

Two solid, easy-to-deploy Concept Mapping solutions that can make easier, technology based implementation of best educational practices and provide pedagogically sound in-roads for Multiple Learning Intelligences in students.