Tech+Tool+2


 * Help students make sense of their ideas**

[|XMIND]

This is a great tool for teaching all ages mind mapping and how to produce an outline. With this software students are able to brainstorm ideas and connect details that will be used to show patterns and aid in prewriting. With this software the mind maps, or webbing, can be automatically converted into an outline format with a swipe. This process allows students to learn how to gather all ideas and organize them in way that is meaningful and useful in their writing. I have seen this used in a 4th grade class to teach how to write details about a subject into paragraphs by using key words to form a mind map. It is an extremely useful application for the students to see how a mind map and outline are not entirely different concepts, just another step in organizing ideas for writing.