This week’s teachers’ tool is an online mind mapping tool that is free to use, but for a small fee you can also become a member, which opens up some new cool options.
It’s an amazing tool that lets you easily create visually pleasing mind maps. You can create the mind map on the fly in the class with the students; you can print it out and give it to the students; you can share it online for the students to have a look at it after class; and as any good tool nowadays you can easily collaborate together and let your students in groups create a mind map of their own that they share with the rest of the class; you could also create mind map for the whole class and let the students/or yourself add words as you go over the whole course.
I have used it in my classrooms to create one on the fly while the students shout out some words. I’ve also printed it out for them to start with and add some more words on the piece of paper. Another thing I did with my students is create one together as a collaboration project to store the important class vocabulary in a central space.
I really enjoy how easy it is to use, as I have used other programs before but they were just too difficult or were not so stunning.
Here’s an example of some B2 health vocabulary:
https://www.mindmeister.com/map/2186617908?t=D607nXyUQp
Kristof Abrath
Teacher, Trainer, Course Designer
Teaching in English on 4 different continents since 2006.