Freemind Graphic Organizer

I have been looking at different types of graphic organizers lately. I have decided that most everything for me falls in to two groups. Shape type organizers like you would find in Inspiration and mind maps. Most people are familiar with Inspiration style. You build shapes with words in them and then connect them in some meaningful way.  For mind maps I see more of a free flow of organized ideas. It’s a little hard to see the difference at first but once you l0ok at a mind map program next to a Inspiration style program it seems to make sense.  I can defiantly see a use for both types of programs in a classroom. The program that I have been trying for mind mapping is called Freemind. 

Freemind is a free program that you can download and install with minimal effort. The best way to learn how it works is to install it and find the documentation under the help menu. The help file is a huge mind map. By using the help file you can learn how to not only use the software but see how it can be used. I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with it yet but from what I have seen I really like it and you can’t beat the price. Check it out over at sourceforge.