Free Resources from the Net for (Special) Education

Welcome to this Treasure Chest of Free Stuff.

FREE online resources and downloadable programs for learners and their teachers.
In my previous four posts, I’ve highlighted four different online mind mapping applications. There are others to consider, but I’m going to leave it there because I think these four give a pretty good idea of the range that is available. Gliffy is another powerful app that can be used effectively for mind mapping, and I talked about Gliffy last October. Today, I’m discussing a related online tool with all kinds of potential for learners and their teachers.

WikiMindMap (online resource) This is not mind mapping software that allows you to create your own mind maps. Instead, it is a remarkable online resource that enables you to find and visually represent the links between concepts. Wikimindmap also provides a quick way to find more information about any related concept that is represented on its mind map. This can be used as a tremendous research tool.

You simply type in a term to get started. (Unless you need your results in another language, be sure to select “en.wikipedia.org”. The default language is German.) Then WikiMindMap searches Wikipedia, and uses what it finds there to create a mind map. The mind map below shows what WikiMindMap created when I typed in Web 2.0. Once the mind map is on your screen, you can zoom in or out and drag the mind map to position it where you want it.

When you drag your cursor over the central concept, you get a quick summary as shown below. When you click on the term, you are taken directly to the Wikipedia article on the concept. You are also taken to the relevant Wikipedia article when you click on any of the related terms. If you click on the green circular arrows beside a related concept, then that concept becomes the central one, showing other terms that are related to that.

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