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Seven Mind Mapping Tools to Try This YearEarlier this week a reader emailed me to ask for my suggestions for online mind mapping tools for her students to use this fall. My preference is often to draw mind maps by hand and then digitize them by taking pictures with either the Google Keep or OneNote mobile apps. But that doesn't work for everyone. So if you want to do the mind mapping process in a completely digital format, take a look at the following options. Canva Whiteboard Templates Canva's whiteboard templates include mind mapping templates that you and your students can use individually or collaboratively. Watch this video for an overview of how to access and use those templates. Google Jamboard Templates Google Jamboard doesn't offer any pre-made mind mapping templates like Canva offers. However, it is easy to make and share your own mind mapping templates in Jamboard. This short video shows you how to do that. Google Drawings Long before Google offered Jamboard, I used Google Drawings to create mind maps to share online. That's still a viable option for Google Workspace users. Here's a demo of how to do that. Transno Transno is an interesting mind mapping tool because it will create mind maps based on your written outlines. Take a look at this video to see it in action. Forky Forky is a minimalist mind mapping tool. I like the simplicity of it compared with some other mind mapping tools that you could use. It does offer an online collaboration option for those who want to use it. See Forky in action in this demo. GitMind GitMind is another mind mapping tool that will create printable outlines for you based on your mind maps. Here's a brief demo of it. Padlet Last, but not least is Padlet. I've used Padlet for mind mapping longer than anything else on this list. If you want to include multimedia elements in your mind maps, Padlet is the tool for you. Watch my demo to see how it works.
Five Great Microsoft Forms Features for Teachers
Most of the time I like Google Workspace tools better than the equivalent tools from Microsoft. There is one exception to that rule. That exception being forms. When it comes to making and publishing online forms, Microsoft Forms has more features that I like than Google Forms has. For example, there is nothing like the new live presentation mode in Microsoft Forms available in Google Forms. There are other aspects of Microsoft Forms that I also like that aren't equaled in Google Forms. Those features are demonstrated in my new video that is embedded below. 1. Convert docs to forms.
2. Live mode
3. Timer
4. Start and end dates
5. Background music Video - My Five Favorite Features of Microsoft Forms
Lesson Plans for Setting SMART Goals This Fall
Storyboard That is a great tool that can be used for creating cartoons, flowcharts, timelines, and wireframes in addition to typical storyboards. Storyboard That also offers a huge library of lesson plans on everything from classic literature to history to cyber safety. One of those lesson plans is about helping students set and reach SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Action, Realistic, Time.
The SMART goals lesson plans are designed for use in middle school settings. Each of the five lesson plans focuses on a different aspect of the goal setting and goal reaching processes. A significant component of any goal setting process is being able to identify and visualize the steps needed to reach a goal. That's where Storyboard That shines as it helps students create a clear picture of the steps they need to take in order to reach their goals.
Applications for Education
As the school year begins and you're talking with students about their aspirations for the year, using the SMART goals lesson plans could provide a great way to frame those conversations.
On a related note, Storyboard That is the online comic tool that I've used longer than any other. The tutorial that I made about it ten years ago is still accurate on a basic level. Ten years later there is much more that you can do with Storyboard That.
Keep, Books, and Canva - The Week in ReviewGood morning from Maine where it's overcast and drizzly, again. It has been that kind of summer. Nonetheless, it has been a good summer filled with fun things for me and my family (my miserable cold not withstanding). I hope that it has been a good summer (or winter) for you as well. We have less than two weeks until school starts again. We're making the most of it. This week I took one of my daughters for a one-on-one trip to Story Land. Next week, I'm doing the same for my other daughter. If still have a bit of vacation, I hope you make the most of it as well.
These were the week's most popular posts:
1. 18 Google Keep Tutorials for Teachers
2. How to Create and Share Canva Templates
3. 18 Google Calendar Tutorials for Teachers
4. How to Use AI in Google Slides
5. Five New Padlet Features to Try
6. Bring the Joy Back to School With Book Creator
7. 47,000 People Get Their Educational Technology Tips This Way
Self-paced Courses You Can Start Today
Other Places to Follow Me:- The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter comes out every Sunday evening/ Monday morning. It features my favorite tip of the week and the week's most popular posts from Free Technology for Teachers.
- My YouTube channel has more than 46,000 subscribers watching my short tutorial videos on a wide array of educational technology tools.
- I've been Tweeting as @rmbyrne for fifteen years.
- I update my LinkedIn profile a time or two every week.
- The Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page features new and old posts from this blog throughout the week.
- If you're curious about my life outside of education, you can follow me on Strava.
This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Featured image captured by Richard Byrne.
Have Your List Cleared by Book Creator
Earlier this week I shared a handful of ways to use Book Creator this fall. At the bottom of that blog post I mentioned Book Creator's #clearthelist campaign. If you missed it, it's a free opportunity to have Book Creator clear your classroom Amazon wishlist of up $500. All you have to do is enter by August 31st.
This fall Book Creator is going to clear the classroom wish lists of three teachers. You can enter here and if you win, Book Creator will clear your Amazon wish list up to $500.
Disclosure: Book Creator is currently an advertiser on this blog.
Google Classroom Overview for ParentsLast Friday I published a video in which I demonstrated the teacher view and student view of Google Classroom. A lot of people replied to ask if I had a similar one about the parent view of Google Classroom. I didn't have one, but I was happy to refer people to this section of Sam Cary's video How to Use Google Classroom for Parents. The whole video gives a complete walk-through of Google Classroom. The part that most teachers will care about is toward the end beginning around the 7:19 mark. It's at that point in the video that Sam begins to show the guardian summaries feature of Google Classroom. I've embedded the video below. You can also watch the whole thing on the New Ed Tech Classroom YouTube channel.
How to Use Microsoft Flip - Teacher and Student ViewsIt's that time of year again when many of us are thinking about ways for our students to get to know each other and us. One popular way of doing that is through short video introductions. Microsoft Flip (formerly known as Flipgrid) provides a great platform on which to do that. As a teacher you can create a safe space for students to record and share short videos. If you've never used Microsoft Flip or you are a tech coach responsible for introducing it to other teachers, I have a new video for you. In the video that is embedded below I demonstrate the following: - How to create a Microsoft Flip account as a teacher.
- How to create a Microsoft Flip group.
- How to create a Microsoft Flip topic.
- How to record a Microsoft Flip video.
- How students can join your Microsoft Flip group.
- How students find your Microsoft Flip topic.
- How students respond to your Microsoft Flip topic.
- How to view and moderate your students' Microsoft Flip videos.
How Wastewater Gets RecycledThis morning my YouTube subscriptions included a notification of a new TED-Ed lesson that caught my attention. That lesson is titled How the Water You Flush Becomes the Water You Drink. As the titled implies, the lesson is all about how wastewater gets cleaned and put back into the water cycle where we'll eventually drink it once more. The lesson introduces viewers to three types of wastewater and how wastewater is treated. The two key terms from the video are direct potable reuse and indirect potable reuse and the differences between the two. You can watch the lesson on YouTube or as embedded below. The full lesson with questions and additional resources can be found here on the TED-Ed website.
Here are some more resources and lessons related to the water cycle:
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