In my quest, as seen in my prior post
on concept mapping, I found one software that I believe is an excellent match
for my school and students: VUE. I created a few video tutorials and located
others. Below is the help guide that I shared with teachers on our internal
technology support page:
Mind mapping! Concept mapping! Oh
my!
VUE is appropriate for younger
students as well as the older students due to the available options
within. It is very similar to programs like Kidspiration and Inspiration and is
our solution for mind or concept mapping.
This free software is created by Tufts University located
in Medford, Massachusetts. The free download can be found on their site if you
are interested in installing it.
Instructions
Feel free to watch the videos that I
created with your class or to share the links with your students.
I purposely made them short, generic, and applicable to any grade
level.
Beginners Guide to Using VUE (2:33): My
tutorial on creating, moving and deleting bubbles.
Adding Images (2:11): My tutorial for
adding images from Google or other websites.
Inserting Linking Words (1:14): My brief
tutorial on how to add, edit, and delete linking words.
- Need ideas for linking words? Visit Concept Maps Cross Links/Linking Words“Cheat Sheet” and Linking Words Overhead
Videos created by others:
Data in a
spreadsheet? Importing a CSV file into VUE (1:45)
– use to organize data in a visual way instead of by sorting the data in the
columns of a spreadsheet in Excel, Numbers, or Google Spreadsheets. In
case your data is in more than one spreadsheet, after viewing the first video,
watch VUE – Joining two CSV datasets (2:10).
Creating
Presentations? Concept maps can be shared with the class by creating pathways
between bubbles. For example, watch Using Pathways in VUE (0:38). This Introduction to Pathways in VUE (0:48) will show you the basics to setting up
your presentation. Presenting with VUE (4:03) goes through the entire process of setting up the
pathways and presenting.
FAQ
Does the map export into an outline form, or is there an
alternate view for an outlined form of one's map?
The software will not make a
typical outline that can be used to start writing a paper. It can provide users
with a complete list of nodes in no particular order by going to Windows and
choosing Outline.
What is the difference between the
terms concept mapping and mind mapping?
See Concept Map
