iPhone in Education (1 of 5): MindMaker

There are lots of great iPhone and iPod Touch Apps available in the Apple iTunes Application Store. Some of the Apps are free and some of them cost a small amount to download. This post is about a tool called MindMaker, which allows you to bring Mind Maps to the iPhone.

About Mind Maker

MindMaker currently it retails at £2.99 which is one of the most expensive applications that I have bought. However, the reason that I invested in it is that I have always really valued mind maps to help structure my own learning. I also think that it has great potential for use in the classroom.

Here’s how it works after you have download it from the Apps Store:

1) Click on the app button:

2) The next screen shows all your current mind maps, click on the ‘+’ button to make a new mind map:

3) on the black page, ‘double tap’ on the rectangle:

4) The text editor appears and you can now add the title for your mind map. When you have entered your title, press the blue done button:

5) Next press the ‘+’ button at the bottom of the screen. A new box will appear and you can add the next part of your mind map, by ‘double tapping’ on it.

6) You can drag your mind map boxes around by ‘tapping’ on the box and then ‘dragging’ the box to somewhere else on the screen. The ‘pinch’ feature also works to allow you to zoom in and out of your mind map.

7) With a little practice you can create interesting mind maps. The map below shows some of the things that I will be talking about later in the week.

Criticisms of Mind Maker: Don’t get me wrong, I think this is an excellent app, because this is one of the ways that I learn. At the moment you can’t export MindMaker Files back to your Mac / PC. However according to the MindMaker Website this is feature is coming in the next version. Also it would be mice if the accelerometer worked with this app. Sometimes it is be nice to view your mind maps in landscape as well as a portrait view.

For more information about MindMaker have a look at this screencast.

Comments

[Ian Stuaer]

Have you tried the open source app called FreeMind? http://sourceforge.net/projects/freemind
Its not for iPhone or any phone

[OllieBray]

Hi Ian - yes I use this on my computer at home. I like it and its my favorite price! OB

[Andrew]

Have you checked out iBlueSky, an alternative to MindMaker in the iPhone? It's more expensive, but offers landscape mode and export to PC/Mac in OPML and Freemind formats.