Concept map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have used Cmap on nearly every computer I have owned or worked with. It is a very useful tool and, I think, very under-rated. I used to think it was difficult to work with until I had a conversation about Cmaps at a conference with Cable Green. He said that my issue was with using the connecting verbs between the concepts: while I might feel that the connections might be forced, it might be cause my thinking about the concepts is not complete. This represented a real break-through in my work with concept maps. It was also very humbling because I was presenting on concept maps at a conference at the time! Nothing like having to rethink your positions at the last minute, but that is why I go to conferences. If you are not familiar with the tool, it is an open source concept mapping tool:
“Cmap software is a result of research conducted at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC). It empowers users to construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models represented as concept maps.”
I am interested in concept mapping as a tool for writing and creating drafts but also for group projects and exploring ideas with others either in the same room or remotely. I have written about concept mapping previously and it looks like I need to update that posting!
I have not seen Cmap for iPad yet. I am looking forwards to working with it. It seems like a natural fit. “CmapTools for iPad is the best concept mapping App for the iPad. It is the perfect tool to rapidly construct concept maps and share them via the Cmap Cloud.”
Source: CmapTools for iPad – Cmap
