What’s a good mind map?

Hi there!

I originally posted this entry as a comment, but it’s been pending approval, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take for it to show up. So, unfortunately, this post will show up twice on this blog.

I’ve come to post an answer to one of Week 9’s discussion questions: “What makes a good mind map?”

To me, a good mind map allows the reader to both see the big picture and focus on details with relative ease. It facilitates comprehension and retention of information and indicates clear links between ideas. It groups bits of information into manageable chunks – neither scattered bits of data, nor long rambling paragraphs. A good mind map is well-structured. If, by contrast, it is overwhelming and distracting, the reader might actually experience a temporary drop in IQ (Visocky O’Grady & Visocky O’Grady, 2008). Sometimes a written report or a PPT presentation is more effective than a mind map for communicating information, so the content and the format need to be matched properly.

Here’s a blog entry that explains map shock, which is a term to describe the sense of visual information overload:

http://blog.modellearning.com/blog/2011/4/25/map-shock.html

Here’s a blog entry about designing effective visual graphics:

http://www.johnrandle.co.uk/graphic-design/information-design/

Here are a variety of very effective infographics that you can select from the roll-down menu at the top right, where it says “Select Visualization”. Note that some examples are interactive.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-hierarchy-of-digital-distractions/

Visocky O’Grady J. & Visocky O’Grady K. (2008) The information design handbook. Cincinatti, OH: HOW Books.

Cheers,
D

Posted in: Week 09: Visual-Intensive Learning