Adding Pictures to Your Mindmap (Blumind)

Learning is hard work, but mindmapping can make it easier. Imagine you are learning geography and you want to learn the names of countries near China. A simple list is boring and not easy to remember:

China's Neighbors (NES): India, Japan,Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea, The Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam

An outline with details is a little better, but not good enough:

China's Neighbors (NES):
I India
Birthplace of Hinduism
Muslim Separatism
II Russia
Formerly Communist
Largest Country in the World
III Vietnam
Buddhist & Catholic
Fiercely Independent

Better: A mindmap with pictures
What's a better way? Make a mind map and make it look more interesting!

Here is a mind map with small pictures showing China's neighbors to the North, East and South. This mind map is not complete: it is just a sample.

Here is how to make your own mind maps:

More Mind Map Software -- Freeplane and Blumind

Freeplane is Open Source software. It makes wonderful mind maps to help you study.

(http://freeplane.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page)

Download Freeplane here.

Edraw Mind Map Freeware

Edraw Mind Map Freeware

The free version of Xmind is great software, but if you don't like Xmind, or it doesn't work on your computer, you can also try Edraw. Download it here:
http://www.edrawsoft.com/download-mindmap.php


This YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B4-fSg6rJNs) shows you how to use Edraw.

The computer voice sounds strange. Even for me it is hard to understand, but you can easily read the words on the screen.

Study Tools: Mind Maps

Mind mapping is a clever way to put your thoughts on a piece of paper. You can read more about mind mapping at Wikipedia. The Chinese Wikipedia article is rather short. The English Wikipedia article is better.

There are many free mind mapping programs. Choose one that works for you. Don't be afraid of a new computer program. If you practice enough times, you will become a computer wizard. People will ask you to be their teacher!

"Wizard: -- CC Robin Hutton, Flickr BY-NC-SA