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Mappy Awards 2015: June ~ July ~ August ~ September ~ October
(Winners so far: Business / Education / Personal / General / English / Kids / Fun / Handmade)
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Mad Mapper’s Muse: Everyone loves infographics, don’t they? So colourful, so cool, so funky! Indeed, they’ve stolen mind mapping’s thunder to an extent in recent years. Not that they’re the same thing though, at all.
Infographics are a great way to present information in an easily digestible form, thanks to cheerful charts, surprising statistics and an effective logical, if classic progression down the page. But they have nothing to do with mind maps when we’re talking about planning tools, brainstorming, organising, decision-making and all the other good things you can do with the latter. Thankfully!
Marco has produced a clear and thorough piece detailing just when and how infographics (the pretty images) or ‘data visualization’ (the concept), if you prefer, can and should be used. A valuable addition to the knowledge base, thanks Marco!
Author’s Comment: First of all, thank you so much for this unexpected prize 🙂
I drew that mindmap while I was participating to a MOOC about data visualisation. Since mindmaps are a very good memorizing tool, I used that one to memorise the 6 dimensions of data viz and I shared it with my groupmates and then with the Biggerplate Community. I’m so happy you liked it enough to reward me with a Mappy Award 🙂
I wish you full success with your projects and a very happy new year 2016.
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Web Site
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Mad Mapper’s Muse: Last month mind map trainer Tom Kavanaugh offered us a stunning work summarising a book called Educate Your Brain which I’m still trying to take in! This month it’s the turn of one of Tom’s students, Dr. Pablo Buitron, to impress us with an innovative mind map about cardiovascular matters.
Dr. Buitron runs a web site called USMLE Mindmaps with Dr. Wazir Kudrath which offers educational mind maps to help medical students prepare effectively for USMLE examinations.
How his system works is that you sign up for the web site and you get access to a lot of mind maps covering all sorts of medical issues. What you can’t see in the picture above is that there are actually links on each branch which, when clicked, lead off to other more detailed maps, allowing you to study all the topics in-depth.
It’s a great example of a professional exploiting the educational potential of mind maps in their working environment. Thanks for your help in putting this together Pablo 🙂
Author’s Comment: We are very honored to receive this award!! This index mind map connects the students to all the information they need to learn about the cardiovascular system. By browsing this mind map system our students can access any information using an average of only 3 clicks! This mimics connections between neurons and the way our brains access information stored in long term memory.
Studying medicine is about helping the learner to understand how to guide their brains into the diseases instead of memorizing facts about them. That is how we are using mind mapping to inspire and guide medical students to unlock their full learning potential.
Web Addresses: USMLE Mind Maps ~ YouTube Video
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Mad Mapper’s Muse: I chose this one primarily for its humorous take on a serious topic. As a middle-aged (seriously? no! it can’t be true…) human being of the masculine persuasion myself, some of the ‘observations’ come toe-curlingly close to reality!
Adrian’s packed so much stuff into this map it’s impossible to show a readable version on this page. I guarantee it’s worth reading all the sub-branches though, especially if you’re in your 40s or 50 like I am!
So make sure to click on the image or the BIGGER version link, wait for it to open, then right-click and open in a new window where you can probably zoom in even closer to savour all the uncomfortable reality that’s being served up to us getting-on-a-bits 😀
I don’t know if this came purely from the brain of Adrian or if it was adapted from somewhere else, but it’s a great way to step back and ask yourself: do I really wanna be doing that at this stage in my life? You’ll see!
Author’s Comment: Thanks for this! I’m honoured 🙂
Why I like mind mapping? I love the way mind mapping software fills what used to be a gaping hole in the software market. We have email for communication, word processors for documentation and spreadsheets for crunching numbers. What some folks don’t realise is that what they need most is software to think into too! Having that is a game changer.
What inspired me to produce the map? Just as the principles of mind mapping make learning fun (the bright colours, the curved branches, the images), so too does the subject matter. I wanted to choose a fun and interesting subject to showcase mind mapping to a wider audience. The mid-life crisis was something that I wanted to embrace in a pragmatic manner, and approach with humour and I thought others might be able to relate to it. And yes, sadly it is from my own brain!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Oval Business Solutions
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Mad Mapper’s Muse: This patriotic piece comes from a mapper very close to home for me: Franco Masucci who is based in Paris, although I believe is of Argentinian origin.
Franco is a great find for me because he also helps run what may be France’s most forward-thinking educational mind mapping, oops, sorry, visual management companies, Signos, right here in Paris where I’m based.
I’ll be getting to know a lot more about Signos in the new year and from what I’ve understood so far they are among the leaders in applying innovative visual techniques to helping anyone from students to large organisations work better in a variety of ways.
Here Franco has had some fun producing a lively French map showing many of the things which make Argentina what it is today. Having Chilean connections myself (not by blood) I recognise much of the South American flavour that oozes from this interesting introduction to the culture of the country.
I’ve never been to Argentina, but I’ll be sure to check out the empanadas and dulce de leche (a sort of sweet condensed milk) when I do, and see you in the new year!
P.S. The Chilean influence I mentioned earlier also grew up in Barcelona and that side of the family are mad Barcelona football fans where a certain Lionel Messi plays, probably the world’s most famous Argentinian right now. Maybe you should add him to your map… Gooooooooooooolll! ?
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Signos
(Click HERE for BIGGER version)
Mad Mapper’s Muse: Last month the English category winner was on the present tense in English by someone or something called Maptelling. I still haven’t found out who was behind that one unfortunately.
Well, this month I have another great mind map on… the present tense in English! Yes, I enjoyed it so much last time that I thought I’d come back round for another go ?
Seriously, though, it’s fun to compare different people’s approaches to the same topic, and this is no exception. When you combine someone’s personal experience and knowledge with their individual approach and style, not to mention the tools they use to produce their maps, the results are guaranteed to be very different.
Ana’s English present simple mind map has a fantastic hand-drawn feel to it, although I’m not entirely sure what she used to produce it – maybe a mixture, maybe she’ll tell us in the author’s comments!
Whatever the case, I’m sure her students love her clear presentation of the different forms along with her delightful illustrations to cheer up a notoriously dry subject. Wanna be in Ana’s English class? Sure you do… Check out the Grammar Mind Maps site too – it’s packed with interesting stuff if you’re an English teacher of any sort and you’ll come away with some good ideas for your own lessons, I’m sure.
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it…
Web Addresses: Grammar Mind Maps
Mad Mapper’s Muse: This is one of three mind maps I’m featuring this month to highlight the Butterfly Universe initiative. According to its web site its ‘a global movement aiming to transform the learning process through revolutionary learning tools, entertainment and technology’, notably mind mind maps in case you hadn’t guessed.
It focuses on children’s education, and uses a powerful metaphor:
Children in the current education system globally are like caterpillars who can be transformed into vibrant butterflies unleashing their full potential.
Mohammad’s Children’s Day contribution is great.
It’s not only a perfect example of how to produce an effective mind map, but also it deals with a vitally important subject which mind mapping is eminently suitable to address: children’s issues including, of course, education.
Author’s Comment: I enjoy mind mapping because it is like an exercise for the brain and it helps me practice brainstorming on any topic.
Unlike traditional note taking, mind mapping is a fun exercise which helps you with learning, cognition, creativity and remembering things better.
I made the ‘Children’s day’ mind map to spread the awareness and significance of this day, because most of us don’t know much about it and why it’s celebrated around the world on 20th November every year since 1954.
In ‘Children’s Day’ mind map, I have explained why it’s celebrated around the world, how people celebrate it, the history of this day and what it aims to achieve.
The ultimate goal is to make sure no child is ever deprived of their rights to have a family, education, freedom of expression, protection and health services.
Web Addresses: Butterfly Universe ~ Facebook Page
Many thanks also to Zahra Baray, the Butterfly Universe project manager, who helped me get everything together ?
(Click HERE for readable version)
Mad Mapper’s Muse: This is one of three mind maps I’m featuring this month to highlight the Butterfly Universe initiative. According to its web site its ‘a global movement aiming to transform the learning process through revolutionary learning tools, entertainment and technology’, notably mind mind maps in case you hadn’t guessed.
It focuses on children’s education, and uses a powerful metaphor:
Children in the current education system globally are like caterpillars who can be transformed into vibrant butterflies unleashing their full potential.
Well done to Asad for producing a truly wonderful piece of work! Asad says most of the good things I would have said about it in the comment below, so I’ll add more of a cultural observation:
It’s fascinating; on this one page we have examples of people from Pakistan explaining Diwali which is (I just now discover) is small minority religious festival to the vast majority of the population that is Muslim, AND equally talking about what must certainly be a very foreign concept to most of their citizens: Thanksgiving!
Which is very much in the spirit of mind mapping: learning new stuff in a powerful and non-judgmental way – fantastic!
Author’s Comment: I truly enjoyed making the Thanksgiving Mind Map as I felt that many of my friends and family members here in Pakistan were unaware of the history of the holiday, the regions where it is celebrated and the traditions that are followed during the celebration.
I felt that I could cover all the basic elements of the holiday, on a single and attractive Mind Map in order to help people understand the holiday.
The many colourful images were especially fun to draw and coming up with creative ways to create associations, was a challenging but entertaining process.
After drawing the Mind Map, as a work project, I was so proud of the job that I had done, that I posted it on my Facebook account and was delighted to see the response of people commenting on how interesting it looked, and sharing it with their friends all across the world.
I truly believe that any topic can be fun to learn and easy to teach using this invaluable tool.
Web Addresses: Butterfly Universe ~ Facebook Page
Many thanks also to Zahra Baray, the Butterfly Universe project manager, who helped me get everything together ?
Mad Mapper’s Muse: This is one of three mind maps I’m featuring this month to highlight the Butterfly Universe initiative. According to its web site its ‘a global movement aiming to transform the learning process through revolutionary learning tools, entertainment and technology’, notably mind mind maps in case you hadn’t guessed.
It focuses on children’s education, and uses a powerful metaphor:
Children in the current education system globally are like caterpillars who can be transformed into vibrant butterflies unleashing their full potential.
According to Wikipedia (yes, I had to look it up!), Diwali is a Hindu festival with lights, held in the period October to November. It is particularly associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the beginning of the financial year in India.
I love the colourfulness and cheerfulness of Madeeha and Nida’s beautiful mind map. It’s not at all complicated and yet tells us a lot about this peaceful and joyful celebration.
The illustrations are great and I bet they had fun doing them and that it makes everyone smile who sees it. I hope to discover lots more mind maps like this one from the team!
Author’s Comment: We as trainers believe that Mind mapping is the most effective tool for writing down our thoughts in a very unique structure.
The association of words with vibrant images helps the brain to unlock our creativity and add to our potential.
We selected the topic of Diwali for Mind mapping because it’s a very colorful occasion full of interesting activities. We had drawn the mindmap on the Diwali day and decided to create awareness about the festival for the masses here in Pakistan since majority of the people in our country are Muslims.
Since we believe in the right to practice for all, this seemed like a good way to bridge the gap. By using colorful images we find it very easy to incorporate all the information on a page in a very artistic way.
Web Addresses: Butterfly Universe ~ Facebook Page
Many thanks also to Zahra Baray, the Butterfly Universe project manager, who helped me get everything together ?
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