Mind Mapping - Blooms Taxonomy?

The idea of organizing information into a visual concept is fantastic. I have often drawn pictures on paper trying to organize thoughts and ideas in order to make sense of them. This is great as long as it is not too complex which is rare. Over the last couple of weeks I have created concept maps using both bubbl.us and text 2 mind map.

The examples I created are on my wiki. See the following links:

Bubble.us curriculum map
Text2mindmap on Blooms Taxonomy

I found both tools very easy to use. There was very minimal time wasted in learning how to use them, which meant I could get straight into focusing on my concepts. I also found them both very easy to share and embedd when completed.

Personally, I enjoy concept maps. It helps me to see the big picture of the content by summarizing, consolidating and understanding my learning. As you can see all of these verbs are not up the top of blooms taxonomy. They don't seem to be in the realm of higher order thinking and yet concept maps seem extremely valuable to me. How can I transform them using my pedagogy into something that is going to encourage complex thinking?

Let's start by looking at the following SWOT analysis in relation to concept maps. More specifically on-line concept mapping.

STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES
Easy to use Easy to share	Can be under-utilised by simply summarising information
OPPORTUNITIES	THREATS
Brainstorming Planning Classifying & organising information Comparing information Evaluating information Can encourage the creation of new thoughts, ideas and or strategies Potential for collaborative learning	Can get too complex and difficult to "see" the information

As listed in the SWOT analysis, I believe concept maps are much more than tools for consolidating learning. I have certainly not been utilizing concept maps to their full potential in my own learning.

This web-site called Live the Solution gives examples of how mind maps can be created through the process of evaluating information and creating new ideas. Now we are entering the realm of more complex thinking.

After reviewing the examples on the Live the Solution web-site, I believe to make the most of concept mapping in the realm of complex thinking it is all in the scaffolding! What questions are you asking your learners to consider when creating an on-line concept map? When learners are creating an on-line concept map in order to answer a question or find a solution they are extending their learning past lower-order thinking routines towards higher order thinking.

As in the examples on the Live the Solution web-site, learners are trying to analyse and solve problems by creating strategies for global warming or behaviour change management. Not only has the on-line concept map enabled the process of complex thinking it has also resulted in a creation that can be shared and evaluated by anyone who looks at it.

Creating a concept map to evaluate a problem or create a strategy can also be set-up as a group project
on-line, enabling collaborative learning.

In summary, I think on-line concept mapping is a fantastic tool that enables learning at all realms of Blooms taxonomy.

Web-sites I have reviewed on Concept Maps and Blooms Taxonomy:

http://live-the-solution.com/mindmaps/

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/757

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4719