Review by Stephanie Trautman, Common Sense Education | Updated November 2014
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MindMup

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Basic online mind-mapping tool shares easily to the cloud

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
Skills
  • Creativity
  • Communication & Collaboration
Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
6–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (2 Reviews)
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

4 images
The helpful developer blog displays simple integration with Google Drive.
An example mind map shows the built-in features and how they work.
Users can select among these options on the site's front page and get to work.
Editing tools allow for some personalization.

Pros: Setup is simple, and cloud storage features are easy to use.

Cons: Image sizes can be rather sticky to manipulate, and features are limited.

Bottom Line: Easy-to-use mind mapping tool created for adults but simple enough for middle and high school students; look elsewhere for a more user-friendly experience.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Get students to start planning a paper or project, or outlining ideas. The cloud-based sharing feature for this app is limited, so to get kids to collaborate as a group, have them share their maps to Google Drive or print them out to share and discuss on paper.  

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Standards:

MindMup is a free mind-mapping tool that lets students create and share mind maps. Users can save or share their creations either on MindMup’s cloud or through Google Drive.

The site includes a toolbar at the top along with a floating sidebar that lets users customize their maps. There are also preset hotkeys for user shortcuts, all accessible through a built-in user guide. Maps can be customized with branches called nodes (known as parents, children, and siblings); nodes can be color-coded, and images can be added near a node. A storyboard feature allows users to look at their mind map from a different view, but it's best used once the map has already been created. 

The site is not specifically designed for educational purposes, so it's not flashy or colorful, and accessibility for a range of abilities isn't its main focus. The possibilities for mapping are endless with this tool, but the experience is only as engaging as students want to make it: There are no frills here. The design is simplistic, and the developer's motto of “zero friction free online mind-mapping” is true: It is straightforward and basic. The tool is good for exploring options before beginning a project or organizing ideas before starting to write.

Some of that simplicity makes the site hard to use. For example, to resize images, users must numerically input height and width and can't use the mouse to make adjustments. Students must also jot down the URL of the mind map they are working on if they’d like to easily find it once it has been stored in the cloud. Overall, this is an okay tool for creating mind maps in a hurry, but look elsewhere for more powerful creation and customization features.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Students may not be reeled in by this tool geared toward adults, but they may enjoy its capabilities for mapping out as many ideas as possible.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Students take an active role in building their knowledge, brainstorming, and connecting ideas. The mind map adapts based on how many parent, children, and sibling nodes are added.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

The site boasts a blog, which offers detailed news about the mind-mapping tool as well as communities on various social media sites to help users. Keyboard shortcuts and simple design make features mostly easy to use.

Common Sense Reviewer
Stephanie Trautman Classroom teacher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Speaking & Listening

  • SL.6.2

    Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

  • SL.6.5

    Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

  • SL.7.2

    Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

  • SL.7.5

    Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

  • SL.8.2

    Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

  • SL.8.5

    Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

  • SL.9-10.2

    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

  • SL.9-10.5

    Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

  • SL.11-12.2

    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

  • SL.11-12.5

    Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Writing

  • W.6.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

  • W.6.2a

    Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

  • W.7.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

  • W.7.2a

    Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

  • W.8.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

  • W.8.2a

    Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

  • W.9-10.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

  • W.9-10.2a

    Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

  • W.11-12.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

  • W.11-12.2a

    Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Lynn S. , Other
Other
The Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair, United States
Mapping for more mature minds
Despite the fact that it has the ability to handle some complex tasks, the two things I like best about Mindmup are simple. The first is that the map automatically adjusts to a sensible arrangement each time you add a node. This might not seem like a big deal, but I find that my students and I often spend a lot of time "fiddling" with the arrangement of the nodes when mapping in order to make sure that everything is easy to see and connections are clear. Mindmup does this for you as you add or ...
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