The idea of mindmapping was first conceived by Tony Buzan in the 1970s. He tested his method with disadvantaged London students who used mindmaps to work through a topic instead of traditional essay writing. He found out that mindmapping created enthusiasm and multiplied their previous achievements.
The change-inducing power of mindmapping lies in its potential to support learners’ verbal functions by harnessing their non-verbal and emotional potential as well as memory-based processing. Classical education is typically based on unilateral – left brain – functioning. Mind mapping triggers spontaneous thought organisation by activating both hemispheres of the brain: left (logical/verbal) and right (creative/non-verbal).
Digital and visual tools for different stages of the creative process
Digital and visual mindmapping has many benefits in the context of ideating and planning stories and other creative products. Among other things, it helps to see meaning and draw connections, improves memory and memorisation, and stimulates creativity overall.
Mindmapping can be used effectively for several learning purposes and at different stages of the digital storytelling process, such as:
- introducing a topic
- clarifying concepts
- searching for relationships
- synthesising, summarising
- structuring a topic or a story
- brainstorming of ideas and solutions
- revising ideas and solutions
- taking notes.
Applying Mindmeister and Mindmup to foster learning and understanding
I typically use the free versions of Mindmeister and Mindmup software in my classes. Both of these have their advantages. The more widely used MindMeister makes it easy to work in a group. You can invite up to 100 students to edit, and you can share the link to the final results. In Mindmup, you can upload photos and use emojis and other visuals. The final product is stored in an open-access cloud for up to six months.
For pedagogical purposes, I have applied mindmapping in seminar groups of 30-35 students in my courses on Castle Tourism and Heritage Tourism. It can be used to create a systematic presentation of a topic or a context. It is equally suitable for facilitating brainstorming in teamwork (3-4 students) or for developing and presenting the concept of an assignment, like a research-based term paper, in which case it replaces the traditional text-based outline.
Students generally enjoy mindmapping, are happy to share their products, and actively comment on those of their peers. This is also what we have learned during our digital storytelling projects at BBS.
Text: Éva Schultz, Budapest Business School BBS, Hungary
Image: Csilla Petykó, Budapest Business School BBS, Hungary (a digital storytelling project team from Basics of Sustainable Tourism course at BBS)