Using Goalscape in the Classroom

I had a chance just this week to reconnect with Richard Parslow, the developer of Goalscape, a unique and innovative goal setting and planning tool for the Mac and Windows computers-who shared with me some of the new development that are taking place. Richard talked about Goalscape Connect their new online tool to create goalscapes when collaborating and working with teams. To access Goalscape Connect all you need is a browser and a connection to the internet and a Goalscape account. With an account you can begin to create a new goalscape to help you visualize your goals and subgoals. Goalscape lets you set up a central goal in the center of circle with your subgoals fanning out around the central point. With Goalscape, it is very easy to see your progress and add notes and resources to each goal and subgoal. One of the key points of using Goalscape is that you can rate the level of importance of each goal and subgoal and begin to realize that if you spend more time on one goal you have less time to address another. Once your goalscape is set up you can quickly get an overview of your progress and see what needs to be done.

As humans we are all goal driven and being able to concisely articulate our goals helps us to know how and where we are going. I just started back teaching an advanced graduate course in assistive technology and asked my students to use Goalscape Connect to chart their own goals for the course. Last week I introduced them to Goalscape Connect and we did some hands on work with it. For their assignment, I asked them to use Goalscape to develop their goals for the course to help guide their learning. Understanding the principles of Universal Design for Learning (multiple means of engagement) it is important even for adult learners to have them to identity their own learning goals and objectives to help drive their learning. This week I will get a chance to see what they have accomplished with Goalscape Connect and give them the opportunity to drive their own learning. What can be more motivating that that?

As an extra treat, I have invited Richard Parslow to speak to my class via Skype to share his insights for developing Goalscape- I for one am looking forward to that. If you would like to click here for a trial of Goalscape

Gantt Charts vs Timelines-You Decide

In the early 1900's Henry Gantt introduced us to what is commonly referred to as the Gantt Chart, a way of visually communicating tasks and the timeline for each. In his 1919 book "Organizing for Work" ^[6] Gantt gives two principles for his charts:

• one, measure activities by the amount of time needed to complete them;
• two, the space on the chart can be used the represent the amount of the activity that should have been done in that time.

A lot has changed since 1919, and with the advent of computer technology we have seen a number of business project management software applications that take Gantt Charts to a whole new dimension. With the power of the personal computer we can now show not only task completion but the inter-dependencies of the tasks as they relate to the project completion. As more and more information gets added to the Gantt Chart and the visual complexity increases it certainly adds a real cognitive load for many, to make sense of the data. Recently, Wallace Tait and I had a conversation about Gantt Charts and their utility-which lead us to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the visual display when presenting information in a Gantt Chart. One of the real advantages of using Gantt Charts is the fact that it can pack a lot of rich information into a small area. But this can be its downfall as well-and it does take a certain knack to be able to decipher the information and the dependencies that are often displayed in a Gantt Chart.

While Gantt Charts have a rich tradition some people may have difficulty understanding the complexities that are displayed on the screen and choose not to use them to communicate project information. In this regard, some users may want to opt to use a Timeline to convey project information which is a more sequential way at looking at a tasks over time. While you certainly lose out on the richness of the Gantt Chart you are quickly able to see the flow of the project and when things need to be done. One mind mapping application that bridges the gap between Gantt Charts and Timelines is MindView 3 BE. In MindView 3 BE, you have the choice of looking at your project in various modes: as a mind map, a Gantt Chart, or as a Timeline. You can check out my previous post on MindView 3 BE to learn about the features and the project management tools. MindView 3 BE even lets you display your project using a cross between a Timeline with Duration bars. So the question I leave you with is: What are your preferences when you are displaying project information? Please complete the survey that I put together about Gantt Charts. I will report the results once they come in.

MindGenius 2.5: An Overview

I had the opportunity several weeks ago to speak with Dustin Newport, Director of Business & Marketing for MindGenius about their flagship product MindGenius 2.5. I always find it interesting to learn just how these applications come about and their genesis. Dustin shared with me that MindGenius came about as the result of the work of the parent company Gael Quality Group, which is a large consulting company in the compliance and quality management field. In March 2008, MindGenius Ltd, spun out of the parent company into new quarters with a new vision of where they could take this exciting mindmapping application. For the past month I have been using MindGenius and find it to be a powerful, nimble, and straightforward mindmapping application that runs on Windows platform.

When you first start off using MindGenius you can select from a number of redesigned templates to start your mind map session. One of the features which is unique to MindGenius is the ability to use the Question Assistance when developing your mind map. With the Question Assistance turned on you will see a array of topics with questions to help jump start your creative thinking process. There are a number of different topics and associated questions for each of the topics in MindGenius. Once your select your template you are ready to start your brainstroming or planning session using MindGenius. MindGeniis sticks to the core of mind mapping application letting you quickly get your ideas out on the computer screen. As a user you simply start typing and a new entry box pops up to enter your idea. If you like you can format the entry within the dialog box and press enter to add an idea to your mind map. I found the means to enter and idea fast and fluid. To add a series of subtopics all you need to do is select the topic and start typing. MindGenius comes with a library of map markers that you can add to your mind map that can act as a means to create a new map based on the category of the marker. I found this to be a fast and efficient way to look at tasks in my mind map that are assigned to a particular category. Likewise, you can assign a resource to each topic or subtopic in MindGenius and then with a click of the mouse create a new map with all of the tasks sorted by Resource. When working on larger projects this is an invaluable tool to get the big perspective on who is responsible for each of the tasks in the project. MindGenuis does not have the capabilities at this time to visually display what percent of the task is complete. Another unique feature of MindGenius is the Map Explorer which is displayed on the left hand side in a pane that lets you quickly move about your map within an outline mode. As soon as you select a topic in the Map Explorer the topic comes into focus with all the associated subtopics. Having a Map Explorer makes it very easy to move through large maps and can be used to move through your maps when you want to use it for presentations. By simply using the down arrow keys you can move through your MindGenius map via the Map Explorer so that the focus is always on the specific topic or branch. Pairing up MindGenius with a data projector to present the information is a great way to communicate and share your ideas.

MindGenius is fairly typical of mind mapping applications and allows you to link to web sites, files, PDF's. I personally would prefer to be able to embed certain files in my mind maps or at least give me the option to choose between embedding or linking. MindGenius allows you to set boundaries as well as adding floating and call out text. You can also display relationships between ideas on your mind maps buy using the insert Relationship option. Likewise, it is easy to add a note to a topic or subtopic by typing into the Notes pane. If you choose you can also add a watermark to the background when printing your maps. When it is time to distribute your MindGenius maps you can use the free viewer or distribute it as an executable(.exe) file. You can also decide to export your map as HTML and upload it to your server so that others can view it on te web. Or better ye,t export it to the ubiquitous PDF format so that you can email it to your colleagues who can open it with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

MindGenius offers seamless integration of your mind maps into the Microsoft Office Suite of products. If you are interested in using MindGenius as part of your project management solution you will find outputting your mind map to Microsoft Project a snap. I found it very easy to move my MindGenius map right into Microsoft Project with all of the data completely intact. Once you start the export process to Microsoft Project you have an array of options as to what you would like to move over to Microsoft Project. You can click on this link to view an overview of MindGenius. You also have the option to export your maps to Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Visio.

MindGenius is an easy to use mind mapping application that you should be up and running in no time. MindGenius is a straightforward mind mapping application with some unique features that should make it a valuable tool in your arsenal for brainstorming, project planning, and business consulting. The Map Explorer feature along with the Questioning Assistance Pane add some unique functionality to this well thougth out application. My favorite feature which should be ideal for anyone using this tool for project planning is the ability to create a new map based on the resources or categories attached to a topic or subtopic. Overall you will find MindGenius an easy to use mind mapping application with a small footprint. I would hope that MindGenius will continue to build on their fine product and modernize the interface and refresh the graphics and the overall look of the program.

Click on this link to view an overview of MindGenius 2.5

Article about the Power of Mindmapping

There was quite a buzz this week about the article posted on the Forbes.com website about the Power of MindMapping. The author Dan Woods talks about the difference between a linear and nonlinear approach to presenting information and the impact it makes in sharing information.

From my perspective, there is an energy that is shared when presenting information in a mind map that is not often felt when producing it in a text based outline. For me, mind maps help to clarify and give you a clear snapshot of the task or project at hand. With this clarity, I am able to better plan and initiate my projects-but more importantly it is a great way to visually communicate and share ideas with others in refreshing manner. Many of my clients often comment that they really enjoy my presentation of the information that is conveyed and that it is more digestible, then seeing it in a report or in an outline form. But just in case, I always have my outline as a backup for those clients who may not be inclined to seeing the information in a mind map. If you haven't tried mindmapping I urge to experience it and see what it is about. I have a number of resources on my blog to help you gt started and if you need some help, please free to email me.

Using the Task Management Features in MindManager 8

For small to medium businesses who are using MindManager 8 for project planning and keeping tabs on projects, one feature which you will want to explore is the Task Management features built into MindManager 8. As a consultant and small business owner I often am doing small projects that may not require a dedicated project management tool- but I still will need a way to keep on top of my projects and tasks. For this reason, one of new features which I am using more and more in MindManager 8 is the ability to use the Roll Up feature when using the Task Information pane. If you are like me and using MindManager 8 to help you plan and keep on task, then you will find the the new Roll Up feature to be indispensable. All of the task information features can be found in the Task Info pane within MindManager 8.

To get started use MindManager 8 to brainstorm the tasks for the project. Once you have organized the tasks and sequenced them in the order that you will perform the task, select the Central topic and Open the Task Info Pane. In my example, I selected the central topic, Revise Assistive Technology DVD and from the Task Info Pane selected "Roll up task info to here." You also want to make sure that you have checked off Show past-due as: and Show as-risk as:- which I will explain later.

Next go through your tasks and set the number of days each task will take in your mind map. For the first task, you can use the Calendar to set the Start date for the project. It is best to leave the end date blank and let MindManager 8 calculate the end dates based on your task dependencies. By default MindManager 8 will set each task to 1 day duration which is easily changed in the Task Info Pane. For the final step you will use the Relationship feature to link your tasks in the order that you would like to complete them. By default MindManager 8 will set the dependency to Finishto Start and you will see a little FS icon on the relationship line to denote this. If you would like to fine tune the dependency relationship this too can be done in the Task Info Pane. Once you have set the dependencies for your tasks you will see that under your Central topic the Start date and calculated finish date with the cumulative number of work days to complete the task under the topic.

Once you start using your mind map to track your project's progress you will begin to see the real value of the Roll Up feature in MindManager 8. As you input the task completion percentages into your mind map, MindManager 8 will roll up the information to the central topic allowing you to get a quick overview of your overall progress and visually see which tasks are past due or at risk of not completing on time. MindManager 8 will display icons on those task which may be past due or at risk of not be completed which can give you a quick overview of where you need to concentrate your efforts. You can watch the video tutorial here to see how to use the Roll Up feature. I welcome your comment and how you are using this powerful feature in MindManager 8.

Project Planning in MindView 3

In a previous post, I had asked my readers to share their thoughts and ideas about project planning and management and mind mapping software. I had created a short 10 question poll about the issues and features that you are looking for in your mind mapping software and just how important and integral is project management to the tool. Not surprising a large percentage of the respondents felt that using mind mapping software for project planning was a very important reason for using the tool.

Earlier this week I posted a review of MindView 3 from Matchware, Inc. which focused on the mind mapping environment and thought that you would be interested in some of the unique project management features that are built into MindView 3 BE. With this in mind, I had a chance to take a look at MindView 3 Business Edition (BE) to see how it handles project planning. MindView 3 BE has project planning tools integrated into the mind mapping application and it is easy to go from mind mapping to the Gantt View with a single click. Once you are in the Gantt View you have a full range of tools at your disposal which you would come to expect from a project planning application. Once you go from the mind mapping view to the Gantt View MindView 3 now will treat your Main Topics as Summary Tasks and all your subtopics as your working tasks. In the Gantt View it is easy to set the Start Dates and the Duration for the task and watch the End Date automatically recalculate. MindView 3 BE lets you select the dates from the standard calendar picker which makes it easy to enter the data. You can link your Tasks as well as your Summary Tasks with the Linking tool that is provided in the Toolbar and watch as your Gantt chart is recalculated when changes are made. MindView 3 BE supports a number of common dependencies such as Start to Start, Start to Finish, Finish to Start, and Finish to Finish. To make changes to the type of dependency, simply double click on the link between the tasks and select the dependency type from the drop down menu. Entering task completion is easily accomplished by placing your cursor in the task bar and dragging the completion bar to the right. You could just as easily extend how long a task will take by clicking on the outer edge of the task and dragging to the right. MindView 3 is very responsive and changes are automatically updated. MindView 3 has several overall styles that you can apply to your Gantt chart as well as allowing you to fully customize individual tasks with your own color schemes if you so desire.

Setting up your resources for the project can be accomplished in several different ways. For small projects it is easy to just type in the name of your resource. For larger projects you can import your resources from you Address Book or from your Active Directory. There is also the option of importing your Resources from OpenMind, MindView, Microsoft Project and from MindManager. Once you have entered your Resources into your project you can allocate the Resource by selecting the resource from the Assign Resources dialog box. I would have liked to been able to select the Resource right within Resource area without the need to bring up another dialog box to do so.

Setting up the Project Calendar for the Project is quick and intuitive and allows you to define the standard work day as well as set days off for the project. Setting up non-default days was accomplished very quickly. It is important to understand the each Project Calendar is set up for each project that you are working on. It is not possible for MindView 3 to be able to share Resources among multiple projects you are tracking and so Resource leveling is not an option in this application. To view the Critical Path you simply click on the Critical Path button which is prominently located on the toolbar.

Setting up project costs within MindView 3 BE is accomplished by using the Calculation Panel. As you see in this Gantt Chart, I have set up three different branch values for each task; Labor Costs, Materials, and Total Costs. Once these values have been set up I can then click on any task and enter a dollar value. Using the formula tools within MindView 3 BE, I can also sum up the Total Costs which are based on adding the values of Labor Costs and Materials for each task. Creating the formula to do this was straight forward and intuitive. MindView 3 BE has a very powerful SUM tool that can be utilized to roll up all of the values in your project and provide you with and overall cost for your project. To get a sense of the power of the Calculations-simply use the Export to Excel Advanced feature to generate a fully formatted project cost analysis spreadsheet with all of the data in one place. You can also use the Project Reports tool that is found within the Gantt View to give you a number of key reports that you can generate on the fly. The Project Reports generates html files and opens your reports within the browser. You will find the reporting to be be very quick and easy to use.

When it comes time for sharing your Gantt chart you can easily print it out using the various formatting features found in MindView 3 BE or export your project to Microsoft Project if you like. You can easily export your Gantt view to a Picture file in a number of formats. I would have liked to see the ability to export to PDF within MindView 3 BE,, which is I believe the standard for file exchange.

For those situations when a Timeline will do to communicate the project, MindView 3 BE provides you with an alternative to the Gantt Chart. The Timeline environment is just a click away and is packed with features to help communicate your project tasks and goals. There are several ways to format your Timeline within MindView 3 to take advantage of both timelines and Gantt charts. This is a really handy tool to have access and gives you multiple ways to represent your project tasks. You will notice in the screenshot that you can also show the costs associated with each task.

Summary
MindView 3 BE gives you some easy yet powerful tools which lets you go from mind mapping to project planning with the click of the mouse. MindView 3 BE provides an intuitive and easy to use interface within the Gantt View to get your project planning done and on time. While the calculation feature provides some powerful reporting features it doesn't go far enough to help link the duration of the task with costs. I would have liked to been able to have my costs for the project keyed into the duration of the task and the cost as related to the resource being accessed so that MindView 3 could automatically calculate the current cost for the project. I believe that this is an area for improvement but it does not mar the effectiveness of the tool or the ability to work with calculations and the Excel Export to generate your project costing reports. All told, MindView 3 is a formidable mind mapping tool with strong timeline and project planning features.

MindView 3 from Matchware-Part 1

I had a chance this past week to take a look at MindView 3 Business Edition, which is the latest offering from Matchware, Inc. MindView 3 is a full featured mind mapping application that is a significant upgrade from what used to be known as OpenMind 2. MindView 3, takes full advantage of Microsoft's Fluid Ribbon Interface and makes navigating, formatting, and working with your mind maps easy to jump into. MindView 3 is unique in that it offers the user a full featured mind mapping application as well as including project planning (GANTT charts) and Timeline views that are integrated into the application. I will speak more about these features in part 2 of my review.

When MindView 3 opens you can quickly start creating a new mind map, Outline, Timeline or Gantt chart from the template provided. There is also a complete library of mind map templates that are more specialized that you could start your map from. Once you select your mind map you are ready to get started to map your ideas. From within MindView 3 you can designate the style of the map that you would like to create and you have the option of creating a tradional map with your ideas radiating from the center and going out as well as selecting top-down and left/right maps. To get started you simply type you main idea and press the Enter key to have you ideas radiate from your central point at the same level. To create a sub-branch you can click on the Sub-branch icon on the ribbon or simply Press the Insert key on your keyboard. Generating your ideas moves quickly using the keyboard and within minutes you should be able to flesh out your mind map. Moving ideas on your mind map is easy and intuitive as the program gives you visual feedback along the way. With MindView 3 you can quickly add icons to your branches and sub-branches by selecting the branch and accessing the Icons from the Insert ribbon. This is a fair number of icons that when inserted will appear to the left of your idea in the branch or sub-branch. The icons cover prioritization, arrows, task completion, stars, and library of commonly used icons. You can also access a large library of clip art which can be searched from within MindView 3. Once you find the picture you are looking for you can drag it to the branch. Unless you are using a Floating Picture as it is referred to in MindView 3 the graphic will sit above the branch. While you can select the graphic and make it larger or smaller you can not place it as an inline graphic within the branch. You do have the option of bringing in any graphic of your choice as a Floating Picture which allows you to move the graphic anywhere on your map. Attaching multiple files and hyperlinks to your branches is straight forward and easily accomplisehd using the Ribbon interface. MindView 3 makes it easy to add text notes to your map and opens a large text window at the bottom of the screen to accomplish this. Using the text editor you have the freedom to format to your heart's content, as well as giving you the opportunity of inserting pictures, tables, and hyperlinks.

Formatting your mind map is very intuitive and easy within MindView 3 using the Design ribbon. Using the Design Ribbon you can quickly select from Layouts, Styles and Effects which can quickly let you format your map just the way you want to. To format the branches and sub-branches you will need to access the Properties menu from the View Ribbon to bring up the options. You can also add boundaries around your sub-branches and format them with a range of colors, gradients and fills to highlight certain areas of your map. When using MindView 3 for presentations you will find the Focus Mode and the Apply Branch Focus to be two very helpful features. If you have designed very large maps these two features help to bring your ideas into focus on the screen. The Focus Mode zooms in on your map and what you have selected and brings into focus the branch or sub-branch. Using the Apply Branch Focus will hide all of the other branches except the one you are focused on allowing you to zero in on your topic. Navigating through the two features is fast and intuitive. MindView 3 also has powerful filtering features which lets you set up rules for showing certain branches that meet the criteria. You can use Boolean logic to only show those items in your map that meet the criteria. If you have a designed a large map this feature will come in handy.

When it comes time share and distribute your map MindView 3 gives you lots of options to output your map. You can export your maps very quickly to the Microsoft Office Suite of tools including: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Project. I found the exporting to be very fast and clean with lots of options for tailoring the output. Each export gives you the option of doing a Quick or Advanced export depending on your need. MindView 3 supplies you with lots of Export templates to choose from to make your documents, presentations and projects come to life.

There is a lot to like about MindView 3- in no time you will be developing your mind maps complete with pictures, icons, and links. I found MindView 3, with the Fluid Ribbon Interface very easy to use and quick and responsive. With robust exporting to the Microsoft Office Suite, MindView 3 makes sharing and distributing your maps a cinch. In my next post, I will highlight the GANTT and Timeline feature that is built right into MindView 3 which really makes this a unique software application. Mindview 3 is a formidable mind mapping software application with a sweet spot for those who want built-in project planning tools. Look for Part 2 of this review that delves into the project planning, using calculations and the timeline features found within MindView 3.