Using Mindmaping Tools in the Writing Process

Over the years I have written countless articles about how I use mind mapping in the work that I do, but one of the areas which may be overlooked is in the writing process. As part of my consulting business I am often asked to write project proposals for new work as well as status updates on projects that I may be working on. While man of us may be inclined to open up Microsoft Word and start writing, I have always found it easier to structure my thoughts using mind mapping software.

As part of the process, having the ability to brainstorm what I am going to include is a natural using mind mapping software. Having the ability to move my ideas around the mind map helps me to organize my ideas and structure the content that I will include in my final report. Once I have completed the brainstorming phase, I move the ideas around the map until I am satisfied with the content. Next, I begin to attach notes to my topics to flesh out my ideas. The notes will serve as the content for my report once I have exported the mind map into a Word document. After adding notes to each of the ideas in my mind map, I am now ready to utilize the export feature to Microsoft Word- which quickly generates a structured proposal or status report. Many of the leading mind mapping applications allow you to export directly to a PDF file format. I prefer to first export the report to a Microsoft Word document first so that I can make any final edits and changes before converting it to a PDF file.

Utilizing mind mapping tools to help generate and structure the report gives my proposals and project updates a unique look and feel that sets me apart from other consultants. The cover sheet of my report includes the mind map along with a table of contents which allows the reader to easily navigate to a specific page in the proposal. Once my report is in Microsoft Word, I generally convert it to a PDF file for my client which ends the process. I might add, that for my final touch, I have been using Adobe Acrobat SendNow service to send my finished proposals which gives me the added feature of being able to track that it was received. So if you are looking for a way to help structure your writing then reexamine how you can use mind mapping software for this purpose- you will be glad you did.

NoteControl - Taking Charge of Your Resources

With information coming at us at a frantic pace it is no wonder that we can quickly become overwhelmed. This is especially true for students who have a need to curate their notes and sources when writing research articles. Life was a lot easier for me when I was in school, there were simply books and journals, that I used to cite my works. Today students are faced with the myriad of Internet sources, books, journals, podcasts, and multimedia to keep account of when doing research. In this light, Matchware, recently released a new product NoteControl aimed at students to help them collect, collate, and sort notes when doing a written research paper. The coup de grace is the ability of NoteControl to output a perfectly formatted bibliography in many accepted and recognized formats (ie APA, MLA, Harvard to name a few.).

The premise of the program is quite simple-you create a notebook and then use the space to capture all of your notes which can include: Text, Picture, Sound, and Web notes. NoteControl allows the user to create a Folder structure to organize your notes and it is easy to move Notes that you capture from one folder to the next. For example, if you want to create a citation for text from a web site, you can simply go to the web site and highlight the text you want to use and then Click on the Text Note icon. This will bring up a note card with the text automatically included- you can change the name of the note card and once you click the Accept button your noted will be stored along with the source.You can use the same technique to capture graphics from websites or store needed  files (Word, PDF's) for your research project. If your computer has a microphone it is easy to store audio notes in your notebooks from within NoteControl.

Matchware has teamed up with WorldCat to enable users of NoteControl to access their large database of resources and collections from libraries around the world. Students are able within NoteControl to search the WorldCat database and have the citation automatically filled out with all of the necessary information for a properly formatted entry. If you have all of the information for a citation you can also manually add a citation to your research Notebook. Students will find the WorldCat tool a very handy tool to use for doing research and will find it even easier when it is time to generate the bibliography.

After you have collected your notes and resources NoteControl really shines when it is time to export all of your notes and create your bibliography. With one click of the mouse NoteControl lets you export your source listing, notes and bibliography directly to Word. NoteControl will export your notes and bibliography to any one of several formats including APA, Chicago, and MLA styles. The bibliography is perfectly formatted saving you the time an effort to manually recreate it once your paper is completed. You will find NoteControl an easy to use tool that is ideal for high school and college students who are writing research papers. As students begin to utilize more and more Internet resources they will find NoteControl and ideal tool to take charge and organize their resources for use in their papers. For those students who have access to MindView 4 and want to see their notes and resources in a mind map you can export them directly from NoteControl. Overall, NoteControl is an easy to use program that delivers on its promise to provide students a way to organize, sort and curate notes for research papers and projects. A one year subscription to NoteControl is prices at $49 dollars and at this time is only available for computers running Windows OS. There is a trial version of NoteControl available for student to try out which I would highly suggest. At $49 dollars for a year, NoteControl is good value and another tool that you should have your students take a look at to help tame the paper tiger when it comes time to write that research paper. It would be great if Matchware could add Text to Speech (TTS) supports within NoteControl for students that benefit from this type of support. NoteControl also allows students to work on collaborative projects across the web which adds value to this fine product. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Recording of Technology Supports for Writing Webinar is Now Available

This past Wednesday, Joan Green and I held a webinar on technology supports for writing which was based on our new eBook, "Technology Supports for Writing" which we recently released. The 51 page eBook which is accessible with Adobe Acrobat Reader includes a great compilation of resources for anyone who needs to support students in the area of writing. Included in the ebook iare over 12 videos that are embedded that let you actually see how the software works. You can view the videos in full screen and get a sense first hand if you think that the program may have application for the students you are working with. During the webinar we highlighted a couple of reesources, ie. PixWriter, Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, Ginger, and NaturalReaders. You will find the eBook to be a helpful resource to have on your computer which not only includes a breakdown of features and interactive links to the publishers website.

This 51 page cutting-edge video ebook is a rich resource for information about various software and hardware tools to improve the writing process. It includes one video describing how to take advantage of this new "just in time" type of multi-media interactive learning tool and 12 integrated videos showing readers examples of how to use supports built-in to some of the highlighted products.

Clickable topics in our video e-book include:

* Software with customizable drill-and-practice exercises to improve writing
* Software to improve spelling
* Software to help stimulate written content
* Features of word processors and assistive writing technology
* Text-based word processing features
* Text- based word processors
* Picture-based talking word processors
* Stand-alone word bank program
* Dictionaries
* Graphic organizers: technology for organizing written narrative
* Technology to help with the physical aspect of writing
* Speech-to-text and voice recognition
* Initiation of the writing process
* The physical act of handwriting or typing
* Portable word processors



A recording of the webinar is now available for everyone to view for one week- until November 7, 2009. Please feel free to pass along this information:) If you know of colleagues, friends, teachers or others who might be interested in this topic, it would be great if you could email them the info to access the recording. If you are involved with support groups, listserves, blogs and Facebook - we would appreciate your help posting this info.

To view the recording go to http://tr.im/Do3z.

In this 60 minute presentation, you have the opportunity to see how assistive technology can help individuals with the writing process. Joan and I demonstrate and discuss several products such as Ginger Software, PixWriter, Livescribe Pulse Pen and Natural Readers and present information about our book titled "Technology Supports for Writing" (available as an instant download or on a CD from www.ittsguides.com.

Until Nov. 7th, use the coupon code "presentation" for a 30% discount for online orders of the download. Contact me at Joan@innovativespeech.com for an order form if you prefer to pay by check or need to use a purchase order.

You will need Windows Media Player on your computer in order to view the webinar recording as well as high speed internet access. If you don't have the software, it can be downloaded from here.

After ordering the ebook, you will neet to have at last Adobe Reader 9 to view the integrated videos. If you don't have at least that version, it can be downloaded here .

We are both available for consultations as needed (on this topic or others) if you would like to explore in greater detail which resources might be most appropriate for your situation. Our contact information is included below. We'd also appreciate hearing from you about other topics you would be interested in learning about.

Brian Friedlander, Ph.D.
Brian@assistivetek.com
908-852-3460
Skype: assistivetek
Blog: assistivetek.blogspot.com

Joan Green, M.A. CCC-SLP
Joan@innovativespeech.com
1-800-IST- 2550 or 301-602-2899
Twitter- @jgreenslp

Searching Google with Context Organizer

One of the tools that I have been relying more and more on is Context Organizer. With the increase of information that we all need to process it is great to have a tool like Context Organizer to help me make sense of the information and summarize it for me. I have explained in past blog posts how Context Organizer can be used with MindManager 8 to build a map from URL's, PDF files and Word Documents. But one of the most powerful features is being able to do Google Searches and within seconds have the sites that are found summarized with key words and relevancy at my disposal. Context Organizer allows me to do my Google searches and processes them with a click of the button. If you want to see what I'm talking about then take a look at the video below to give you an idea of the power of this tool.

While not specifically developed for individuals with reading difficulties just think of how this can be used to help students deal with the mountains of text that they encounter each and every day. Using Context Organizer, information can be quickly summarized for students and then using a text to speech software the information could be read. There is also the ability to send the summaries to Microsoft Word which could make this a great research tool for students with reading and writing disabilities. Think of this as cognitive assist for students with reading disabilities and a great tool for doing research. You can download a trial of Context Organizer at their website.

Technology Supports for Writing is Released

I am happy to share with you that the eBook, Technology Supports for Writing has been released today. Joan Green and I have teamed up to write and design this very innovative eBook on writing supports for individuals with disabilities. The book title, Technology Supports for Writing not only includes a rich source of information about various software and hardware tools but includes over a dozen videos showing you how to use the supports built-in to the software and how these tools can be used. You can download your copy from www.innovativespeech.com



Look for a webinar coming soon on technology supports for writing that Joan and I will be doing shortly.