Activity 3: Using Mindmap to brainstorm writing assignments

Aim: Help students explore and organize a range of ideas which they can use for writing

Moodle modules: None

Extra programs: Mindmap

Ease of setup: *

Before students begin their writing projects, they may find it useful to share ideas and vocabulary that they can use. One way of doing this is to use the add-on module, Mindmap. It's a simple program, and doesn't have the sophistication of other Mindmap programs that allow you to embed audio, video, and hyperlinks. However, it's useful for setting out a multi-level Mindmap on a topic that students are going to write about. It can be used in conjunction with Activities 5, 9 and 12, which focus on creative writing. It can also be treated as a vocabulary activity. We can modify the settings (Step 3) to make this an individual activity, a small group activity or a whole class activity. To achieve the first two groupings, you'll need to set up groupings. There's help with that in Chapter 2...