What a Concept....

Found another online tool that is nicely collaborative, easy to use, and freely available after a sign-up. Check out Webspiration, which creates a visual concept map online based upon the stand-alone software, Inspiration. I really liked it as it is quite easy to use. It is drag and drop, resizable, and allows multiple invitees to work on the map at the same time.

I have been familiar with MindMeister and CMap from previous experiences. MindMeister does not allow real-time collaboration, is sometimes slow in creating large concept maps. It does provide a history of changes and has features for saving and exporting that Webspiration does not. CMap does allow real-time collaborative mapping, recording, and saving and exporting in many formats. It is not as glitzy as Webspiration, but seems to have more features useful to sharing of the finished product. Unlike MindMeister and Webspiration, CMap requires a free software download to your computer. Choosing a tool for mindmapping depends upon the purpose, depth of mapping required, and features needed to accomplish the goals of the learning activity. Check them all out--you decide!