Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius

Transcription

1 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius This workshop is aimed at those of you who struggle gathering and sorting information when beginning to write an essay. Using MindGenius you can plan essays and presentations visually and then export your work to MS Word or PowerPoint MindGenius is a useful tool for people with dyslexia, as well as anyone who wants a visual tool for processing ideas and planning. Last updated Faye Brockwell September 2015 This document and other Information Services documents are held online on our website:

2 University of Brighton Information Services Contents Workshop requirements... 3 System and software... 3 What is MindMapping?... 4 The Origin of MindMapping... 5 The 8 Steps to successful Mind Mapping... 6 The Screen Layout... 8 Create a New Map... 9 Creating a New Mind Map... 9 Saving a Mind Map... 9 Editing and Adding Branches...10 Collapsing and expanding branches...12 Zooming...12 Changing your map layout...12 Moving and deleting branches of a map...13 Deleting branches of a map...14 Editing branch text...14 Adding colour and images to your map Editing the appearance of one branch Changing the colour of branches automatically Adding a boundary Editing the appearance of all branches of the same level Adding pictures to the map Adding branch numbers...19 Adding Notes and Associated Resources Adding Notes...19 Adding links to websites and linking to other files Adding links to a document...21 Spell-checking your map...21 Exporting your Mind Map into Word...22 Exporting your Mind Map into PowerPoint...23 Page 2 August 2010

3 Workshop requirements No files are required for this workshop System and software Mind Genius 5 This document uses Mind Genius 5, the latest version of Mind Genius installed on university computers. All Windows computers in student pool rooms and teaching rooms have MindGenius 5 installed. Most staff university Windows computers have MindGenius installed, but some may have an older version as the upgrade to MindGenius 5 was not pushed out to computers automatically. Staff should contact the Service Desk on 4444 to upgrade. All staff and students can also install Mind Genius 5 on their home windows computers for free. For more information: visit click on the Software link in the left-hand menu click on the Discounted software for staff or Discounted software for students link on the page MindGenius is not available for Apple Mac Internet access and a web browser This is required for adding links to the internet to your mind map Microsoft Office This is required for the export to PowerPoint and Word. All staff and students can download Office 2013 for free to their personal computers. For more information visit click on the Software link in the left-hand menu click on the Discounted software for staff or Discounted software for students link on the page

4 University of Brighton Information Services What is MindMapping? Mind mapping (or concept mapping) involves writing down a central idea and thinking up new and related ideas which radiate out from the centre. By focussing on key ideas written down in your own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between the ideas, you are mapping knowledge in a manner which will help you understand and remember new information. Page 4 August 2010

5 The Origin of MindMapping Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Linear Note Taking: We tend to write notes linearly, writing on lines and in sentences. However, this process is lengthy and unfortunately valuable key information is lost within masses of information quickly. Highlight Keywords: When reviewing information we tend to highlight or underline keywords little nuggets of information that are important within the body of text. Eliminate Insignificant Information: MindMapping takes this a stage further. By highlighting and focusing on keywords you eliminate at least 90% of the notes and are left with the highlighted, important text. Connect keywords: The keywords don t mean much on their own but when you connect, order and associate them they form a comprehensive summary. Categorise the Information: The use of colour helps to distinguish and categorise information. Your brain is more likely to be excited by colour and as a result become more interested in the subject content. Personalise the Information: Create your own personal images and symbols that will help you understand and remember the relationships between your thoughts. Mind Maps can be applied to most of life's situations providing clarity of thought and purpose in whatever needs tackled. Page 5

6 University of Brighton Information Services The 8 Steps to successful Mind Mapping Page 6 August 2010

7 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Mind Maps can be applied to most of life's situations providing clarity of thought and purpose in whatever needs tackled. Why Computer-aided mapping? Both maps above are based on text on the website Page 7

8 University of Brighton Information Services The Screen Layout Before we begin to work with MindGenius it is important to understand the screen layout. 1. File tab 2. Ribbon 3. Map Explorer 7. Navigation Pane 4. Notes editor 6. Map Editor 5. Task Pane 1 The File tab is where you will find the key functions such as save and print. 2 The ribbon appears at the top of the screen. The icons on the ribbon allow quick access to functions in MindGenius. Icons are grouped together on tabs. 3 The Map Explorer appears at the left hand side of the Map Editor and is used to navigate large Maps. The Map Explorer immediately allows you to focus in on an area of the Map 4 The Notes Editor is displayed below the Map Explorer. It is a text editor allowing you to add related notes to any selected branch 5 Note: You can change the location of the Notes editor by clicking on the button at the on the Task Pane. This will locate the editor to the bottom of the screen (as found in PowerPoint). 6 Below the notes editor is the task pane. This is a series of buttons that give you easy access some features of MindGenius such as Questions and Pictures. Hover over them to find out more. Clicking on an icon in the Task Pane loads the function into the window above. 7 The Map Editor takes up the largest part of the screen and is where maps are created and edited 8 The Navigation Pane appears at the right hand side of the Map Editor and comprises a template gallery with many pre-defined templates to get you started, as well as resources to help you use Mind Genius. Page 8 August 2010

9 Create a New Map Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius So let s get mapping! Our assignment is to write an essay on making the perfect cup of tea. Creating a New Mind Map Open MindGenius on your computer (on a university pool room computer you will find MindGenius within the Applications folder). Click on the File tab and click to select New from the menu or click on New Blank Map in the Navigation Pane. In the dialogue box type the text for the root branch of your map and click OK. The Root Branch is the first branch in a map; it describes what the map is about. Exercise B Create a new mind map 1 Create a new map with the title Making the perfect cup of tea. Saving a Mind Map Click on the File tab and click to select Save from the menu. Specify a location to save the map (if you are working in a student pool room, you must NEVER save work to the desktop or the C drive as this work will be lost when you log off. It is better to save to a USB memory stick). Specify a name for the map and click on Save. Exercise C Save your map 1 Save your map with the filename Tea essay. Page 9

10 University of Brighton Information Services Editing and Adding Branches Double-click on a branch to edit the text. To add a new branch: o o o click once on the parent branch type the text for the new branch press the Enter key on your keyboard. To add another new branch at the same level: o o type the text for the new branch press the Enter key on your keyboard. Exercise D Essay essentials All essays need an: Introduction Main body Conclusion Bibliography Let s put these key elements for an essay into our map to ensure that we don t forget them. Let s start by adding the first one: 1 Single click on the branch Making the perfect cup of tea and then type Introduction and then press the Enter key on your keyboard. The new branch has been added to the parent branch Making the perfect cup of tea 2 Use these techniques to build the map as shown below: Page 10 August 2010

11 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Exercise E Brainstorming your ideas for your essay Now we can get our ideas down for our essay. At this point, don t worry about the order of your ideas or the structure. We can organise that later. For now, just think of everything you can to do with making a cup of tea and add it to your map. The technique for this is: Click once on the topic on your map that you want to brainstorm ideas about Type your idea (no need to click the mouse anywhere else) Press ENTER on the keyboard Type your idea (no need to click the mouse anywhere else) Press ENTER on the keyboard And so on. Let s do that now. Let s add ideas of the main body of our essay (once we have these we can plan the introduction and the conclusion later) 1 Single click on the branch Main body and then type Cup type and then press the Enter key on your keyboard. The new branch has been added to the parent branch Main body 2 Use these techniques to build the map as shown below: Page 11

12 University of Brighton Information Services Collapsing and expanding branches When sub branches are added to a branch the icon what happens. appears. Click on it to see The branch is collapsed. This is a useful tool for students using a mind map for revision as it allows them to hide the sub-branches for a certain topic and test how much they can recall. Zooming Is your map too big to read on the screen? Try zooming out using the Zoom tool on the toolbar at the bottom right of the screen. Changing your map layout Do you find the map layout difficult to read? Each of us has a preference for mind mapping. To change your map layout: Click on the Home tab Click on the Map Layouts icon and choose a map layout. Some like to read maps left to right (as the maps on the previous pages are laid out). Others prefer a more circular layout: Whilst others may prefer a list-like layout like the one shown on the left. Page 12 August 2010

13 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Moving and deleting branches of a map Now we have our ideas down, we need to organise them into a logical order for our essay. We can do this by moving the branches around. To move a branch, drag and drop with your mouse. The arrows on the screen will indicate which parent branch you are moving to: These move a branch to become a sub-branch of the branch the pointer is over, i.e.in the example on the right it would become a sub-branch of Pitfalls of a Team. The arrow direction changes depending on the position of the branch. In this case the branch will be inserted at the same level as of the branch the pointer is over but above it. In this case the branch will be inserted at the same level as same level as of the branch the pointer is over but below it. The no-entry sign is displayed dropping the branch will have no effect and no move will take place. Exercise F Moving branches to form your essay structure Looking at our map, we can get an overview of our ideas and try to see patterns and links and see which of the ideas are more important for each topic. For instance, the answer to the questions Milk first? depends on the answer to two other questions the type of cup and whether a teapot is used. So it may be best to talk about those two things first in our essay. In addition to this, the most important thing about when to add your milk is that the tea needs to be brewed at 100C. So we should put that first when talking about that topic. With this in mind, move the branches on your map so that your map looks like the map on the next page: Page 13

14 University of Brighton Information Services Deleting branches of a map To delete a branch: click to select the branch press the Delete key on the keyboard. A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm the deletion. Click on OK. Exercise G Deleting branches 1 Delete the Glass node from the cup type. 2 Add another node in its place called Paper. Editing branch text To edit the text on a branch, double-click on that branch. Exercise H Editing branch text 1 Change the China cup type to read Bone China. Page 14 August 2010

15 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Adding colour and images to your map When you started to create your MindGenius Map it was based on a default style template that defined the shapes of each branch and the colour and fonts of the text used. Some people find colour and images help when planning using a mind map. You can change the colour and appearance of your map in a number of different ways. Note: some people find it useful to change the colours on their map. However, it is not an essential part of using MindGenius for planning an essay or assignment Editing the appearance of one branch 1 Click once on the branch you want to edit to select it. For this exercise, click once on the Cup type branch. 2 Click on the Format tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen and use the icons to format the branch. 3 For example, use the Branch Fill option to change the colour of the Branch to Light Green. 4 For more formatting options, click on the icon in the Branch Appearance group on the Format tab to open the Branch Appearance dialogue box. 5 Click on the Branch Shape tab to edit the style of your selected branch including the Shape Style, Line type/colour and Fill Colour. 6 Click on the Font tab to edit the appearance of the text within the branch. 7 Click OK to finish editing the branch. Try editing Font Colour and Font Size and the Shape Style, Fill Colour and Line Style of the Teapot or cup? branch on your map. Note: if you would like to apply this formatting to any other branches on your map: Click on the Save as style button, type a name for this style and click OK. To apply the style to a selected branch: Click on the branch to select it. Click on the icon in the Branch Appearance group on the Format tab to open the Branch Appearance dialogue box. button. Choose your style from the list in the Existing Style box and click OK. Page 15

16 University of Brighton Information Services Changing the colour of branches automatically If colour helps you to distinguish between areas of your map, try the auto-colour function: Click on the Format tab. Click on the Auto-colour icon. Click on the Auto-colour icon again to turn it off Adding a boundary You can add a boundary to an area of the map for extra emphasis and to group areas together. Click once to select the highest branch of the area want to add the boundary to. On the Format tab, use the Boundary Style and Boundary Fill options to apply a boundary to the selected branch and all of its sub-branches. Exercise I Adding a boundary Let s try that. 1 Add a boundary to the Milk first? node of your map. That section of your map may now look something like this: Before moving on try editing the properties of a branch in different ways, change the fonts used and the styles of the shapes and connectors to make you familiar with what is possible. Page 16 August 2010

17 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Editing the appearance of all branches of the same level A map is based on a default template. From this template the map inherits a style. The style determines how the map looks. That is to say, how each branch at each level of the map is displayed in terms of fonts, branch shapes, connectors, etc. The style of a map can be edited at any time: Editing a style saves you time as if you update the formatting for a certain branch level, the changes will automatically apply to all branches of the same level. Click on the Format tab. Click on the Edit Map Style icon to open the Format Styles window. On the Style Formatting tab choose the branch level to update. Format the branch as required using the icons on the tabs. Click on OK. This will apply the changes to the map. If the changes are not applied to the map, check that the Style Assignment tab has the correct assignments. Exercise J Editing the appearance of branches of the same level Let s change the look of the Core and the Level 1 Branches: 1 Click on the Style Formatting tab 2 Select Core from the list of levels on the left (this will allow us to change the root level of the map) 3 Click on the Branch Shape Tab and choose Ellipse from the Shape Style List, note the sample changing 4 Try changing the font colour for Level 1 to red. Then change the branch fill to be yellow. Click OK when you have finished. Page 17

18 University of Brighton Information Services Adding pictures to the map It is believed that the memory's storing and recalling powers can be enhanced through the use of pictures for emphasis and association. In other words adding associated pictures to a branch may help you remember the information held in that branch. So let s add some pictures! Click once on the branch that you want to add the picture to. On the Insert tab click on the Picture icon. Locate the picture file on your computer, click once to select it and then click OK. To change the size of the picture, click on node containing the picture and then use the and icons on the Insert tab. To change the position of the picture within a node, click on node containing the picture and then use the icon on the Insert tab. To delete an image from a node, click on the node, on the Insert tab click on the Clear Picture. icon and then click on Exercise K Add a picture from file 1 Add a picture to the Cup branch. Look in the My Pictures folder or library on your computer and choose a picture file to add. Your map may now look something like this: Page 18 August 2010

19 Adding branch numbers Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Branches are added sequentially, in other words they have a numeric order. To display the branch numbers: click on the Format tab Click on the Numbering icon. Adding Notes and Associated Resources Completing an essay or assignment involves a varying degree of time spent researching the subject. MindGenius allows you to store the information associated with your branches in a number of different ways. So let s have a look at what you can do Adding Notes Branch titles should be short. However, sometimes you want to store more text for a branch, for example: explanatory notes about a topic a flash of inspiration for what you want to write about a topic a quotation that you want to use when writing about a topic. The Notes Editor can be used to contain this additional information. If you export your map to MS Word, any notes will be included as body text in your Word document. If your export your map to MS PowerPoint, any notes will be included in your presentation as speaker notes. Exercise L Adding Notes 1 First, click on the Dock the Notes Pane icon at the foot of the Task Pane to dock the Notes Editor underneath the map. Your Notes Editor should now be docked to the bottom. When you have a branch selected you can enter notes in the Notes Editor associated with that branch. 2 Click to select the branch you want to add notes to. For this exercise click on the Optimum temperature for brewing is 100C sub-branch. 3 Click inside the Notes Editor and type the following: Black and Herbal teas brew best at a full boil temperatures 208 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Taken from on 28/09/2015. Page 19

20 University of Brighton Information Services 4 Note the formatting tools above the notes editor including numbered and bulleted lists. 5 Now click back onto your map, anywhere will do. You should notice an icon has appeared on that branch to indicate that the branch has some associated notes (see below). Adding links to websites and linking to other files During your research process you will probably gather resources to support your essay or assignment; these can also be stored in your map. Here s how: Exercise M Adding links to websites Let s say you ve found a collection of useful websites that you would like to refer to in your assignment or essay, adding them to a branch would be a useful way of storing and using the links, so here s how: 1 Click on the sub-branch that you want to add a link to. 2 Click on the Insert tab and click on the Attachment icon. 3 In the dialogue box that opens up type the details of the website and then click on OK. 4 For this exercise, add the details above to the Optimum temperature for brewing is 100C sub-branch. Page 20 August 2010

21 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius 5 You will see an icon has appeared on the relevant branch (the icon will be the icon for your default internet browser). 6 Now add a second website of your choice, following the instructions 1 3. The icon will change to 2 paperclips. Hover over this icon with your mouse, you will notice a list appear, detailing the web sites you ve just added. To visit one of the sites simply click on the title Adding links to a document It s possible to add attachments to your map. For instance, if you ve created a separate document containing your detailed notes for a certain topic, you can add a link to this document to your map. This is useful when you export your map to Word as all linked information can be exported with your map. To add a link to a document: Click on the sub-branch that you want to add a link to. Click on the Insert tab and click on the Attachment icon. In the dialogue box that opens up type the description of the file in the Description box. Click on the Browse icon. Locate the document file on your computer and double- click to select it Click OK. An icon will appear on your selected branch to indicate that an attachment has been added. For instance, if you add a Word document, you will see the add multiple attachments to one branch, the icon will change to a paperclip logo. If you Exercise N Adding a link to a document 1 Try adding a file attachment to one of the branches in your map. Spell-checking your map To check the spelling of your map: Click on the Tools tab on the ribbon and click on the Spell Check icon. Page 21

22 University of Brighton Information Services Exporting your Mind Map into Word So we ve created branches, added images, resources and notes, now how do we get this information into an essay form? Exercise O Exporting into Word 1 Close MS Word if you already have it open on your computer. This is because the export to Word only works if you do not already have MS Word open on your desktop. 2 Click on the Export tab on the ribbon and click on the Microsoft Word icon. 3 In the Save As dialogue box that appears: o o o choose the location to save your file to (your M drive or a USB stick) give the file a name click on Save. When using a university pool room computer, do not save to the desktop or to the C drive as these files will be deleted when you log off. 4 In the Save as Word dialogue enter the details as shown below: 5 Click OK. Word should now open with your new document, ready for you to expand upon your initial preparation and research. If you get an error message saying that the call was rejected by the rejectee, it may be that you have Word open in another window. Close Word and try to export your map again. Each branch of your map will be assigned a heading style according to its level. Using styles in Word will save you a lot of time when working with long documents, such as essays and theses, as they allow you to: Page 22 August 2010

23 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius Save time formatting long documents Produce professional-looking documents Create tables of contents easily Edit the structure of your document easily. If you use Word, you should really know how to use styles properly. To learn more about styles, see our Working with Long Documents information on Exporting your Mind Map into PowerPoint Mind Maps can be exported to MS PowerPoint. Your map forms the structure of the presentation. You can plan the structure of the presentation in Mind Genius. The export works as follows: The Core node will export as the title slide of the presentation. An introduction slide is created with the Core as the title and all Level 1 nodes shown as bullet points. One slide per Level 1 node is created*, with sub-branches appearing as bulleted text. Notes are exported as speaker notes. Note: This works best if you do not already have MS PowerPoint open on your desktop. To avoid errors, close the MS PowerPoint application before trying to export from MindGenius to MS PowerPoint. Save your map and then Click on the Export tab on the ribbon and click on the Microsoft PowerPoint icon. In the Save As dialogue box that appears, choose the location to save your file to (staff can save to MyFiles, students to your M drive or a USB stick), give the file a name and click on Save. Page 23

24 University of Brighton Information Services We recommend that you select a different PowerPoint template, otherwise your presentation will have a MindGenius logo and theme. To do this click on the icon and browse to find the template you want to use (eg the Normal template). Use the drop down to specify the maximum number of bullet points per slide. Specify which levels in your map will be converted to the titles of slides in your presentation. With the default setting of Level 1 and Page Break: o o o The Core node will export as the title slide of the presentation. An introduction slide is created with the Core as the title and all Level 1 nodes shown as bullet points. One slide per Level 1 node is created*, with sub-branches appearing as bulleted text. For larger maps, you may want to change this. Click on the Include Options tab for more options. Use the checkboxes to specify which elements of your map you want to export. Click OK. With the default settings: the root branch has become the title of the slideshow each level 1 branch has become a slide header sub-branches have become bulleted points on the slide notes have become the speaker notes of each slide. your slideshow is practically ready! Page 24 August 2010

25 Essay & Assignment Preparation using MindGenius And Finally! For more training materials on using MindGenius, see: For more information about mind mapping you may be interested in visiting: Page 25