MindSight
© 2002 Riverdeep, Inc.
This new concept mapping software is a good first effort, but doesn't stand up to Inspiration, the front runner of this genre. With a fairly easy-to-use interface, teachers and students can create organized idea webs or maps by filling in labels in boxes and creating relationship arrows between boxes. The idea is to take a complex idea or topic, and break it down into its sub topics, ending up with a visual representation of ideas and relationships. There are many ways to customize these concept maps with colors, layout variations and icons. Thirty lesson plans are included in the teacher support materials. Compared to Inspiration, the software falls short. There are very few clip art items, and the quality of these images is poor. It's tricky to move objects once they are placed. You can't click back and forth quickly between layouts and there's no standard outlining mode. Plus, MindSight costs $20 more (for two CDs).
$89.95, Win
Teaches: utility for concept mapping