Collaborative Mind Mapping Software

Though not as flexible as OneNote and other products, CoMapping.com is a product that takes Mind Mapping (limited by it being simply verbal--but still useful) and allowing instant cross-platform collaboration through a browser.





Features (quoted from their site:)

Comapping is conceived as the tool for the globalized world where complex problems must be solved quickly and intelligently. This often implies that a team must collaborate to achieve the solution. Comapping unleashes the potential of such collaborations – even if the collaborators are separated by geographical and/or time-zones.

We have spent a significant amount of time on this subject and are highly passionate about human-computer interface. Our studies have shown that topic organized from left to right are not only more logical for the user but it also gives a much faster overview of the semantic structure – probably because you can physically see topics in less eye spans and are used to reading from left to right.

Comapping is the first mind-mapping application made with the limitations of a computer screen in mind. By automatically collapsing topics that are less relevant to part that you would like to work on, you can now for the first time both keep the overview of the larger map and edit the details at the same time.

Thinkature: An Internet "White Board" for Collaboration

A new web-based product allows users to create a collaborative workspace using one's browser.

Once inside your workspace, you can communicate by chatting, drawing, creating cards, and adding content from around the Internet. It's all synchronous, too - no need to hit reload or get an editing lock.

Like paper and a pencil, the possible uses for Thinkature are limitless. You can use it to plan your next major product or your next great party. Or you could lay out a new organization chart or the floor plan for your next apartment. You might also gather information about your competitors or your next vacation destination.

Because Thinkature runs inside your web browser, you can get at your data from anywhere. Whether you're in your office, at home, or on the road, your data is easy to get at and use. There's no special software, so you (and all of your guests) can join a workspace instantly and without worrying about versions, operating systems, or firewalls.

OneNote Wish List for Office 14, But We Must Be Careful What We Ask For . . . .

This fall semester at HACC, I've been piloting a collaboration project in my MS Office classes utilizing MS OneNote. While OneNote is impressive both as a stand-alone note-gathering tool (especially when coupled with a tablet computer) and with some direct interface with MS Outlook, there's still a few glitches to be worked out by Microsoft in the upcoming Office 14:

1. To be a useful notetaking tool in an academic environment, there needs to be the ability to post citation information into OneNote, and then have that meta data "copy" to a Word document when the final paper is drafted.
2. Shared OneNote notebooks are currently "smooth" only on a single shared network. Sharing OneNote notebooks across the Internet is currently problematic, in that neither FolderShare or LiveOffice Workspace accommodate the OneNote files seamlessly.
3. Other minor "clipping" problems have been reported, both from Mozilla Firefox and from browsers other then IE.

But, from the "careful what you ask for" department, we as faculty must realize that with added functionality comes the need for added instruction. On most campuses, the Intro to Business Software course covers some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and/or Access. And most instructors are hard-pressed to fit that into a typical 3-credit course schedule.

One we "sign on" to collaboration and personal information tagging as must-have skill sets for our graduates, we then must get all the stakeholders in the process to agree on exactly what constitutes a "trained" entry-level worker. Should MS Groove and/or OneNote take precedence over Access Queries? Should exposure to LiveOffice Workspaces be substituted for Goal-seeking?

The time for baccalaureate institutions, community colleges, and publishers to forge an agreement on these issues is now, before Office 14 is released. Otherwise, the added functionality available in Office 14 must lie dormant, untapped by academia for an entire textbook cycle.