Thing #14 - Flow Ride, Take It Easy...

For this assignment, I took some time to mess around with Gliffy and Mindmeister, dealing with flowcharts and mindmaps, respectively. Both websites were pretty easy to get the hang of, and I had fun creating a couple different examples. I don't currently have any other projects or assignments that I could utilize these applications with, but perhaps that's for the best (just kinda playing with them casually, sans stress). I made a fun little flowchart on the Gliffy website, just to get a feel for it. I myself am not a huge fan of flowcharts, as I feel that they're a bit confusing and cumbersome as far as visual aids go, but that's just my personal observation. I certainly do understand how a flowchart can be useful in the classroom, especially when sequencing is important to a lesson (be it steps for completing an equation, determining a chain of historical events, setting up an experiment, etc.) I derived a bit more enjoyment out of making a mindmap on Mindmeister, probably due to my preference for this type of layout. Rather than a sequential or directional context, which must be planned out beforehand a mindmap allows its creator to brainstorm and add topics related to the central topic, determining connections and/or directionality afterwards. However, I realize that everyone learns differently, and utilizing these types of visual aids can be quite beneficial for learners.