Thinking About Thinking Maps

Today by chance I happened to see a student diligently working on a PowerPoint presentation for her English class. I noticed that she was struggling with what she was trying to type into a slide: The Cause and Effect of an Event that happened in a particular chapter of a book she was reading for class. When asked why she was'nt just designing the Multi-Flow Map that illustrates cause and effect using the Thinking Map software and then just export the map as an image file that she could then import into her PowerPoint; she looked at me as if I was giving her a mountain more of work to do. Sooooo, I said "step aside, let me drive, and I will show you just how easy and quick this can be done".

Before I give you the steps to exporting a map as an image, let me first give you a quick overview of the software application (just in case some of you may not be familiar with it).


The Thinking Map software's main purpose is to get students learning and practicing the proper use of each of the maps. By following directions prepared by the teacher and displayed within the direction column of a Thinking Map excersise, students can design maps from scratch and customize them based on the specific lesson objectives. When completed, students can then move on to the writing window where they transform their thoughts and ideas from their maps into a writing piece.

Ok, so how can one create a map that can then be saved and exported for use with other applications such as PowerPoint? To learn how, watch the short video below that will demonstrate the process.

Enjoy!