CMap free concept mapping tool

Writing about web page http://cmap.ihmc.us/

I have decided to move my research work from the very professional MindManager software to the slightly less slick but more accessible (as in free) CMap software.

Concept mapping is an essential part of how I work, both in philsoophy and in e-learning. For sometime now I have been building concept maps, and using them for presentations, using the excellent Mindjet MindManager. This is a very slick and professional product, with integration into Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Project. In fact, it seems to have strong project management functionality (something I never use, even for big projects). You can see an example of a MindManager map in my ePortfolio.

After investigating various other applications, I have decided to switch to CMap. This is mainly a result of the need to get more people at Warwick creating and sharing maps. Although MindGenius and Inspirations are available on university computers, I have chosen CMap as it is much more appropriate to research work. Some advantages are:

• free, but not open source, whereas MindManager costs about £80 (with an educational discount);
• versions for Windows, Linux and Mac (MindManager is Windows only);
• not a rigid tree structure, sub-nodes can be joined to sub-nodes by standard 'propositions', making the maps more like a rhizomatic network than an arborescent hierarchy (that's philosophically correct then);
• drag-and-drop linking between nodes in different maps;
• CMap collaboration server available, for sharing and version controlled co-development of maps – also includes chat and versioning (not investigated yet).

The thing that I might miss from MindManager is the ability to easily hide nodes (and their subnodes). Each parent node in MindManager has a plus sign next to it. Clicking on the plus hides or unhides the node. This is useful when dealing with a complex map, but also when using a map in a presentation. My technique is to start with the high level nodes, and then reveal the detail in turn. It may be that this feature actually encourages me to put too much detail on a single map. Using the inter map linking feature in CMap, I will be able to move the detail out into seperate maps. Perhaps this will also help me in structuring my ideas more effectively.

Interestingly, the first maps that I looked at from CMap's own server were on exactly the topics that I am researching: autopoiesis and complexity.

You can download CMap for free.

Robert O'Toole : 26 May 2005 11:30 |  Tags: Philosophy Planning |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem