(1) Good afternoon. Im Augusto Gallo and Ive been a teacher at CI So Paulo for over 10 years.

Ive always been connected to projects involving technology, from the use of online voice
recording tools, to animated stories, to online writing tools. Today Im here to tell you a little bit
about my last project: using online mind mapping tools to enhance collaborative learning. This
is what were going to talk about today: (2) mind maps, technology + collaborative learning, the
tech project and tips. Id like to start by telling a story. The history of mind mapping.

(3) The history of mind maps: from Porphyry to Jack Black

Is everybody here familiar with mind maps? Im sure you have already used or at least seen
flowcharts, spidergrams, genealogy trees These are all examples of mind maps. In short, mind
maps are graphical representations designed to facilitate understanding, thinking and memory.
Mind maps go a long way back, as far as the 3rd century. (4) The Porphyrian Tree is considered
to have been the first ever representation of knowledge in the form of a concept or mind map.
It explained Aristotles Categories in a logical process. Since then, numerous samples of mind
maps can be found in several different areas of knowledge, (5) from the famous tree of virtues
and tree of vices, to Charles Darwins Tree of life, to Newtons notes, (6) to Jack Blacks history
of rock n roll. Mind maps have permeated the very fabric of human imagination, helping give
form and organize the most complex concepts and ideas.
But why mind map? (7) In the 1970s, Tony Buzan, a British psychologist coined the term mind
mapping in a tv series broadcast by BBC. Tony Buzan may not have invented mind mapping (as
he claims), but he sure is responsible for a great part of the popularity this technique enjoys
nowadays. He laid the ground rules to what is a mind map: a graphical representation of
knowledge, starting in the center and radiating in all directions. Mind maps are based on
radiant, rather than linear, thinking. By emulating how the human brain works, mind maps
make it easier to organize, store and refer to information. Studies indicate that the use of mind
maps can increase memory and learning by 10%.
Mind maps have also been used as an effective note-taking technique for quite a long time. As
teachers, we all know the importance of note-taking. (8) According to Professor Walter Pauk at
Cornell University, students will forget just short of 50% of the information after 20 minutes
and around 60% after 1 day. The same study showed that students who dont take notes will
remember only 10% of an audio lecture, while those who do take notes and revise them later
on can recall about 80% of a lecture. Still, only 65,5% of students take notes during class,
according to a 2010 research. Hence the importance of a tool that enables and motivates
students to take notes, organize and revise them easily.

Technology in the classroom

Cultura Inglesa SP encourages students from all levels to keep a lexical notebook. I realized
that, although keeping lexical notebooks was encouraged, even part of the program in some
levels, few students made good use of this tool. And I didnt blame them, I myself being a
rather poor note-taker. But I like technology, and I know that tech tools help me do things that I
cant without them (an organizer, for one).
This is another distinguishing feature of our lessons: the relevant use of technology. CISP has
always invested in cutting edge technology. We dont do this because its posh, or because it
sells more. We do this because it offers more and better possibilities of teaching and learning.
The CI understood the need to use technology. So much so that when, in the first semester of
2014, CISP put together a team of teachers to find and test tech tools that could be used in the
classroom, one of the rules that we needed to respect was: it needed to be something sts
cannot do without the technology. We didnt want to substitute old tech with new one. We
wanted to add to the teaching and learning experience. Many good ideas sprung from that
initiative. (9) Mine was inspired by something I observed one of my daughters doing. (10) She
was a high-school student at the time and I saw her using small paper cards to summarize the
subject she had studied in class. She organized everything in topics, used different colors, lines
connecting different points. (11) When she was studying biology, she would use drawings and
subtopics, for example. (12) She would then use a string to tie all the cards together. She was
creating mind maps. I thought it would be great to have my students do something like that. So,
I decided to investigate mind maps more thoroughly, and found that online mind maps are
great! One can argue that online mind maps are no different than paper mind maps. One is
right. Here I noticed the feature that would make online mind maps stand out from traditional
lexical notebooks: (13) collaboration.

Collaborative learning
Collaborative learning can be defined as learning tasks or activities where students work
together in a group small enough for everyone to participate in a collective task that has been
clearly assigned.
(14) Bruffee stated that knowledge a social construct and research shows that educational
experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper
learning. Collaboration creates group cohesiveness, group identity and the idea that you
belong. Not to mention the fact that it is usually more fun to do things in groups, especially for
teenagers.
Using online mind maps would then address two key issues in our lessons: the effective use of
technology and collaboration among students.
Some students reported that the way their peers built the map differed from their own focus
on the information gathered in class and that this showed them a different perspective,
enhancing their knowledge.

Mind map presentation

(15) The use of online mind maps in class aims at encouraging students self-study practices,
independence and autonomy, and fostering collaboration and interaction inside and outside
the classroom by providing them with an alternative to recording and organizing notes taken
during the lessons. By using mind maps students establish a consistent study routine, better
organize their notes, collaborate with peers, and have a summary of what they have been
working with in class in one single place.
Now, how does this really work? For this project I chose a tool called Mindomo. I chose
Mindomo because its easy to use; its free (Ill talk more about it in the end); its user-friendly;
it doesnt require any download or installation and its not difficult to use. This project included
6 teachers, 15 groups and 234 students. (16) In the beginning of the semester I create a map for
the group and shared it with students. (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22) The next images show the
timeline of a map from scratch to the mid-term test. This is a MAC1 group (the first level of the
advanced block). After creating the stem with students, they take over and the teachers sole
job is to monitor their work and offer help when needed. All the information on the map was
managed and included by the students themselves, working in groups. Each group was
responsible for updating the map in a given week. The group had to decide which information
should be uploaded and who was responsible for doing it. Working with the map can be done in
class (with their mobile phones, tablets and even laptops) or from home. (23, 24) The next
images show the online interaction between two upper-intermediate students discussing the
relevance of including a certain piece of information. This kind of collaboration is encouraged
by the very nature of the online tool. Because students can work independently from home,
office or school, they have more freedom to make their own schedule.
COMPLETE MAP The result is a comprehensive data bank of what students think matters most.
This easy-to-access information can then be used to help students with their (25) writing tasks,
(26) communicative activities and (27) revision for tests. (28) In the advanced courses students
are allowed to use a printed version of the map in the writing component of the final test.
These pictures show the map created by students and how the information was used by them
in the final writing assignment. (29, 30) The results have been significant.
(31, 32). As expected, students who referred to their mind maps while doing writing tasks and
taking part in communicative activities had a consistent increase in their grades when
compared to those who didnt have access to the map. Besides, throughout the semester
students reported to have developed better note-taking skills and also to have better
memorized new lexis.
21st century skills
(33) Its also important for CI that our students take home more than just the language. We
worry about equipping them with tools and skills that will be useful outside the classroom.
Some students and teachers who took part in the project decided to use mind maps in their
personal lives. Im the first example, with this presentation. Other examples are: (34) *Cames;
(35) *Lingusitica; (36) *workflow;

Feedback
(37) In the end of the semester I carried out a survey with the students who took part in the
project. Id like to share some of the results and comments (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34). The
teachers who participated also answered some questions (35, 36, 37).
Tips:
Now Id like to share some practical tips when working with mind maps in class:

studies have shown that, although learners get really excited about using mind mapping
and its benefits in the beginning, this interest tends to vanish quite quickly. In order to
avoid this problem, I decided to divide sts in small groups and assign one group to be
responsible for their map each week. This way, in a group with 20 students, every st will
only have to update the map 2 or 3 time in a semester. Of course the map will always
be available whenever any student wants to use it.
there are many online mind mapping tools. I chose mindomo for the reasons Ive
already mentioned. Its free, but the free subscription will only allow you to create and
share 3 maps. The trick is: every time 5 people register to mindomo following a map you
created you win 90-day free premium subscription. Which means that after creating 1
map and sharing it with your students, you will be able to create as many maps as you
wish for the next 90 days (and its cumulative).
mindomo offers mobile and desktop apps which offer some very interesting features.

Wrap up
One of the most remarkable things about working with tech tools is that you eventually find out
that technology can be a burden or a boon. We need to make sure we use it in our lessons to
enhance, but not to enslave; to spread, but not to disperse; to collaborate, not to part. I dont
know about you, but whenever I travel, I like to bring something home that reminds me of the
place Ive visited, something I can show my friends and say: Hey, check this out. Ive been to
this place and I learned how to do something different. I hope you can leave this talk with
something youd like to share with your friends back home, something like a souvenir. I have
created a map about this conference and I would like to invite you all to use it. Feel free to
insert any information about any event you attend. Heres my contact. If you need any help
creating or using mind maps, do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for coming!