Bubbl.us

Thank you to Rebecca Buerkett and Gail Brisson for their tutorial on Bubbl.us, an online brainstorming tool.

Overall, although more robust Web 2.0 mind mapping tools exist, Bubbl.us is a distraction-free, easy to use alternative with many excellent features. Good choice for elementary school use

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Bubbl.us is an interactive, collaborative online mind mapping tool. It can be used for brainstorming, coordinating responsibilities during the early stages of a project, or just organizing ideas. In the classroom, it could be used to teach writing skills, organize a team for a project, or conduct a literature analysis. This tool includes collaboration features that make it a useful Web 2.0 technology. Users can generate emails asking their friends to join or to view a certain mind map. Users can also collaborate with others on a mind map, and both users can then modify the map. Also, maps from different users can be combined.

Special features include:

• The ability to easily and rapidly create colorful mind maps
• Online sharing capabilities
• Users can embed their mind maps in a blog or website
• Users can save, email and print mind maps
• Mind maps can be exported as jpeg, png, xml, or html.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The primary strength of Bubbl.us is that it is a free online tool that anyone can use. This is particularly helpful in a school setting because it doesn't require downloads or the purchase of software, it just needs to be unblocked on any internet filters. Bubbl.us is relatively easy to use, and there are some fun features that appeal to kids, including the ability to change the colors of any bubble, and the fact that bubbles explode when you delete them! Bubbl.us is a relatively stripped-down tool, and the lack of distracting extraneous features would be a benefit in the classroom. The online aspect means that valuable server space isn't required to host projects. It would be quite simple during a class, presentation, or meeting for the instructor or lecturer to connect to Bubbl.us, project a new mind map onto a SmartBoard and instantaneously begin a brainstorming session. The resulting mind map could then be emailed or downloaded as an image to be pasted into a word document.
The main weakness of Bubbl.us is that even though you can email friends and ask them to join or add to a map, you have to do so manually; the site doesn't automatically notify collaborators when changes have been made, nor does it send an email to let people know that they have been added as a collaborator. Other weaknesses include:

• The panning navigation feature rather than a scroll bar is a little different and takes some getting used to.
• Users can't add images, graphics, or attachments like they can in some other mind mapping tools.
• The help menus are not very comprehensive, although providing the help display at the point of use (when you mouseover a button or feature) is very handy.
• Combining mind maps is not a simple cut and paste - it requires exporting and importing which is a bit tricky.
• In a primary or secondary school setting, the requirement to provide an email address to set up an account may be prohibitive, although it could be used in a classroom if the teacher holds the account and the class works together on mind maps.

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Comparison to similar Web 2.0 tools

Though there are many mind mapping tools available, two tools are particularly close to Bubbl.us in terms of style and function:
1. Inspiration and Webspiration, both by Inspiration Software;
2. Mindmeister

1. Inspiration, a desktop application, is a concept mapping program widely used in public schools, and it provides an attractive and flexible interface that is easy for students to learn and manipulate. One of its strengths is that it can easily turn a concept map into an outline, thus taking students another step closer to drafting an essay. It also offers many options for the look of the bubbles, fonts, connection lines, and clipart. The most current version offers templates, integration of video and audio, and can export files in formats such as word processing, graphics, and HTML. These features all work to make Inspiration an extremely useful tool both within the classroom and for professionals. Inspiration Software has recently begun offering a free, public beta version of Webspiration, an online version of Inspiration that looks and operates like the desktop version, but with the option to invite collaborators. Export options are limited to downloading to an Inspiration file, and it appears that users cannot embed the concept maps within a website, blog, or wiki. The FAQ at the Webspiration site states that it is intended for college students and business rather than K-12 education. Inspiration has provided a valuable model for how concept mapping software can be integrated into a K-12 classroom, and Bubbl.us obviously owes some of its form and function to this program.

2. MindMeister is perhaps the most direct online competitor for Bubbl.us. In terms of functionality, it offers not only concept mapping but also project management features such as notes, links, attachments, and a task list for prioritizing, assigning due dates and responsibilities, and monitoring progress. Users can also highlight one of their nodes and retrieve related information from Delicious, Wikipedia, or Google. Mindmeister also allows a few more formatting options than Bubbl.us, like text size, color, and bold/italic as well as a limited number of graphical icons. It allows users to export in several file formats: as MindMeister, FreeMind, or MindManager files, an RTF text outline, PDF, or image file. One of MindMeister's strengths is that it brings with it a bit more muscular functionality than Bubbl.us, though those functions may be more useful to a college student, business professional, or to teaching staff than to the average middle school student. Like Bubbl.us and Webspiration, users must provide an email address in order to sign up, which may be an issue for younger students. One feature that would be helpful in tools like Bubbl.us, Webspiration, and MindMeister would be the ability to create identities within a master account, as VoiceThread users can. This would allow students to use the tools without needing to provide an email address or personal information.

Summary:

In conclusion, Bubbl.us works something like a virtual pensieve for connecting ideas and organizing content. The ability to rearrange and connect bubbles, and import mind maps from multiple collaborators makes this technology a useful Web 2.0 tool that can be used for business, personal organizing, or in the classroom. Although the technology is somewhat basic compared to other collaborative mind mapping tools currently available, the fact that it is free and requires no software downloads is especially appealing. This tool would be useful in a classroom setting for brainstorming sessions, organizing group projects, or even teaching individual lessons (for example, sentence structure, literature analysis, scientific pathways, historical family trees or relationships, etc.). Although the requirement to provide an email address to set up an account may be problematic for individual students, especially younger students, the teacher could provide access via a smartboard. Overall, although more robust Web 2.0 mind mapping tools exist, Bubbl.us is a distraction-free, easy to use alternative with many excellent features.

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References, Articles, etc.

American Association for School Libraries. Standards for the 21st Century Learner. American Library Association. 2007. Web. 27 Jan. 2009. <http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards>.

Adam, Ana and Mowers, Helen. “Get Inside Their Heads with Mind Mapping.” School Library Journal. 2007. 53.9: 24. Web. 2 Mar. 2009.
Aitchison, Steven. “How to Use Bubble.us to Make 2008 Your Most Productive Year Ever.” Stepcase Lifehack. 2008. Web. 2 Mar. 2009.
Clarke, Jason. “Online Mind Mapping Using MindMeister and Bubbl.us.” Download Squad. AOL Tech. 17 Mar. 2007. Web. 3 Mar. 2009.
Davis, Ben. “Success with www.bubbl.us.” Success Stories. Classroom 2.0 Ning. 2009. Web. 3 Mar. 2009.
Goldberg, Cristine. “Brain Friendly Techniques: Mind Mapping.” School Library Media Activities Monthly. 2004. 21.3: 22-24. Web. 2 Mar. 2009.
International Society for Technology in Education. The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•S) and Performance Indicators for Students. 2007. Web. 27 Jan. 2009. <http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf>.
Murley, Diane. “Technology for Everyone . . . : Mind Mapping Complex Information.” Law Library Journal. 175:1-6. American Association of Law Libraries. 2007. 2 Mar. 2009.
Techbites. “Bubbl.us Basics: Brainstorming and Mind Mapping Online.” YouTube. 2007. Web. 2 Mar. 2009.
The University of the State of New York. Intermediate Level Science Core Curriculum, Grade 5-8. The New York State Education Department. n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2009. <http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/pub/intersci.pdf>
The University of the State of New York. English Language Arts Core Curriculum (Prekindergarten–Grade 12). The New York State Education Department. May 2005 Web. 27 Jan. 2009. <http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ela/elacore.pdf>.
Valenza, J.K. “A Few New Things.” Library Media Connection. 2008. Web. 2 Mar. 2009.
Wilson, Matt. “Bubbl.us: Simple Effective Idea Organization.” Solution Watch. 2007. Web. 2 Mar. 2009.