Some links about Mind Mapping

Here is a link to Tony Buzan’s official web site, the section about Mind Mapping. 
There are 7 Steps To Making a Mind Map. I post those 7 steps here, please read them carefully and follow them while creating your online mind map using www.mind42.com website. 

1. Start in the CENTRE of a blank page turned sideways. Why? Because starting in the centre gives your Brain freedom to spread out in all directions and to express itself more freely and naturally.
2. Use an IMAGE or PICTURE for your central idea. Why? Because an image is worth a thousand words and helps you use your Imagination. A central image is more interesting, keeps you focussed, helps you concentrate, and gives your Brain more of a buzz!
3. Use COLOURS throughout. Why? Because colours are as exciting to your Brain as are images. Colour adds extra vibrancy and life to your Mind Map, adds tremendous energy to your Creative Thinking, and is fun!
4. CONNECT your MAIN BRANCHES to the central image and connect your second- and third-level branches to the first and second levels, etc. Why? Because your Brain works by association. It likes to link two (or three, or four) things together. If you connect the branches, you will understand and remember a lot more easily.
5. Make your branches CURVED rather than straight-lined. Why? Because having nothing but straight lines is boring to your Brain.
6. Use ONE KEY WORD PER LINE. Why Because single key words give your Mind Map more power and flexibility.
7. Use IMAGES throughout. Why Because each image, like the central image, is also worth a thousand words. So if you have only 10 images in your Mind Map, it’s already the equal of 10,000 words of notes!

Here's an article from another sourse called The Power of Mindmapping in Language Learning. I like this article, I think it explains well what Mind Mapping is.

I also post a video of Tony Buzan talking at a TEDx event. It’s about 20 min long and accessible from You Tube. It's not obligatory to watch, but I think it might be interesting.  

Mind Maps and Tony Buzan

There is a very powerful technique of learning and remembering anything - ANY information you need. Sounds promising, right? It’s called Mind Mapping.

Mind Mapping is not a trick, it’s not magical, this method has a proven psychological basis. I will not explain it in this brief blog post, but you can find lots of widely available resources in books and articles on Psychology and Human Learning.

I think you have heard about Mind Maps before and I suppose some of you use them. Mind maps are greatly applicable for language learning, especially for increasing your vocabulary. Teachers and learners all over the world make mind maps on blackboards, on paper and online. It seems like mind mapping  is something that has existed forever, but that’s not true. Mind maps were invented by one person: Tony Buzan. He is still alive! He writes books and gives talks on different aspects of learning, memory and speed reading.

I advise you to read Tony Buzan’s books, if you’re interested in self-development.  I read his book called “Use Your Memory” for the first time when I was thirteen. At that time I couldn’t read books in English, but luckily we had this book at home, a Russian translation called “Супер-Память”. That’s when I introduced myself to some memorization techniques that have influenced my life.

Today Tony Buzan’s books are available in different forms. There are some people (especially in the Internet) who want to get rich by tricking other people and selling Tony Buzan’s ideas as their own. So, if you see some over-promising advertisements like “learn any language in a month using mind maps” or “speed reading in a week” do not believe them. Tony Buzan’s method for mind maps is self-study. You don’t need to have a guru to learn effective mind mapping.

What I like most about Mind Maps is their universal nature. You can do it on your own, if you like learning individually. You can do it with other people, if you prefer company. You can mind map any topic or idea. Mind mapping is very flexible, that’s why it is so popular!

So, why I write about Mind Maps here in this post? Because it’s our topic for this week. You’re going to create your own mind map online using a web site www.Mind42.com If you have time check it, if not we’ll work on it in the classroom. You will have to work in pairs. This is a 2-week assignment. So, it means that your mind maps should be ready the same day as your blogs: Monday Feb 17. You can choose any topic you like. I advise you to choose something that can be useful for your other classes, maybe for Country Studies or English lessons.

Blogging in Cold Weather

There are a lot of good things about using Internet in your studies. One of them is that you can do a lot on your own from the comfort of your home. Right now the weather is very cold, some of you cannot come to our classes at the Institute. It is a serious interruption in our schedule. In order to follow the plan of our course, I encourage you to work on your own at home, or at the library.

Your task for this week is to work together with your team and write an interesting post in your blog. All your posts should be about one topic that you have choses with your team mates. Please make sure there is at least one post from every member of your team.

I also encourage you to read other groups' blogs and leave comments on their posts. I have created a list of all blogs of 2-year students - it is published in Edmodo.

You are supposed to be active in your blogging and follow what others are posting. Blogging in English might be very beneficial for your language skills: you read in English, you write in English, and the most important is that you think in English. If you don't know what to write about, review the PDF version of this week's lecture: I mentioned several ideas that you might find useful, and there are some useful links for references.

I remind you that this is an assignment for 3 weeks: the final deadline is  Monday, Feb, 17. However, I will check your blogs several times to make sure that you write regularly. I hope you enjoy this assignment and learn something new while searching information for your blogs.

For Fantasy Fans

If you are, like I am, a HUGE fan of Fantasy, you would probably like to know How to build a fictional world. This is  a short animated video from TED Talks Education narrated by Kate Messner, directed by Avi Ofer. I really enjoyed her practical advice for people who likes fictional worlds, and wants to have one of their own.

Untranslatable

As a confident speaker of three languages, I must confirm that there are some untranslatable words in different languages. Sometimes when I speak without paying my full attention to the process of speaking, I notice that I utter some crazy mix of foreign words with my native tongue. I hope to learn more languages in the nearest future, so my speach will become richer (and even crazier) with some new untranslatable words, and my mind will get wider by acquiring new foreign concepts.

I would like to share with you a great article: 11 Untranslatable Words From Other Cultures

For my French students (if any of you read this blog), there is a word "Dépaysement" that we studied last week.

Comet ISON

I guess something special happend to me: I took some photos of the comet ISON during sunrise, November, 20, 2013. I was SO surprised to observe such a bright object in the sky! I'm not an astronomer, not even an amateur, so I can't tell. I already asked an astronomer's opinion whether it's ISON or not... waiting for the reply, but I'm pretty sure it is ISON!

It was pure luck, I didn’t have any intention to take photos of ISON. I was just taking photos of a beautiful sunrise. Apparently, “Comet Hunting” is a hobby for lots of people who like to observe celestial events. I am not one of them, I have another passion – I’m a “sky observer”! I prefer sunrise / sunset periods, but I also enjoy looking at the sky at any time of the day, or cloudless night. I have a blog dedicated to my sky-observing obsession: it’s called “Sky From My Window”. If you want to see my ISON photos visit my blog here.

While I’m waiting to know if it is ISON on not on my pictures, I will just keep taking pictures of the sky, as I always do.

Speaking of art...

I just came across a nice article. It's an interview with an illustrator / visual artist Brooke Weeber.
I would like to cite a little peice that I liked :

"Do you think people need to understand the artist's intention to appreciate the art?
Absolutely not. I think what's most important in art is when people are allowed to develop their own relationship with a piece and to see it's beauty in their own eyes. Perhaps eventually they'll be able to understand the artist's intention, or perhaps they'll create their own narrative and discover meaning based on personal life experience. That's what I find most paramount."

You can find the original article by following this link.