ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a real need in today's society for students and individuals to become more adept at both understanding and creating visual graphics that depict information using graphs, mind maps,
charts, and pictographs. We are all bombarded with all kinds of information and data that is much more easily digested when put into a visual or graphic form. Many of us were first introduced to these type of graphics in the USA Today. It certainly was a point of departure from other newspapers as we learned how to decode the meaning of these artistically created graphs and charts that appeared in the paper. For many, it was a new way to digest information and make sense of an enormous amount of data in a condensed format.

But what tools are out there that can help students, educators and business people create well designed graphics without the need to be a professional graphic artist. While there are a number of applications that come to mind for creating educational and business graphics all assume some degree of artistic ability which may not be the case. One application which I was recently introduced to called SmartDraw 2008 takes a very unique approach to designing your presentation graphics. Using both templates and wizards you can produce professionally looking graphics within minutes of opening the application. SmartDraw 2008 is a Windows based application that will run on Vista, XP or Windows 2000. Before I write about SmartDraw 2008 I would like to thank Laurence Favrot, from SmartDraw for providing me with a copy of SmartDraw 2008 to review. SmartDraw 2008 is a comprehensive business and educational graphics application that supports creating the following types of graphics:

• €Flowcharts
• € Org Charts
  
• € Project Timelines
  
• € Gantt Charts
  
• € Marketing Charts
  
• € Bar Graphs & Pie Charts
  
• € Forms
  
• € Floor Plans
  
• € Scheduling Calendars
  
• € Mind maps
  
• € Mapping applications
  
• € and much more.
  

SmartDraw 2008 unlike other applications has you start with the end point in mind as you first select the template for the graphic that you are going to create. For the purpose of this demonstration I have decided to create a timeline. So first I select the Timeline SmartTemplate from the list of available templates. Once I have selected the a timeline template, I am presented with the template on the screen and can now use the SmartPanel to add individual
elements to my timeline. Setting the timeline's start and end times is easy to accomplish. I found the the process to be very intuitive and straightforward. If you do need assistance you can click on the Help icon and the Smarthelp panel will open to guide you through the process. One of
SmartDraw's strengths is the way it formats the graphic for you creating color styles and schemes that always produce professionally looking graphics. By simply selecting the timeline element I can apply a consistent color theme to my timeline with a click of the mouse. Because it is so easy to do you can easily test out different color themes to see what the results are
before printing out your graphic. Another strength of SmartDraw 2008 is its tight integration with Microsoft Office. With a click of the mouse I was able to transfer my timeline to Microsoft Word. For that matter I could have sent it to Excel, PowerPoint or saved it as a PDF file to share with others. SmartDraw 2008 has an extensive library of graphics to choose from which I was able to use to adorn my timeline. For someone who was new to SmartDraw 2008 I quickly became comfortable with the Smart Template and SmartPanel approach as was able to complete the timeline rather quickly.

There are hundreds of SmartTemplates to choose from when you first launch the
program, which gives you lots of starting out options. I did take a look at the mind mapping options in SmartDraw 2008, which is a new feature. While SmartDraw 2008 does give you the option to create and print mind maps it is not an ideal tool if you are planning to use your mind maps to manipulate or organize your information.

One of the new features of the latest upgrade to SmartDraw 2008 are LiveMaps
which lets you pull live map data off of the web and include it in your graphic. Using the Tele Atlas maps you can zoom in and select satellite view or hybrid views. I found it very easy to integrate the maps into my presentation graphic- and it is certainly a powerful feature that has been included in SmartDraw 2008.

Overall, I found SmartView 2008 to be an easy to use application for creating professionally designed graphics without the need to be a graphics artist. Using the system of SmartTemplates, SmartPanels, and SmartHelp moves you through the process of designing your graphic with all the right scaffolds in place. It is nice to know that the supports are in place if you need them or if you are more inclined you can manually design your graphic. If you are looking for one drawing program to help you communicate information in a professional manner then I would suggest you take a look at SmartDraw 2008. With SmartDraw's large SmartTemplate and graphics library I'm sure you will find a place for SmartDraw 2008 in your presentation toolkit- I know I have! If you are interested in trying out SmartDraw 2008 you can download a trial version from the website.

A lot of my readers have purchased the Fly Fusion Pentop computer from LeapFrog this holiday season and have been having some difficulties installing the software. I just received this email from LeapFrog that I wanted to pass along this information to you.

	Question
	What should I try? ..trouble with Fly Fusion downloads, Admin account, Flyworld and/or the Fly Store.
	Answer
	Thanks for being one of the first FLY Fusion Pentop Computer Users! Due to extremely high seasonal demand for FLY Fusion, many FLY Fusion users have had difficulty accessing FLY World, our FLY World Download Store or with their Admin account set up. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. We have been working on these issues, and have made improvements that should help our users. As a special thank you for your patience, we want to offer our community of users a special gift! Please go to the FLY World PC Application, log on and click on the Download Store tab. We are offering 4 special downloads for use with your pen as a way of showing our appreciation for your patience and support for FLY. We will be providing updates on our FLY World Support site as we continue to release improvements to our online services. Check back on www.flyworld.com/support for updates, or call our Customer Support line directly at 1-800-701-LEAP (5327). Thank you for your support of FLY! The FLY Fusion Team

It has been a great year for the AssistiveTek Blog and I want to thank my readers and business sponsors for their support! I trust that 2008 will be even better with new and exciting Web 2.0 technologies. I think that this will be a pivotal year for software developers as they try to bridge the gap between their traditional software applications and software as a service model. I think that you will see many software publishers begin to build hooks into their software applications that will make it easier to publish documents, mind maps, and monitor projects on the web with true collaboration. So look for some exciting posts on the AssistiveTek Blog in the coming months. I once again plan on following new and exciting technologies that help to empower you in the work that you do. So stay tuned for more reviews in the areas of visual learning, mind mapping, project management, assistive technology, and Web 2.0 technologies. All the best to you and your families in the New Year ahead.

For those of you that would like to share your mind maps there is a new website that lets you do just that. You can go to Mappio.com to upload your FreeMind or MindManager mind maps. The developers of the site would like to make Mappio the "YouTube of Mind Mapping." Registration is free and it is a great way to share your ideas and mind maps. Once you upload your mind maps you can tag them and decide if you would like to make them public or private. If you find a mind map that you would like to use you can simply download the file and open it with the your mind mapping application. Mappio is certainly a great resource for those that are new to mind mapping or for those that want to get a idea of all the creative way that mind maps can be used. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

I came across VozMe the other day and wanted to share this resource with you. VozMe lets you convert text into a mp3 file which is an easy way to create text to speech on your computer right within your browser. You simply paste text in the window and VozMe does the rest creating your mp3 file. Give it a try!

With the recent release of MindManager 7.1, I created this screencast to show you some of the new features that have been added to this release.

Here is the link

Here is another screencast showing you how you can move your project management data from Project Kickstart 4 to MindManager 7 Pro. You will notice how easy this process is!

Click here to view the screencast

In a previous post, I reviewed Project Kickstart 4, an easy to use project management software application and now wanted to share with you how this application can work seamlessly with MindManager 7 Pro. With many companies and individuals using mind mapping for all aspects of running a business it is great to know that there are other applications that can complement MindManager 7 Pro, in developing and managing projects. While MindManager Pro 7 is a wonderful tool to brainstorm and start project planning there will come a point in time when you will want to move the data to a project management piece of software. This is where Project Kickstart 4 comes in. Individuals can do their initial planning and brainstorming in MindManager Pro 7 and with a click of the mouse move the date right into Project Kickstart 4. Project Kickstart 4 adds a number of unique features for project planning and having access to a Gantt chart makes it a lot easier to track the project. I have created a short screencast showing you just how easy it is to export data from MindManger 7 Pro into Project Kickstart 4.

Click here to view the screencast

I have been using Eye-Fi for over a month now and really love the freedom of having my pictures uploaded to Phanfare automatically via my wifi home network. Eye-Fi has recently announced updates to their Eye-Fi software as well as a firmware update. I performed both updates without a hitch on my MacBook and was up and running within minutes. The new update now supports Mac Leopard (OS 10.5). Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Over the last couple of months, I have had the opportunity to take a look at several project management software applications that work seamlessly with MindManager Pro 7. With this in mind, I took a look at Project KickStart 4, which is a very user friendly project management software application that can export data directly into MindManager Pro 7 and create a complete mind map. I would like to thank Roy Nierenberg at Experience In Software for providing me a copy of Project KickStart 4. for this review. Similarly, one can begin the project planning process in MindManager Pro 7 and export it directly to Project KickStart 4, with a click of the mouse. In this first posting, I will review Project KickStart 4 and talk about its features and ease of use.

Project KickStart 4 is a very easy to use project management software application that will have you up in running within minutes. Unlike other project management software applications, Project KickStart 4 is unique with regard to its interface and guidance that it provides along the way to helping you plan your project. Project KickStart 4 divides the project management process up into 9 different steps-which are all complemented with Libraries of reusable resources which move you quickly through the project management phases. Project KickStart 4 starts the process off by having you "name" the project which is then followed by identifying the "phases" of your project. As a project manager you simply move through Project KickStart 4 wizards by clicking on the Next button. If you need some assistance you can click on the Advisor button which is located on the bottom left of the screen. You also have access to a Phases Library of items that you can simply drag to the phases window making the process go very quickly. During the "goals" phase you have the opportunity to develop and think about your goals for the project. It is easy to move through this phase by using the Goals Library to open up some goals that you can drag into the window. You next move to "Similar" tasks, and from the Library of stored projects you can simply select tasks that might be similar to the project that you are currently working on. This feature really saves you a lot of time since many projects may have similar tasks that can be quickly modified or changed. As part of any project management you will need to list the names of the people that will be working on the project. You have the option of bringing in people from the People library, typing in their name(s) or you can also import names directly from Outlook. Moving to the next phase you will need to think about what "obstacles" may get in the way to reaching your project goals. Here you can identify some tasks that will help you minimize or avoid the obstacle as you move through the planning process. Now you are ready to "assign" tasks to people which is easily done by selecting the tasks and then clicking on the name of the person or persons. You can Control click and assign several people to one tasks to create a group task. As you move to the Task phase you have the opportunity to review, print and edit your task list as well as type notes and add attachments. Your final task in Project KickStart 4 is to review your Gantt chart and make any necessary revisions or changes. It is easy to change the working and non-working days by bringing up the Calendar and selecting the working and non-working days which will automatically recalibrate the length of the project. In the Gantt chart view you can quickly get an overview of your project milestones and set the percentage of the task that has been done. I would have wanted to be able to set the task dependencies in the Gantt view but this feature is not supported in ProjectKickstart v 4. However, the Gantt chart view gives you a great snapshot to keep your projects on time and within budget. While you can enter the costs associated with a task this is one area that Project KickStart 4 is weak. However, one of the really fantastic features in Project KickStart 4 is the ability to export the data directly to other software applications which in this case is handled very well. Project KickStart 4 can directly export data to: PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, Word, Microsoft Project, ACT!, WBS Chart, and MindManager.

For individuals like myself, who may not be full-time project managers, Project KickStart 4, is a very well thought out application to help you plan small to medium sized projects with the ease and confidence of a seasoned project manager. Having worked through several projects with Project KickStart 4, I was really impressed with how the wizards and the Advisor dialogs made me carefully think through the project management process so that the outcome was realistic and manageable. I would have to say that Project KickStart 4 is in fact a very easy to use project management software application that delivers on its promise to get you up an running within 30 minutes without the need to have an advanced degree in project management.

In a future post, I will talk about the integration of Project KickStart 4 and MindManager Pro 7, which I'm sure will be of interest to you.

I just received an email from the Comapping Development Team that they have added a host of new features to their web based mindmapping application, CoMapping.

The Comapping development team is proud to present a new set of features, most of which we have developed in close cooperation with our customers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their constructive feedback and comments.

Below is a list of the main features and improvements made to the Comapping application:


* Create your own template maps

* Chat with collaborators

* Name your URL links

* E-mail your maps

* Export your map as an HTML webpage

* Attach a preview of maps when sharing

* New visual calendar in "Task info"

* Format multiple topics in one go

* Insert a map within a map

* New "extended subscription" plan

As I begin to think about how and where I save my resources-it is clear that having the ability to have access to my files 24/7 is the ideal scenario. I recently did a Mimio Xi presentation for a school district and developed a custom MimioStudio Notebook for the workshop. In the past I would have saved it to a flash drive and then transferred it to the computer that I would be presenting on. This time around, I used the Box.net service which gives you 1 GB of free storage space on their web site to store my presentation file. I have found Box.net to be easy to use and having that extra storage space has come in really handy in more than one occasion. The Box.net accounts are free and if you want you can upgrade your account to obtain more storage space should you need it.

I have heard rumors that Google will be making server space available for free in the upcoming months. The service will be called Gdrive and I have heard that they will be offering somewhere in the vicinity 50 GB of space for document storage. Now that will be really cool!

Take a look at the recent release of the Minjdet User Newsletter to find out how I am using MindManager Pro 7 in the work that I do. I have found Mindjet MindManager Pro 7 to be an indispensable tool when I teach. Find out in the interview all the creative ways I am using MindManager Pro 7. You can also download the mind map that I used for my recent webinar which highlights all the ways I am using MindManager Pro 7.

I just heard from Brad Allen at TPAssist 2007 that he has put up a number of free video tutorials that show you step by step how to use the MindManager plug-in, TPAssist 2007 with the My Life template mind map. These presentations are available via the web site and provide real working examples of how mind mapping can be an excellent environment for life management. You can get this FREE template RIGHT-NOW by using the Check For Updates button with-in the TPAssist 2007 Help Window. You can also download it from the web seminar page. This is a great resource and shows you the power and synergy of using MindManager 2007 and TPAssist 2007 together.

Last week Skype released a beta, Skype 2.7 for the Macintosh,which added host of new features and compatibility for users of OS 10.5- Leopard. More importantly Skype 2.7 for Macintosh with the right hardware can now deliver 640x480-pixel video by default. As long as your webcam can handle it, Skype promises to deliver high quality video conferencing calls at 25 fps. To be able to deliver this quality users will need to be running a Mac with dual Core 2 processor and have a broadband connection that is capable of at least 384 kbps upload speeds. The race for high quality video conferencing is just heating up in this space. Look for services like OoVoo and Sightspeed to raise the bar and push this market even further with new features and high quality video conferencing.

I have been using Jing Project on my Macintosh and PC since it has been released and have found it to be a wonderfully handy application for capturing images and screencasts. I just read on the TechSmith Blog that Jing Project has been updated and now includes the capability to upload your screen captures directly to Flickr. I downloaded the upgrade and was able to quickly configure Jing Project to upload my captures to Flickr. It was very straightforward and easy to do. TechSmith should be applauded for developing and supporting this incredible application that makes it easy to capture images and videos from your computer. What better way to tell you about the new release of Jing Project then by showing you with this screencast.

Eric Blue in his blog discussed the need for a common way for users of mindmapping applications to be able to view their maps on the web. Taking it upon himself he did a proof of concept called MindMap Viewer which allows you to use a variety of mind map formats, and display the maps inside a browser using a Java applet or Flash viewer. I for one applaud his efforts. I to would like to be able to use my mind mapping application and quickly publish my maps to the web. As Eric points out this is a proof of concept work and you may need to tread gingerly. In any case it speaks to our need to be able to publish our mindmaps quickly on the web so that we can share and collaborate.

I came across this intriguing Newsmap website that displays the news based on its relevance. It is visually appealing and you can quickly get more information about the headlines and the number of related articles by clicking on the news map. Enjoy

I had posted earlier about the release of Eye-Fi, which is a 2 Gigabyte SD card with built-in WiFi. I recently purchased the Eye-Fi Card from Amazon and had the opportunity to use it the last couple of days with my Canon Powershot SD500 digital camera. To start off the packaging of the Eye-Fi is very appealing and clever. The Eye-Fi comes in a sliding box that includes a very simple installation guide, the Eye-Fi SD Card, and a USB SD Card Reader. To install the Eye-Fi Manager on my Mac Book, I simply plugged the Eye-Fi SD Card into the USB SD Card Reader and installed the software. Once installed, I opened the Eye-Fi Manager and configured my Eye-Fi Card to recognize my home WiFi network and was able to choose Phanfare as the service which I wanted to upload my pictures to. Eye-Fi gives you a host of services that you can choose from to upload your pictures. ie. Picassa, Flickr, etc. Once this step was complete, I
unmounted the Eye-Fi SD Card and plugged it into my Canon Powershot SD500 digital camera. I needed to adjust the Power Settings so that the camera would not turn off after a specified time which might disrupt Eye-Fi from uploading my pictures. Now I started to snap some pictures and watched as the pictures were uploaded to my computer and to Phanfare. What joy watching my pictures arrive on my computer and on Phanfare without the need to use a USB cable! Eye-Fi worked as advertised and is a very cool technogadget for the holidays.

This past year I have had the opportunity to experiment with many of the Web 2.0 tools which have allowed me to share my desktop (Yuuguu.com, Gatherplace.net), do video-conferencing (Skype, OoVoo) and to collaborate with others. Using a host of these services has extended my reach shall we say, and I know that the upcoming new year will bring me opportunities to further reach out and provide a host of services that were once just not possible. With broadband access it is now possible to have a genuine presence and provide both tutoring, consulting and training with your computer. Having access to high quality video conferencing through a service like OoVoo changes the playing field and provides a level of communication and feedback that was not possible through email or instant messaging.

While many of us have participated in webinars through services like WebEx or GoToMeeting some of these services may be out of the reach of individuals and would not make much financial sense if you were going to be hosting a limited number of workshops. With a monthly subscription fee starting out at around $50 dollars it maybe just too much of an obligation to sign up for. While doing my regular trolling on the web I came across a new Web 2.0 company that was offering a free open source web meeting service. I sent Dimdim an email and they provided me with a free account and I was able to log in and start a web meeting within seconds. Dimdim is a browser-based web 2.0 service that allows anybody to share their desktop, show slides, as well as talk, listen, chat, and broadcast via webcam. dimdim´s hosted service is available for free and can be easily used for small gatherings, to seminars with hundreds of attendees.

Finding this service I had to jump in and check it out. It was hard to believe that such a service could exist for free! I logged into dimdim and entered my password and user name and was able to immediately start a session using my webcam for video and audio. Once I got to the presenters screen I was able to import my PowerPoint presentation and also had access to a virtual whiteboard to write some notes. While using my MacBook I could import PowerPoint preventions, for some reason I could not get access to sharing the desktop or sharing an application. I suspect that this feature has not been implemented yet. I was successfully able to share the desktop and share applications on the Windows platform. Moving through my PowerPoint was effortless and the audio and video really helped to have a presence as I was doing the webinar. Overall, dimdim performed well and the interface was easy to use without the need for any manuals or directions. If you are looking to provide webinars and do more of your training and consulting via the web then take a look at dimdim and let me know what you think. The price is right!

I tend to use MindManager Pro 7 daily to plan and organize information that I will need for my seminars and graduate classes, but if you are like me you tend to use only a limited number of features in any software appliction. While I was perusing the Mindjet website I came across their 30 Minute Power Training video sessions which really shows you all of the ways you can use MindManager to be more effective at what you do. The four training video modules include:

• 1. Meeting Effectiveness
• 2. Project Planning
• 3. Information Management
• 4. Collaboration & Communication

I had a chance to view each of the videos and they gave me some new ways I could think about using MindManager Pro 7 in the work I do. If you have 30 minutes to invest I would highly recommend that you preview the instructional videos. I'm sure you will find them as helpful and informative as I did.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a great time with friends and family! Enjoy! Brian

Amazon today released Kindle, a new book eReader gadget that allows you to download books, magazines and blogs. It uses the EVDO network to keep you connected to the Amazon website which means you do not need to be in the range of a Wifi connection to download books or to access the Amazon Store. There is no fee for being connected to the EVDO network for users. The Amazon Kindle will retail for $399 dollars and New York Times best sellers will cost you $9.95 to download. The question I have is, do we need another gadget to read books? While the demonstration looked pretty cool do we really need another electronic device to handle our books? Lets see I carry a cell phone, iPod, Palm and now a Kindle! While there are certainly advantages to digital books and magazines, I for one still enjoy holding a magazine or book when reading. I know that when I have to read long passages or documents on the web I still prefer to print them and read them at my leisure. For those with reading disabilities it would be great to have text to speech built into the Amazon Kindle-but this is not feature that is built in at this time. I would be interested in your comments and views on the Kindle.

About a year ago I read about a company that was working on a SD Memory Card which would also include WiFi support. Having a SD Card with WiFi support would allow you to upload your digital pictures from your camera as long as you were in earshot of your WiFi network. It would be as simple as configuring the SD Card and then have your digital camera upload the pictures to your favorite website through your wireless network. Well today I was reading Steve Hargodon's blog as he recounted his experience with Eye-Fi the new 2GB SD Card with built-in WiFi. Steve had a great experience with Eye-Fi out of the box and it looks like this could be a great gift for the holidays. I for one know that one of the stumbling blocks of using a digital camera is uploading my pictures to my Phanfare account. With the Eye-Fi the problem could be easily solved. I hope to get an Eye-Fi SD Card to review shortly.

We are living in very exciting times especially with regards to technology and the power that can be harnessed into very small devices. Just this past week, Google announced that they were releasing on Open Source Software Developer Kit called Android that would become new application platform for cell phones. They also announced that they were going to have a pool of $10 million dollars available to reward companies and individuals that designed innovative solutions with Android. To get a sense of the potential of Android- take a look at this YouTube video.

I want to thank Gaelen and Kymberly from Mindjet, Inc for all their help and assistance for putting together the webinar which I recently did focusing on: Innovative uses of MindManager Pro 7 Pro both in and out of the Classroom. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but the webinar was recorded and is now available online for those of you who weren't able to see it live. To view the recorded webinar click on this link. I hope you enjoy it- I know I really enjoyed doing the webinar and look forward to working with Mindjet, Inc on some future webinars.

Chuck Frey has posted the results of a his most recent survey on web based mind mapping applications which can be viewed with this link. Chuck's survey are always informative and insightful and speak to the issues of using web based applications for mind mapping. I think that you will find both the quantitative and qualitative results very interesting. In particular, I think you will find user comments very interesting and right on the money. There are certainly lots of advantages as well as disadvantages of using web based applications which the survey highlights.

Sitting in a three day workshop on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) gave me some time to reflect on the state of software development and the power of the Internet. The focus of the three day workshop was on helping teachers to remove barriers to math instruction (Grades 5-8) in the classroom. Using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model we were able to look carefully at textbooks and lessons and figure out ways that we could present math lessons so that we provide students with multiple mean of representing math concepts. As our workshop leaders from CAST were presenting the information they pointed us to various sites on the Internet that offered students the opportunity to work with virtual manipulatives. I was thinking that just a couple of years ago we would have been discussing the use of commercial software to meet our objectives but now we were focused on websites that offer a rich source of math manipulatives that students could work with to help them better understand and visualize math concepts. Tings have certainly changed in such a short period of time. Take a look at some of these websites to see whats there- you will be amazed!

Mindjet, Inc the publishers of MindManager has just posted a series of customer vignettes demonstrating how a wide range of Mindjet, Inc customers are using MindManager. I found the series of customer vignettes to be interesting reading as I learned how others are using MindManager to solve their unique problems. If you have a chance you can read my vignette that was recently posted. If you are a MindManger user and would like to be featured on how you are using the program, then complete the survey and who knows you may be featured.

With just two days left there is still time to sign up for the webinar. So if your have the time it would be great for you to join us. There has been a lot of interest in the webinar and I m looking forward to showing you all of the ways that I am using MindManager in the work that I do.
Innovate using MindManager Pro 7 both in and out of the Classroom-which will be hosted by Mindjet, Inc., on Thursday, November 8, 2007, Time: 10:00 am PST / 1:00 PM EST. I hope you can join me as I share how I am using MindManager Pro 7 to create lectures, proposals, and organize the information that helps me be more productive in the work that I do. It was very exciting doing the run through and I am really looking forward to doing the webinar. So please join me. To register just click on this link. Hope to see you there- it should be fun and informative. Thank you- Gaelen and Kymberly from Mindjet, Inc. for helping me put this webinar together!

For those of you who have recently upgraded to Leopard on the Macintosh you should be aware that XMIND 2008 is Leopard Ready. XMIND is a full featured mind mapping application for both Macintosh, Windows, and Linux. XMIND 2008 is a powerful application that you will find easy to use. XMIND has an attractive and intuitive interface that should have you creating exquisite mind maps in no time. Using the Properties menu you can quickly structure and select from many different mind maps. You will find it easy to link note, URL's, and attachments to your ideas. XMIND 2008 also supports audio notes which adds a really nice touch for communicating your ideas. When it comes to sharing your mind maps you will find it easy to export your mind maps to Word, PDF, and Image files. Go to the XMIND 2008 website to download a trial version of XMIND 2008.

Mindmeister just emailed me this morning to let me know that they have now added the ability to edit your mind maps offline using Google Gears. I had a chance to check it out and it works as advertises. Once you go to you log into Mindmesiter, simply go to your My Account tab and click on the Enable Offline Mode button. Once you do this a Google Gears dialog box will displayed asking you if you would like to link this application. Now you can go to My Maps screen and click on the Online button to take your mind maps offline. Te screen below shows you Mindmesister taking my mind maps offline. There are some features that are not available offline but I have not have the time this morning to delve into them. Mindmesiter should be commended for making this application easy to use and for giving us the freedom to work with our mind maps both offline and online. If you are interested in signing up for a Premium MindMeister Membership click here.

I'm sure if you are like me that you are using several computers in your home and office, and there are many times when you would like to access your files remotely. Well there are lots of commercial software products that will give you that option like GoToMyPC, but this is the year if Web 2.0 so why not look for something on the web that help accomplish this task for us.

For the past several months I have been using a program from Microsoft which runs on Windows and Macintosh called FolderShare that lets me access my files remotely wherever I am. You can go to FolderShare and download the client and install it on all of your computers that you would like to access. Once the program is installed and you have named your computers you can log into FolderShare and see your computers and your files as if you were sitting in front of your computer. If you see a file you want to download just click on it and the download begins. I have been using FolderShare with my Mac's and Window's computers without a hitch. It is also possible to access your Windows computer from your Macintosh and vice a versa. It is fast and works well even though it is considered beta software. You can also set up folders to synch on your computers which is a nice feature. I would have to say that considering the price of admission this is one useful software product. Give it try!

While PowerPoint has become a standard in many classrooms for creating presentations and multimedia projects it is often more difficult to share these presentation over the web. Many of us who want to embed photographs, audio and transitions to our PowerPoint presentations soon learn that when we attempt to put them on the web that the files become incredibly large and cumbersome to work with. This is where Impatica 4 for PowerPoint comes in. It is an extremely handy utility that not only compresses your PowerPoint files but optimizes it for streaming over the Internet. Impatica 4 for PowerPoint often can compress your PowerPoint files by up to 95% which really impacts on the time it takes to view them on the web. Moreover, Impatica 4 for PowerPoint will convert your PowerPoint files into a small Java application so that your PowerPoint presentation can be viewed by anyone who has a Java enabled browser. This means that you don’t have to be concerned if the individual viewing your presentation has a compatible copy of PowerPoint. Right within the browser, individuals can view the presentation complete with graphics, sound, narration and transitions as it was intended to be viewed. As a faculty member at a college, I am always concerned about others reusing my intellectual property and with Impatica 4 for PowerPoint, I know that individuals will only be able view my PowerPoint presentations but that they can not edit or make changes to it.

You might be saying to yourself well how does this work? The truth be known, using Impatica 4 for PowerPoint is a very easy application to use. To use Impatica 4 for PowerPoint you simply double click on the icon and it brings up the application. You are now ready to add your PowerPoint presentation. You can accomplish this by clicking on the Add button or better yet, simply drag your file into the application to get started. Impatica 4 for PowerPoint is available for both Macintosh and Windows and works equally well on both platforms.

Some of the new features for Impatica for PowerPoint version 4 include:

* Support for the PowerPoint 2007 file format
* Support for Intel-based Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows Vista computers
* Support for Palm OS viewing and projecting with the Impatica ShowMate
* Adjustable, scalable playback window
* Full screen viewing capabilities
* Enhanced logging
* Support for PowerPoint 2007 multi-stop gradients such as rainbow
* Expanded audio support in the PowerPoint 2007 file format (any audio format supported by QuickTime)
* New graphics and color scheme for user interface
* New installer mechanism for Windows computers


Once you have added the file you can customize how your viewers will interact with your PowerPoint presentation by having Impatica add playback controls. By clicking on the Media and Animation Tab you can easily configure your video and sound that viewers will be accessing.. You may need to play around with audio compression feature in Impatica to derive the best results once your PowerPoint is streamed to the web. One of the really nice featured that is built into Impatica 4 is its integration with Blackboard. If you are a college faculty member you will really like this feature. Impatica 4 for PowerPoint is capable of creating an archived file for Blackboard that adds a significant compression factor and allows you to upload the final file compressed. When the student is ready to view the file Blackboard is able to decompress the file so the student can view it.

Once you have set all of the features you simply click on the Translate button and your PowerPoint presentation is processed. Once your PowerPoint presentation has been processed you can now connect to your server from within Impatica and upload the files. Having a built in FTP client is really a fantastic feature and makes it very fast for uploading the files. Once your have uploaded your PowerPoint presentation Impatica creates a html file and places all of the necessary files on the server so that your presentation can be viewed with any Java enabled browser. This point should not be missed. Now that you have used Impatica for PowerPoint and placed the files on the web anyone with a web browser can view your files and don’t need to have PowerPoint installed on their computer. Likewise, if you are concerned about putting your PowerPoint presentation on the web and giving others access to your intellectual property, then this is the perfect solution for you. Now users can view your PowerPoint presentations, but don’t have access to change it. I have found Impatica 4 to be an easy to use tool that has lots of uses for the work and teaching that I do. If you are using PowerPoint as part of your teaching or professional development then you will want to use Impatica 4 for PowerPoint and give your viewers access to your presentations regardless if they PowerPoint installed on their computer or not. Impatica makes PowerPoint accessible from any browser and compresses it so that they are previewed quickly through any Java enable browser. For more information about Impatica for PowerPoint go to www.impatica.com/offers/inclusiontimes/


If you are interested in supporting the work that I do on the blog, please click on the link above to get special discount pricing. To take a look at a sample PowerPoint presentation that I put on the web click on this link.

If you are looking for top quality writing templates for Kidspiration and Inspiration then you should be aware that they can be downloaded from the Inspiration Software, Inc website. The templates are derived from the Strategies for Writers 2008 textbooks which are published by Zaner Bloser. The Inspiration and Kidspiration writing templates compliment the Zaner Bloser writing program-but could certainly be used as a standalone.