Dear TagTeacherNet Member,

Well, what a horrible couple of weeks for Minister for Education, Ruth Kelly. She's already under fire from her own backbenchers, including a former education minister for the school reform white paper and now she's dealing with the problem of sex offenders in schools. Read the focus for more on this and we'd be pleased to hear your views on the Grapevine this week.

We're also concentrating on thinking skills this week and looking at mind and concept mapping. One of my college lecturers was very keen on this many years ago and I've been doing concept mapping on paper for a number of years across the the whole curriculum. Now there are great ICT programs for doing this and we're previewing the new version of Inspiration alongside a special offer on the software.

Best wishes,

Ruth Kelly has been having a terrible year so far. She hasn't been pleased that so many MPs have not backed the government plans for reform in schools and we told you of an alternative that had been put forward by former education minister Estelle Morris a few weeks ago. Now she is having to deal with claims that there are sex offenders working as teachers in schools that have been passed for those jobs by the DfES.

She also denied reports that 150 sex offenders are working in schools and said there were 88 people with cautions or convictions for sex offences whohave not been banned from classrooms. However after checks had been made it appears that the majority of these are not working with children, though there are 32 cases that the police are still investigating.

All this has been very worrying for parents and schools. Many parents believe there are too many loopholes and are now concerned about those looking after their children. They are being reassured by Local Authority officers, head teachers and advisers that there is very little danger to their children but everyone wants to see these new rules put into place as soon as possible.

For more on Ruth Kelly's speech to the commons, click here.

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What is Concept Mapping?

Concept mapping, mind mapping, tree diagrams, organisation charts, spider diagrams are all terms used to describe graphical organisation methods. These are used for storing, processing, organising and presenting information graphically. A concept map is a web diagram where each 'node' contains an idea, concept or question that is clearly framed with very little chance for ambiguity. These ideas are linked together by branches to show their relationship to each other. Concept maps do not always have to take the form of a web - they can be presented as a tree diagram or organisational chart, as an input or output tree or as a flow-chart.

Concept mapping has been used in a variety of ways across the curriculum. A good concept map shows the 'shape' of the subject, the relative importance of individual points and the way in which one fact relates to other.

How is mind mapping different?

Mind mapping always begins with a central idea. The centre of the map needs to be clearly defined, with colour or a relevant graphic for emphasis. This then serves as a mental 'anchor' for the whole map, making it easier to recall all its elements to mind. The use of colour and dimension on the branches provides a quick visual reference to their relative position and relationship as they radiate away from the 'anchor'.

Mind maps are best used as a learner's tool as they present a personal view of a concept, problem or idea. Because every brain is different, educators should allow learners to customize their own environments. This is part of the brain-based learning approach i.e. active processing - allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it.

"The Mind Map is an expression of Radiant Thinking and is therefore a natural function of the human mind. It is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of the brain. The Mind Map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance. The Mind Map has four essential characteristics: 
a)             The subject of attention is crystallised in a central image
b)            The main themes of the subject radiate from the central image on branches
c)             Branches hold a key image / word printed on the associated line - details radiate out
d)             The branches form a connected nodal structure."
Source: The Mind Map Book, Tony Buzan.

*Mind Mapping is a registered trademark of the Buzan organisation.

Take advantage of special pricing on Inspiration - buy now and save! Save 10% on Inspiration when you buy now and we'll send you Inspiration 7.6 to get you started using Inspiration right away. When Inspiration 8 is released in March 2006, you'll automatically receive a complimentary upgrade (promotion ends March 2006).

Powered by the proven strategies of visual learning, Inspiration® 8 is the essential tool used by students of all learning styles. Inspiration supports the most highly effective visual learning methods with three unique environments for organising ideas graphically with diagrams, outlines and mind maps. Using Inspiration 8, students develop critical thinking, planning and organisational skills for lifelong learning and achievement.

For more information about Inspiration 8 click here

Inspiration is fabulous software for organising and planning your work. Everything you can do on paper you can do with the software and far more. It is one of the most popular concept mapping programs and has now been updated to include Mind Mapping.

Inspiration now supports the most highly effective visual learning methods with three unique environments for organising ideas graphically with diagrams, outlines and mind maps.

Mind Mapping (New)
Within Inspiration's mind mapping environment, students follow the natural process of building a mind map to visually represent concepts with branches of associated thought. Following Buzan-based mind mapping processes, students add branches with symbols, colours, patterns and fonts to create organic maps that reflect the thinking process. In Inspiration's mind mapping environment, you can:

• Add new branches to represent ideas with one-click
• Create mind maps that look like hand-drawn maps
• Format and move branches as a whole unit

Diagram View
Students develop ideas and arrange thoughts to create visual diagrams. In Diagram View, you can:

• Brainstorm ideas quickly with Inspiration's RapidFire® tool with linked or unlinked symbols
• Link symbols to show relationships among ideas
• Organise ideas using the Arrange tool or use Auto Arrange to automatically format the diagram as new thoughts are added

Outline View
Integrated Outline View makes it easy for students to organise and structure their information for writing. In Outline View, you can:

• Organise and arrange thoughts by dragging topics-subtopics moves automatically
• Develop topics into a written report using notes text

What else is new

• Insert and play multimedia files directly in diagrams, outlines and mind maps to enhance projects.
• Manage notes, audio and subtopic information with Quick Controls.
• Improve writing accuracy with the Word Guide - an innovative dictionary and thesaurus including parts of speech, definitions and synonyms
• Access an online Inspiration symbol collection, containing an additional 1 million searchable illustrations and photographs, offering safe image choices for any topic.
• A brand new Inspiration Starter screen that allows the user to:
• Quickly begin projects or access training and teaching resources.
• Jumpstart projects with over 60 educationally focused templates
• Access on-demand web-based training videos covering Inspiration's popular features.

For more information on Inspiration 8 and to buy now - click here

Click http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/thinkingskills/.

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