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The site offers teachers free organizers to help them brainstorm, organize, and visualize their instructional ideas. \nWhy this one: First, the user downloads the vocabulary organizer. Next, the user inputs the information onto the form and prints it out. In addition, the website has free teaching lesson plan notes accompanying each organizer. It is free and very easy to use. The graphic organizer is a great instructional tool for generative learning.

Participants will be using Cacoo in the class to organize their thoughts in a graphic organizer. They will be able to make a copy of a graphic organizer that was created through Cacoo as well as have access to the original. Participants will be able to edit and add information to their copy and the original will be filled out by the instructor compiling the different ideas shared during the workshop. The active learning that will take place would be both behavioral and cognitive. Behavioral learning will take place as they interact and add to the graphic organizer. Cognitive learning will take place as the participants generate ideas and organize them into their graphic organizer.

The wisemapping site offers a free online tool for creating graphic organizers / mind maps similar to those created by webspiration. However, wisemapping provides excellent file export functionality saving as .jpg, .png, .pdf, and other file formats. Also of interest are collapsible / expandable branches that could facilitate a gradual introduction of topics in a live lesson, as well as the ability to include notes, Web links, and a variety of icons in each node as needed. While much of the formatting options are present, as compared to webspiration, some items are not as robust. With more time, however, the functionality may rival or surpass webspiration or other products. In the mean time, the saving functionality, branching without termination nodes (use a line instead), and collapsibility are features that may prove more useful than comparable tools. Considering essential cognitive processing, the tool may assist with selecting and organizing complex material in order to reach a generative processing state. This may be possible by presenting information in a keyed and organized approach, which is a central premise of most mind mapping software.

Webspiration http://www.mywebspiration.com/about Webspiration is one of the best tools for gathering and organizing information that I have ever used. Webspiration allows the user to group information into any type of format that works for them. There are mapping tools, charting tools and my favorite thing about Webspiration is that with a click of the button all the information that you have used to create your mind map or chart can become a wonderfully organized outline. Webspiration allows users to be visual learners which can help them retain information. The main reason that I chose Webspiration as one of my graphic organizer websites was because Webspiration has a collaboration feature which many other sites do not. The collaboration feature is wonderful because it is always available with an internet connection, it helps keep the lines of communication open between group members and Webspiration automatically saves the work you have completed. I love the fact that I do not have to worry about losing my documents. Webspiration also lets users share their creations by posting them to a web page where they can be accessed by anyone. Webspiration is probably the best thing I have learned so far through my classes at Walden.