MindView 6 from Matchware- Solid Upgrade

When I heard that Matchware was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. For the past several years I have been using MindView 5 to craft my very structured consulting reports that I deliver to the schools that I work with. Over the years I have developed some templates that really have helped me to communicate ideas in a very clear fashion. One of the chief reasons that I go back to MindView time and time again is because I have always found that MindView has some of the best Microsoft Office integration when exporting mind maps to Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The timing of the release for MindView 6 could not have been any better for me since I needed to complete a Request for a Proposal (RFP) for an assistive technology grant that the state was offering. I decided that I would test out the capabilities of this version by using MindView 6 to write up the proposal and estimate the costs for the proposed project. MindView 6 has a much cleaner look and

now adheres to the user interface conventions set forth by Microsoft. Users of previous versions will feel right at home using MindView 6 since the Ribbon structure has not been changed. When I am developing an RFP, I really like the ability to brainstorm ideas and what better way to do but in a mind map. Using MindView 6, I can get all my ideas down quickly and then begin to organize my ideas and activities. Moving ideas around MindView 6 is fast and intuitive and the interface shows you exactly where your idea will land-no guess work here. Once I had roughed out my ideas I was able to attach notes to my activities which would become the body of my RFP. The interface of MindView 6 to create notes feels as if you are in a mini version of Word, complete with a full array of formatting tools at your disposal.

One of the requirements of any grant is to spell out the costs and this is an area that you would not normally think of using a mind map for but in the case of MindView 6 you would be wrong. MindView 6 has powerful calculation features which enables the user to create formulas that automatically update throughout the mind map. The ability to see your costs roll up on any activity in

the mind map works really well and it lets you do what if's in real time. Using the SUM feature you can easily roll up cost for a particular activity and see the impact it has on the overall estimate for the grant. In MindView 6, like it's predecessor, there is a Calculation panel that lets you create items, cost and formulas. Once you get the hang of it you will find this a handy feature when you need to work with numbers inside your mind map. With the release of MindView 6 you can now enter and edit

numbers directly on the item itself without the need to go into the Calculation Panel which saved me and inordinate amount of time. It is now easier then ever to set currency defaults-which saved me some time as well. While there were certainly a large number of improvements and features in MindView 6 most users will find them to be very subtle and well integrated into the application without feeling overwhelmed by feature creep. Once I had entered all my costs into the mind map I was able to export the financials into a well formatted Excel report that I could attach to the RFP. Hopefully, if I am successful and receive the grant I will be able to monitor the activities in the project management side of this application.


All in all my experience with MindView 6 was very positive in future posts, I will highlight some of the features that would make this an ideal tool for students.

I want to thank the folks at MatchWare for providing me a copy of MindVirew 6 so that I could do the review.

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Reflections of EdCampAccessNJ 2105

Yesterday was the big day, after a couple of months of planning with my co-host Mike Marotta, EdcampAccessNJ held at the College of St. Elizabeth was off and running. It is always such an exciting day for me and the participants as we share our skills and talents.

Mike and I have had this philosophy since we spoke about running an Unconference "build it and the will come" and they did. Yesterday we had over 150 dedicated educators  spend their entire Saturday with us to learn about new ways they can bring assistive technology into their classroom. Using Twitter, Facebook and word of mouth we had teachers, directors of technology, speech therapists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, directors of special education, college professors, assistive technology specialist, and parents attend and contribute to the days event. As Mike and I know putting the agenda together the morning of the event is a "leap of faith," but some how everyone steps up to the plate and within a couple of minutes the schedule comes together. We had sessions on Chrome Extensions, iPad, Using Robots, Professional Development, Using Word Prediction, Using OfficeMix,and many more. 

We started the day in the Dolan Auditorium to go over the logistics for the day and finished off the session by interviewing to students who have been using assistive technology at school and at home. It is always so exciting and refreshing to here how students are taking advantage of the various technologies and what a difference it has made in their lives. Leaving the auditorium all of the participants were off to their first session which worked like clock work. The day was running rather smoothly, but about half through the second morning session we lost power and the rooms went dark. Like troopers that they are the learning continued and despite the loss of WiFi and power the speakers all were able to finish their sessions. A quick huddle ensued and we learned that one of the other buildings on campus had power so we were able to have lunch in St. Joseph's Hall and continue the sessions there. The Academic Computing Department, Events Planning & Media Services support staff were there and within minutes we were up and running in a new venue. This is probably the first Unconference with a power outage- something to talk about when we get together with our colleagues. In any case everyone stayed calm and conference went on as planned.

For those of you have not participated in an Unconference there is a special karma that ensues that makes this a very special type of event. Everyone attending is there to learn and participate and to be fully engaged. The results of the process and the fact that participants self select to be there makes for an incredible learning event and synergy. Topping off the day we had a Smackdown which is always informative and fun. We ended the day with give-a ways which were provided by so many companies that supported the event. Once again it was a pleasure and honor to host this event and we are looking to build ing a bigger and better EdCampAccessNJ 2016 event which is scheduled for March 5, 2016 at the College of St. Elizabeth - hope to see you there!





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