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As an Assistive Technology tutor, I’m familiar with most of the popular Mind Mapping programmes available for desktop Mac’s and PC’s. I’d never looked at using a mobile Mind Mapping app as I couldn’t imagine planning my essays on my phone or iPad, I just didn’t trust that a small screen could provide as rich a user experience as I get on my desktop. I was asked to review Mind Node and knowing that it wouldn’t be able to match up to Desktop Mind Mapping I’d used in the past, I dutifully downloaded it to my phone with a sceptical mind. To my surprise, It was difficult to find anything that I didn’t like about the Mobile Mind Mapping experience.


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Within minutes of using MindNode, I had created a Mind Map of the standard I’d expect from many of the desktop packages I’d used in the past. There were even some features that were better than the software I was used to. I am very phone/tablet reliant, my calendar and notes on my phone are my lifelines, so this software is actually perfect for me. I am always on the go and to be able to plan tasks on my phone in such a visual way was brilliant. One of Mind Nodes best features is it lets you set branches of your Mind Map as tasks. You can then sync those tasks with the iPhone reminders app. I rely heavily on reminders because I struggle with memory, so this feature was really beneficial as it allowed me to plan my day in one go, without having to create individual reminders. For students, you can create Mind Maps for your day, then sync each event as a reminder.

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This is a fantastic app for organisation. Not only can it be used for planning essays but you can organise your entire week. All the things students are expected to do can be really overwhelming so to be able to create a plan of action in this visual way is a great solution.

I found MindNode simple and straightforward to use, you can quickly add notes and create new branches of your Mind Map, so you can easily use this app in a lecture. Many of my students wish that they could take their computer into lectures with them, but many don’t as they feel the noise of typing distracts their fellow students. But every one of them takes their phone, so MindNode is perfect for lectures.

Any work you do can be easily exported to a wide range of formats and can be sync to the desktop version of the app if you have a desktop setup at home.

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MindNode is a versatile tool that allows phone dependent students the ability to work on the go in a powerful application on a device they have with them all the time.

You can download the app from the App Store or simply go to their website to find out more.


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