Outlining with MS Word

One great hidden feature of MS Word is the Outline View.

(Click on "View" on menu, select "outline")

The collapse and expand features are really nice for switching from big picture to smaller sub views.

Watch this screencast to learn how.

Concept Mapping with PowerPoint

The 2007 PowerPoint edition has a nice feature called SmartArt. This new capiblity turns PowerPoint into a powerful Concept Mapping Tool.

Read about concept mapping in Wikipedia

Watch:

Read and watch the demo:

Spice up your text with SmartArt graphics at

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA101983081033.aspx

View each PowerPoint slide as a canvas. Don't forget that you can break through the templates and just use the drawing tools to create your own modesl and diagrams. 


See these two video to show you how to build a concept map from scratch rather than using the smart art auto templates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMaADqOkls4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGQaiSLCXrw


PowerPoint can also be used as a basic photo editor as well. Once you make your concept map don't forget you can then take a screen shot and upload your image into another document or up on the web.

FATP Analysis Proposal

A useful format to  plan before they you produce, write, or create any project is the FATP Analysis Proposal:

Form: (How: Slideshow, Video, Essay, Letter, Video, etc.)

Audience: (Who/When/Where: Analysis)

Topic: (What: content)

Purpose: (Why: To entertain, inform, sell, persuade, etc.)

See also
RAFT - Role/Audience/Format/Topic
RAFT Strategy 

Flowchart Tools & Resources

Free Webware Flowchart Tools:

http://www.lovelycharts.com

http://www.gliffy.com

Process of Using Flowcharts:

Flowcharts in media production

   Checklist

   Draft Example

   Final Version Example

Additional Resources:

Flowchat Overview

Flowcharts:Understanding and Communicating How a Process Works

Flowchart Symbols Defined: Flowchart Symbols and Their Meanings

10 Flowchart Making Tips and Tricks

Visual Thinking

View this presentation for helpful intro to Visual Thinking

Thinking Visually

View more Microsoft Word documents from David Armano.

For more, see also:
An Introduction to Visual Thinking
Visual Thinking

Bloom's Taxonomy Visualizations Cheat Sheet

Almost 10 years ago, when I was first exposed in my teacher training, I still find myself refering back to Bloom's Taxonomy when ever I create course goals, assignments, exams, and ask discussion questions. I have put together a best of collection to act as a cheat sheet reference for educators. Click here for a great overview and history of the Bloom's Taxonomy.

The Evolution
Benjamin Bloom 1956 original version



In 199o one of Bloom's student's revised his earlier model and turned the nouns into verbs.



Recently, there has been some adapting for the digital ag. Check out Bloom's Digital Taxonomy


Here are some handy visualizations with some good keyword language.