Mind-Map on the Holocaust

For assignment 3, I prepared a mindmap using Bubbl.us, for use with the 10th grade Global History & Geography unit on the Holocaust, entitled "Causes of the Holocaust." The link for the mindmap is:

http://bubbl.us/view.php?sid=125435&pw=ya.QoWkKBstM2NzJkRWppYmt0YkZaWQ.

I chose this concept because the causes of the Holocaust are not linear but multiple, convoluted, and multi-faceted. In outline form they take on an almost linear, inevitable feeling, but in reality, nothing was as inevitable as it may seem. The mindmap gives the impression of random factors merging together which is what I want to convey. I would like to perhaps go over the major themes in the mindmap with the students, such as Historical Anti-Semitism, Hitler's Personal Qualities and Hatreds, etc., and let them go online as this is free software (unlike some of the others you recommended, such as mindmeister, et. al. [I would like to keep it free for accessability to all]) and fill out the branches with significant factors of their own. That way, students can take ownership of their own causes within the general heading branches, making the inquiry more relevant and personal than mere memorization. Not only will the mindmap help students crystallize their thoughts for essay writing and discussion of this most important thematic unit, but it will enhance learning in the sense of recognizing chaotic forces and demonstrating that it was the combination of factors rather than any one particular cause which led to the horrors of the Holocaust. This is high level taxonomy thinking that I want all of my students to engage in, as they shouldn't be learning what alone but thinking about why.

This activity demonstrated to me alternative menus for conveying similar information and themes. The visual learner obviously benefits from this graphic image, but I think it benefits all students, particularly the "digital natives" of this generation who enjoy imagery. Participation in filling out the branches encourages inquiry on the students' parts, as they will have to decide for themselves what should be inserted, perhaps conduct their own internet research, and this activity could be made part of a collaborative lesson with groups filling out the branches.

Bubbl.us was a decent software for this purpose, easy to use, and easily reproduced and shared. I prefer the flowchart program, however, as it is much more flexible and adaptable to multiple purposes with the ability to integrate clip art and digital images. You control the bubbles and arrows in flowchart, whereas the program controls you to a certain extent in bubbl.us. If I was to do this activity again, I think I would have them use flowchart.com, also free, and ask them to construct their own mindmap with arrows, images, text, or clipart, as they see fit, to foster creativity. The works would be a piece of art as well as historically useful to explain the diverse causes of this significant 20th century occurrence.