Classroom Presentations

So, let's get started. Content delivery is really the essence of presentation work because it focuses on how to get people to accept and understand the information you are sharing.

To do this well, you don't have to be clever. You want to keep students involved and using NovaMind is an excellent way to engage their attention and imagination.

Initially though, you only need a presentation plan for getting your content across. You can already anticipate some of the questions and interactions your students will have. Let's say you introduce your topic (the title), navigate the branches in some sequence that makes sense to you, and finally decide - based on the kinds of questions your students typically ask, which sub branch content to pursue next.

Right away, you'll detect a flow to your material that feels natural, comfortable.

Though you decide how you will approach your presentation, you will need to see if your community of students is following you. At various points, by asking questions or hearing the questions they ask, you will confirm which branches should be brought out for view and which should remain hidden.

To spark their interest, you can even present with flexibility in mind. "What branches do you want to navigate next?" By being given the choice of where they might like to spend their time, they are more involved and feel in control.

During your presentation your students will probably be inspired to contribute something of their own. Well, using NovaMind, students can be invited to create their own branches, write their own notes and feel proud when they see that their contribution is permanently included. For example, you can ask, "What else do you think is missing here?" Your final lesson content is being shaped by the students as the class progresses. The end result could be a printed mind map handout, a brilliant wall poster or something more fancy, like maps projected on a classroom screen, then copied into their workbooks.

Want to deliver in a video format to capture their attention even more? NovaMind Presenter will let you do it.

As you talk about your map through recorded narration, you can zoom in and out to various content spokes, adding detail as you move along each of the branches that emanate from the centre.

You can time the highlight of the keyword in the video to match the moment when you say it in the narration. That keyword emphasis will put into student's memory the most important topical ideas.

Most of us are put to sleep by the repetition from media we already know too well. For example, presentations can bore us to tears when we see slide after slide after slide after.

With mind maps, there's a great opportunity to break out of convention. Mind map presentations are not common and what you create can be truly unique educational materials.

For example, use a mind map session to show them how to map their favorite books or movies is a cool way to get them more involved in their learning as well.

They can make out the characters and their fates and plot them respectively on each individual branch, or report out the key themes or tell the story in their own way, mapping out the dramatic structure.

The reason is mind maps are great at summarizing books and research information. They make it fun to find the appropriate symbols and choose the images that will connect a reading experience with their own life experiences.

At the time of your presentation, you need a presentation guide for your students as well.

You can print out the outline of your presentation and share that as a support for students or give them an overview mind map of your entire presentation. This allows them to use their own words in the mind map, translating your information into what makes sense to them. Every student is able to use their skills to make the most of the lesson.

A final option is to enlarge your presentation to poster size, so students will have a daily reminder of the presentation.

For more information about opportunities for educators and students, check out Mind Mapping for Students and Mind Mapping for Teachers in the mind mapping menu.