The MindMapTutor Concept
This article focuses on something that is quite unique to us, the MindMapTutor.
On MindMapTutor.com the definition of a Tutor is:
‘A Teacher; usually instructing individuals and often engaged privately.’ – Collins English Dictionary
This was the original intent of the website, but out of this evolved a unique information delivery method, The MindMapTutor.
A MindMapTutor should instruct and guide you on a lifelong path of learning to enable you to continuously gain a competitive advantage.
History
In September, 2008 I registered the MindMapTutor.com domain with the intention of tutoring, guiding and training with the use of Mind Maps.
I have been using Mind Maps for over two decades now and I am still as passionate about using Mind Maps as I was twenty years ago.
I was with this in mind that I started MindMapTutor.com.
My wife and I had experimented with Mind Maps in many situations. She was a teacher, a lecturer and a trainer. I worked in the corporate world as an I.T. guy and progressed from techie to Senior Management.
Our combined experiences using Mind Maps in learning and personal growth, in the classroom, and at work, proved to be more than enough of a training ground to help us give back to the world what we have learnt.
Why another Mind Mapping website?
But why another Mind Map website? you may ask. After all there are many other experts with websites, books videos, seminars, etc. on the subject. This includes Tony Buzan, the inventor of the Mind Map.
Despite all the information available, and us teaching people how to Mind Map, we found people struggling to change from their traditional, linear ways.
We also found it difficult to create Mind Maps for other people to read, making Mind Maps a personal tool for most people.
I was also inspired by Adam Sicinsky and what he was doing on his IQMatrix website. His Mind Maps read like sentences and still maintained Tony Buzan’s one-word-per-line rule. Until today I am very impressed by his works.
Yet, no matter what system you use, there will always be detractors. No method works for everyone.
This is very different to what Tony Buzan may say. Mind Maps are the solution to all problems according to him.
We found that we had to find a middle ground. Out of this the MindMapTutor website and eventually the MindMapTutor concept was born.
MindMapTutor.com is a Blog. We chose to use a Blog as it was very easy to get up and running to test the concept and whether people will be bothered to read what we have to say.
This worked very well, and today we have thousands of unique visitors to the Blog every month.
The Blog offers a free weekly article delivered to your email inbox. The weekly articles make up the bulk of the content on MindMapTutor.com.
While writing these articles, I found it difficult to convey some of the messages in an easily digestible format. It was even more difficult to get to the heart of some of the more challenging concepts.
- A Mind Map alone left people confused.
- A linear version left them even more confused.
Out of this, the MindMapTutor concept was born.
The MindMapTutor Concept
A MindMapTutor contains an overview Mind Map illustrating the important principles and a structured text based summary of the Mind Map with the main branches becoming the headings and even the sub headings of the article.
The details are filled in in plain, easy to read text.
This provides a natural bridge between the linear world and the Mind Map world and provides the best of both worlds.
This concept has been met with great, positive feedback and many of the articles and blog posts are now delivered in this format.
The best thing about the process is that people don’t even know they are doing something different. The merger between the two worlds starts becoming a seamless process.
Another Website
Because MindMapTutor.com is a blog, it became difficult to access older articles, or articles related to a particular topic on using Mind Maps. A Blog, which comes from the words Web Log, naturally orders posts chronologically. The latest post gets the most focus, making older articles difficult to access.
We therefore decided to create UsingMindMaps.com, which has more of a Website structure with articles structured according to topics, giving us more control over the delivery of our content and a more ‘user friendly’ interface for our visitors.
We also chose SiteSell’s SBI as the delivery mechanism for the Website. You can read more about creating a website based on your passion by clicking here. SiteSell has simply been amazing. We could concentrate on what we wanted to do – deliver good quality content on using Mind Maps – and every thing else was taken care of by their system.
Most of the articles on UsingMindMaps.com are in MindMapTutor format. They have a Mind Map introducing the article followed by structured linear notes.
The idea is to have short, focused articles on a topic with each article being a building block of a bigger picture, so that you can build up your knowledge bit by bit with methods that are simple to learn, easy to use and produce fast results.
The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts!
Products
We have also started to develop some commercial MindMapTutor products. The first is our Learning Management Program Ebook.
We decided to launch this at a very low, affordable price, as it is our first one and we learned a lot by producing it. It also provides you with everything you need to know to learn just about anything, including our MindMapTutors!
The Ebook contains eight modules. Each module has a Mind Map introducing it and the rest of the module is written in the same, easy to read style as the articles on UsingMindMaps.com.
Clarity
I hope that the concept of the MindMapTutor is clear to you. Have a look at the page on UsingMindMaps.com devoted to the MindMapTutor concept. A quick look at the examples should be enough for you to get the idea.
Also browse the rest of the articles to get a broader idea of the concept.
We hope that our MindMapTutors will enhance your learning and growth. So keep a lookout for new free and premium MindMapTutors in the future.
They will definitely enable you to learn faster and easier and ensure that you maintain a sustainable, competitive advantage.
Please pass this on to anyone that you think may benefit by learning faster and easier.
Join our Using Mind Maps Community today and learn how to use Mind Maps more effectively.
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