What is the Mind Matrix?

Learning encompasses more than the ability to grasp concepts. Learning also entails the ability to understand the relationships between concepts in personally meaningful ways and the ability to make new connections to other concepts. The sophisticated Mind Matrix software is an interactive learning tool that will aid both teachers and students in the managed pursuit of knowledge. The Mind Matrix provides students a rich interactive learning environment in which they can explore new information and build new understandings. For teachers the Mind Matrix is an interactive assessment system that bridges the gap between learning and instruction.

The Mind Matrix is a new class of integrated, networked-computer software. The Mind Matrix is both a Java application that can be run on nearly any current (desktop or laptop) computer, and it is also an online web-based database-backed community of users. The Mind Matrix is both things. While these two components can stand alone, the integration of the two is what sets the Mind Matrix apart from all other learning and assessment systems. The Mind Matrix's powerful authoring application allows an instructor or content expert to easily create knowledge mapping activities and administer these challenging interactive tasks to students. Students' progress can be monitored and the results from a group of students can be collected, analyzed, and reported in a number of powerful ways. The Mind Matrix Java software program communicates over the Internet to the Mind Matrix server. The Mind Matrix server is the hub that brings a range of community members together. The server supports a wide range of community interactiions. In essence, the relational database (Oracle 8i) at the heart of these interactions is a robust and evolving bank of knowledge and information covering a growing breath of content areas.

Ideas for new knowledge mapping tasks can be shared and co-developed in the Mind Matrix online community. Registered users are provided project space that combines cutting-edge Web application technology with community-created content. The result is a revolutionary new collaborative community whose members are contributing to this powerful synergy of teaching and learning technologies, adding to the learning enjoyment of thousands of students around the world, and furthering our understanding of how assessment systems can impact online learning and instruction .

Please visit the differnet sections of the Mind Matrix web site to learn more about knowledge mapping research and related work, view examples and tutorials on how to use the Mind Matrix Java software, and sign up as a new user to download a free copy of the Mind Matrix software.

Use the links across the top of this page to move between sections. Join the Mind Matrix community and download our Java application.