NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Chicago, IL, United States, 07/15/2009 - Collaborative mind mapping site MindMeister wins award for excellence in teaching and learning by prestigious American media association.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announces a new resource for school library media specialists and their teacher colleagues. The Best Websites for Teaching and Learning, a list honoring the top twenty-five Internet sites for enhancing learning and curriculum development, is considered the "best of the best" by AASL.

The Top 25 Web sites for Teaching and Learning were named so because they foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation and collaboration. The Websites honored include: Animoto; Classroom 2.0; Curriki; Diigo; Edublogs; Facebook; Good Reads; Google Reader; Mindmeister; Ning; Our Story; Partnership for 21st Century Skills; Polleverywhere; Primary Access; RezED; Second Life; Simply Box; Skype; SOS for Information Literacy; Teacher Tube; Twitter; VoiceThread; Wikispaces; Wordle; and Zoho.

“The task force worked very hard to target websites that support learner-centered, inquiry based curriculum. In the hands of knowledgeable educators, these innovative and versatile Web 2.0 tools and resources can be used to engage and motivate students in the learning process and to develop 21st century skills,” said AASL Best List Task Force Chair, Pam Berger.

With its Academic Edition, MindMeister provides a complete collaborative mind mapping solution for educational institutions such as schools, universities and learning centers. It helps teachers and instructors to apply essential thought mapping elements in the classroom and ensure that learning is an effective and memorable experience.

“We certainly feel very honored to be included in the AASL’s best list. Mind mapping is a highly valuable educational technique with proven benefits for both teacher and student, yet it is still somewhat underrepresented in a typical curriculum. We hope that the AASL’s recognition will help us change this,” said Michael Hollauf, Marketing Director of MindMeister.

The Top 25 offer tools and resources in organizing and managing; content collaboration; curriculum sharing; media sharing; virtual environments; and social networking and communication. Each Website is linked to one or more of the four strands of the Standards for the 21-Century Learner – skills, dispositions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies. The list will be updated annually based on feedback and nominations from members.

Agency / Source: MindMeister

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