When you are studying networking in particular you have to deal with a LOT of information. Most people find it difficult to keep track of notes and remember everything when they are studying for an exam. One of the techniques I show to Cisco CCNA students is to use mindmapping. A mindmap is pretty much the same as taking notes but the big difference is that everything is structured. It’s like putting your brain on paper.
A mindmap is a diagram which consists of text, images or relationships between different items. Everything is ordered in a tree-like structure. In the middle of the mindmap you write down your subject. All the topics that have to do with your subject can be written down as a branch of your main subject. Each branch can have multiple branches where the pieces of information are leaves. Mindmaps are great because they show the relationship between different items where notes are just lists…
You can create mindmaps by drawing them yourself or use your computer. I prefer the second method because I can save / print them but also because I’m a faster at typing than writing.
If you want to give it a try take a look at Xmind. It’s free and it’s the mindmapping tool that I like best.
You can download Xmind over here, it’s free:
Once you have installed it and started a new project you can add some items.
You don’t have to use the mouse to add new items, just use ENTER to add a new branch or press INSERT to add a new sub-branch.
Here’s an example I created for CCNA with some of the items, just to give you an impression:
The example above is everything but complete but it should give you an idea. Give mindmapping a try to see if you like it!
No comments:
Post a Comment