Last Updated on January 30, 2019
Structured thinking is a process of setting a framework to an unstructured problem. Having a structure not only helps to understand a particular problem, it also helps to identify areas which need more understanding. Structured thinking allows us to map ideas in structured fashion, thereby enabling the identification of areas which require the most thought.
Mind mapping is a fairly free flowing concept. This means you need software that is versatile, and can adapt to your requirements. Your idea of a neat and tidy mind map might be another person’s idea of bamboozling. A map can concentrate very complex content in a small space such as a piece of paper. It helps to use both sides of your brain: the logical side and also the creative side. It’ s a technique to help organize the way you think and stimulate your creativity: It can help you by developing, sorting and helping to memorize your ideas.
Mind mapping software therefore offers an excellent way of capturing your thoughts in a structured way, brainstorming new ideas. Move away from simple lists, and use this software to link ideas in different ways. By thinking creatively, not linearly, we can seize on our big ideas. In more advanced forms, mind mapping software can also be used to describe complex structures and concepts so an entire team can better understand them.
Our gold winner in this category is View Your Mind, a prime example of mature open source software at its finest. View Your Mind is not just another drawing software application, but a tool to store and modify information in an intuitive way.
All of our medal winners are, of course, released under a freely distributable license and can be downloaded without charge.
| Typing Tutors - Best Free Software | |
|---|---|
 | View Your Mind is an excellent tool to generate and manipulate maps which capture your thoughts. These maps help to improve your creativity and effectiveness. You can use them for time management, to organize tasks, to get an overview over complex contexts, to sort your ideas, and much more. http://www.insilmaril.de/vym/ License: GNU General Public License v3 |
 | Freeplane supports thinking, sharing information and getting things done at work, in school and at home. The software can be used for mind mapping and analyzing the information contained in mind maps. https://www.freeplane.org License: GNU General Public License v2 |
 | FreeMind is a free mind mapping application written in Java. https://sourceforge.net/projects/freemind/ License: GNU General Public License v2 |
Back to Linux With Education Homepage.