software (free) for concept maps

Windows: http://cmaptools.forumer.it/

Phen you can find others here: http://aranzulla.tecnologia.virgilio.it/programmi-per-fare-mappe-concettuali-28185.html

For Mac I use Mind Node. Very simple and intuitive

Yes, in fact I forgot to specify that I use a Mac

Excuse my ignorance, but what are concept maps?

They are summary schemes of various topics based on the concept of a keyword, and from each keyword (connected to others in a manner similar to flowcharts) branches of various types depart, e.g., cluster, chain, etc. The branches essentially visualize the interconnection between one keyword and another (read 'between one concept and another'). Thus, an entire history chapter can be easily summarized on one side of an A4 sheet by schematizing it in the form of a concept map.

Ok Scala, but would the software do everything automatically?

No, I wish! The program only provides help for layout and printing. YOU insert the keywords... YOU choose the shape of the keyword boxes... you choose the interconnections and branches between one keyword and another.

in essence, it is faster to do it by hand; with the program, you simply get a better graphic effect as well as

having it in digital format and therefore being able to save

a bit of paper... which these days, for Italian schools,

seems to be considered WHITE GOLD! :-P ;-S

In my opinion, the main purpose of this software is to provide order. Making a hand-drawn concept map where nothing can be understood—aside from being a waste of paper—is, I believe, completely useless. A concept map should bring clarity to how ideas and therefore topics are linked to one another. In essence, they must be able to be consulted with extreme ease so that once the topics have been studied, the concept map serves as a mental shortcut to grasp the concepts in our heads and organize them for writing or oral exams. One of our high school professors, Prof. Iolanda Maria Fabbri, had us perform brainstorming and idea mapping every time we had to write an essay. This allowed us to connect the various concepts we were developing in a very fluid and intuitive way. It is a technique I still use today when I am creating publications, essays, or speeches for professional purposes when they are logically complex; I often find myself attaching the concept map to the written work specifically to clarify the connections between the various topics, which is very useful but something no one ever does. I have also created video courses with downloadable mind maps that were "expanded" with each new course release, in order to clarify ideas and show how the topics are expanded lesson by lesson. At the end of the course, the mind map provided a complete overview of all the topics and was also useful for realizing which topics had been absorbed incorrectly or incompletely (ultimately a sort of litmus test).