The FreeMind filter allows Moodle to display "mind maps" (a kind of graphic organizer) created by the open source program FreeMind. I have created a new article on the FreeMind filter in the documentation wiki. The article supersedes information given in the beta discussion started earlier in this forum. It incorporates suggestions and fixes that users reported in the beta discussion--for example, bugs in my description of how to (re)size a mind map.
I have also changed the download package in the Modules and Plugins database to include only the filter and not the applet. The applet should be downloaded from sourceforge and installed separately, as explained in the wiki article. This was done to avoid versioning problems if the FreeMind project releases a new version of their application that is not backward-compatible with the applet previously bundled with the filter. I decided to do it this way after reading about problems caused by the release of a new version of GeoGebra elsewhere in this forum.
If you have already installed FreeMind, there is no need to do anything! If you are going to install it, please follow the instructions in the wiki article. If you have questions or problems of any kind, please post to this discussion.
John,
Thanks for the article on the Freemind filter. Very interesting.
But can Moodle support the notion of using/creating/editing a Freemind map as a course task? Perhaps the map is STARTED by the course leader, but either the student edits this, or collaboratively edits such?
Does this imply that there has to be a server service installed such as CMaps, and does Freemind offer a Moodle-compatable service?
It would be such an exciting way to work!
Regards,
John White
(jwc)
Thanks for the article on the Freemind filter. Very interesting.
But can Moodle support the notion of using/creating/editing a Freemind map as a course task? Perhaps the map is STARTED by the course leader, but either the student edits this, or collaboratively edits such?
Does this imply that there has to be a server service installed such as CMaps, and does Freemind offer a Moodle-compatable service?
It would be such an exciting way to work!
Regards,
John White
(jwc)
FreeMind-files are plain XMl, so your idea wouldn't be that hard to realize. In fact, there's a project called WikiMindMap which sounds pretty close to what you have in mind: The software parses a (Media)Wiki-article and dynamically generates a mindmap based on all internal/external links. I'm sure we could make it work with Moodle quite easily. 
Thanks Johannes.
This sounds very interesting indeed. But would your comments imply that you would have to create (or be creating) the Wiki-article first, and the MindMap be an INTERPRETATION of that, or would it be possible to use tools to create the MindMap as the exercise?
In any event I don't really know how you would set about implementing this idea... any suggestions?
This sounds very interesting indeed. But would your comments imply that you would have to create (or be creating) the Wiki-article first, and the MindMap be an INTERPRETATION of that, or would it be possible to use tools to create the MindMap as the exercise?
In any event I don't really know how you would set about implementing this idea... any suggestions?
Hi John / Johannes,
I'm now using the Flash Browser version of the freemind filter. It seems to have the benefit of fewer hiccups in terms of version compatibility (or else I have just been lucky!). At some point I'll try to do some more definitive tests on the Java version.
But for now I wonder if you have met a different problem...
If I put two Mindmaps on a Moodle course these work fine in Firefox and in Netscape, but Safara and IE6 only lets you see one of them, and this one is second defined, placed in the first position!
Now I think this is something to do with either the Browser not accepting two instances of the Flash object or both objects trying to use the same name/handle!
Have you met this before?
Does this not apply in the Java applet case?
Is there a way of determining the handle from within in Moodle declaration?
Regards,
John
I'm now using the Flash Browser version of the freemind filter. It seems to have the benefit of fewer hiccups in terms of version compatibility (or else I have just been lucky!). At some point I'll try to do some more definitive tests on the Java version.
But for now I wonder if you have met a different problem...
If I put two Mindmaps on a Moodle course these work fine in Firefox and in Netscape, but Safara and IE6 only lets you see one of them, and this one is second defined, placed in the first position!
Now I think this is something to do with either the Browser not accepting two instances of the Flash object or both objects trying to use the same name/handle!
Have you met this before?
Does this not apply in the Java applet case?
Is there a way of determining the handle from within in Moodle declaration?
Regards,
John
Hi all,
I'm replying to my own post because I've found the source of the problem, and a fix for it. I don't think the issue arises in the Java version, but in the Flash version there is a clash of interest in either the <div> id, or the visorFreeMind.swf instance id (or both).
Firefox & Netscape ignore the issue and get on with the job, Safari & IE6 get their knickers in a twist about it!
The problem is in filter.php (sorry, Johannes) where both these id's are generated. They appear to always be set to name-0 within one course; does $i never go beyond 0?
Instead of messing with the logic, and causing some knock-on effect, I have modified a couple of lines...
In the //Defaults section added...
$k = rand(10000,20000);
Then changed the $i references to $k, but only in...
<div id="freemind-' . $k . '">
"visorFreeMind-' . $k . '",
fo.write("freemind-' . $k . '");
Now it has a 1 in 10000 chance of failing in the offending browsers, and a Refresh will likely fix even that.
Regards, and again thanks,
John
PS: I wonder which id caused the problem...?
I'm replying to my own post because I've found the source of the problem, and a fix for it. I don't think the issue arises in the Java version, but in the Flash version there is a clash of interest in either the <div> id, or the visorFreeMind.swf instance id (or both).
Firefox & Netscape ignore the issue and get on with the job, Safari & IE6 get their knickers in a twist about it!
The problem is in filter.php (sorry, Johannes) where both these id's are generated. They appear to always be set to name-0 within one course; does $i never go beyond 0?
Instead of messing with the logic, and causing some knock-on effect, I have modified a couple of lines...
In the //Defaults section added...
$k = rand(10000,20000);
Then changed the $i references to $k, but only in...
<div id="freemind-' . $k . '">
"visorFreeMind-' . $k . '",
fo.write("freemind-' . $k . '");
Now it has a 1 in 10000 chance of failing in the offending browsers, and a Refresh will likely fix even that.
Regards, and again thanks,
John
PS: I wonder which id caused the problem...?