Visual Summary Goes Live on WikiSummarizer

Context Discovery  Inc. the developers of WikiSummarizer today released the Visual Summary View for their leading on-line summarization tool, WikiSummarizer. Now right within the browser you can get a visual overview of key information on any topic within Wikipedia without the need to own a mind mapping software application.  The Visual Summary View will appeal to those users who like the graphic representation of the summary data. The Visual Summary View is interactive and allows the users to open and close nodes as they review the information. The Visual Summary View breaks new ground for summarization on the web with its ease of use and speed. For those users that prefer the outline view that can be accomplished by clicking on the Tree View in your browser. You will be happy to learn that WikiSummarizer- Visual Summary View also works on the iPad  and can be exported to your favorite mind mapping app on the iPad. I have tested WikiSummarizer with iThoughtsHD and the Mindjet app without any issues. So take a look at WikiSummarizer and see what it has to offer.

Using WikiSummarizer with PersonalBrain

When I think about the PersonalBrain I always think of it as an ideal tool for helping me to see relationships among the data points that I have added to the brain. The PersonalBrain is an ideal tool for storing all kinds of related information that you want to have at your fingertips. In this respect I decided to see what would happen if I imported the contents of WikiSummerizer, a new web based contextual summarization engine from Context Discovery, Inc.

If you have never tried out WikiSummarizer, it is a great tool to help you build background knowledge quickly on just about any topic that can be found in Wikipedia. Once the summaries have been extracted by WikiSummarizer you have two options to store the results. You can export the summaries as a RTF file and open it with any word processor or better yet you can save the summaries as a Mindjet MindManager file format (mmap) format and then import it into PersonalBrain. PersonalBrain gives you a rich environment that allows you to see the relationships between the keywords and summaries.

To get a sense of what you can do with PersonalBrain and WikiSummarizer take a look at the WebBrian that I developed by clicking on the image below. Now you can see just how fast you can go from a blank PersonalBrain to one that complete with chock full of information. This is an ideal tool for students and researchers that need a strategy to save and explore new information. With WikiSummarizer and PersonalBrain take your personal information management to a new level. For more information about WikiSummairzer click here.

Context Summarizer on the iPad

I have been working with Context Discovery's web based summarization tool (Summarizer) for the past couple of months and today I had a chance to test it out on my iPad. Context Discovery has transformed their summarization tool and now it works in the cloud summarizing websites by simply entering in a URL. Once the URL is processed- Summarizer will go out to the website and identify the most important key words and pull out the most important content that is ready for you to view. On the left you can get a glimpse of what it looks like on the iPad. I was very excited to see that Context Summarizer worked flawlessly on the iPad and processed the request very quickly. Once the contents was processed I proceeded to click on the MindManger Export and within seconds iThoughtsHD, my resident mind mapping application on my iPad opened the contents and displayed the mind map. It is nice to know that I can now use Context Summarizer and iThoughtsHD on my iPad to summarize the contents of web sites.

Moving from Mind Mapping to Knowledge Mapping

Much can be said about the benefits of using mind mapping software for the personal, academic, and business needs that many of us have. I know for myself that I greatly benefit from using mind mapping software on a daily basis to plan workshops, overview my content for courses, and for managing projects that I am working on. Using mind mapping software makes me more effective at the work I do and allows me to share information in a rich graphical way that resonates with my colleagues. For me, having access to the tools and techniques of mind mapping provides me a rich palette of tools to draw from when I am doing the work that I do. While using mind mapping software in traditional ways has been quite effective for me- my eyes were opened to a whole new way at looking at mind mapping when I learned about a product called Context Organizer about two years ago.

Context Organizer is a summarization tool that can extract summaries from PDF's, Word, and from URL's. With a click of the mouse I can have Context Organizer a MindManager add-in, build me a rich in information map. When I first tried Context Organizer I couldn't believe how fast I could produce my map filled with contextualized information, I was interested in researching. And so that was the "aha" moment for me going from "mind mapping" in a traditional sense to "knowledge mapping" with a click of the mouse. Going from a blank mind mapping canvas to a completed "knowledge map" was quite exciting to see. Imagine the power I felt having all this information in my map that I could organize and structure the way I wanted. This is the true power of knowledge mapping. The synergy between Context Organizer working within MindManager is exquisite giving the user the opportunity to reorganize information as they see fit. As a Professor of Education I am constantly doing research to keep abreast of new trends in special education and assistive technology and have come to rely on Context Organizer to comb the web looking for new information. Developing my own knowledge maps helps me to see the big picture and look at the current trends in the field and gives me a point of access to determine if I need to read the original articles.

Since the release of Context Organizer for MindManager, Context Organizer has evolved and now works in the cloud with an online mind mapping application called Comapping. Comapping works within the browser and the user with a annual subscription can access their maps and collaborate in real time with any browser and a connection to the web. This is a true paradigm shift and one that all of us are weighing as we begin to dip our toes into the cloud. For me having access to my maps whenever I am connected to the web is quite powerful and I have come to utilize Comapping more and more in the work that I do. But more importantly, I have been able to use Comapping with Context Organizer which has been seamlessly integrated into the application. Now I can attach Word and PDF files to my Comapping maps and have them summarized within seconds. An even more powerful feature is being able to attach a URL link to a branch on my map and have the entire contents of the website summarized. For researchers this is an incredible tool and one that you should take a look at. Now I can develop my personal "knowledge maps' that I can store online in a mapping tool that allows me to organize the information the way I want.

Looking ahead Context Organizer is moving to a soon to be announced portal that will enable users to type in a URL which will then return key words and a summary. This new tool called Web Summarizer will give you the capability to type a URL and have the information instantly summarized complete with key words. You will also be able to search your knowledge database to find links to the information you are interested in. With Web Summarizer you will be able to build you own knowledge databases and when you are done you will be able to export the summaries to your mind mapping application-creating the perfect repository for your information set.

So at least for myself, I am using a new term called "Knowledge Mapping" to share with you a new way to think about mind mapping and handling vast amounts of information that can be personalized to meet your needs. If you are interested in learning more how you can handle the information overload with these tools send me an email and I would be glad to share with you how your business or school could benefit from using "knowledge mapping." So happy "Knowlwdge Mapping."

Web Summarizer Takes to the Cloud

Over the past year I have watched Context Organizer morph into a truly powerful summarization tool that is ready for the big leagues. Starting out as a standalone application, Context Discovery proved to be a powerful tool for the desktop-able to summarize URL's, PDF, Word, and PowerPoint files. When Context Discovery saw the value of being able to quickly built information maps within a mind mapping application Context Discovery developed a MindManager Add-in which has received rave reviews from it users.

Just this past year Context Organizer was integrated into Comapping which showed the versatility of Context Organizer working in the cloud and being totally platform independent. With all these steps in place Context Organizer has moved to a new dimension being able to deliver summarization in the cloud by placing these tools in the hands of businesses and corporation that need to process large amount of data. Imagine being able to analyze and summarize large amount of URL's, RSS feeds, and News feeds on your own internal server. Web Summarizer has been optimized to be able to serve your corporate data needs and we are ready to work with you. Please see the video below to get an idea of what is possible with Web Summarizer. If information is power think about how you can take advantage of Web Summarizer to get ahead of your competition!

Using Context Organizer within Comapping

I have been using Context Organizer for the past year or so and was very excited to see that it is now integrated with Comapping, a web based collaborative mind mapping tool. Context Organizer can quickly pull out keywords and summarize information from URL's, Word documents, and PDF's. I have created a short video tutorial showing you how Context Organizer works within Comapping. If you like what you see go to Comapping and set a free trial account to get started.

Context Organizer is now Integrated with Comapping

Ok I will admit it- when I was in high school I would occasionally use CliffNotes to get some of my reading assignments done. I'm sure each and everyone of you has occasionally cut some corners in order to get your work done and be able to carry your load. But why did I choose to use the CliffNotes? CliffNotes, while certainly not as good as reading the whole book, was great for summarizing the material and giving me a good handle on the text even though I didn't read every single word. In the same vein, Context Organizer is a similar tool- it lets me summarize URL's, Word and PDF files and gives me the gist of the information that I am interested in.

Context Organizer is fast and efficient and allows me to determine the context of the information and provides me with keyword phrases. I have been working closely with Henry for the past couple of months as I watched our team integrate Context Organizer with Comapping. This venture was especially exciting in that Henry and his team were able to run the Context Organizer engine from the cloud. By setting up Context Organizer in the cloud we could now send information directly to Comapping and watch as it generated a map from the information. In this instance, Context Organizer can instantly create a map from URL's, Word, and PDF files attached to a branch. I guess the real "aha" moment is the creation of a knowledge map with a couple of clicks of the mouse. So you can go from a blank screen to an knowledge map within seconds. You will find it very easy to use Contexct Organizer with Comapping and if you like you can sign up for a trial of Comapping and give Context Organizer a try-you will be glad you did. The example below was created using Comapping and Context Organizer.

So when you need to get to the heart of the matter and you don't have time to read every word take a look at the combination of Comapping and Context Organizer a real dynamic duo!

ED's New Tech Chief Previews National Tech Plan

On December 1, Karen Cator, Director of Educational Technology for the Education Department gave a preview of the first draft of the administration's National Education Technology Plan.

Here are the highlights brought to you by Context Organizer. The original article can be found at the eSchool Website.

• Technology is essential to the nation's education reform, said Karen Cator, lifelong educator and ED's new director of education technology.
• As America's brand-new director of education technology, career educator Karen Cator underscores the determination of President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to develop "a transformative agenda" for the nation's schools and colleges.
• She said the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will unveil the first draft of the administration's National Education Technology Plan next month.
• It will focus on ensuring effective teachers are present "in every zip code," on seamlessly bridging the gap between the wide array of technology students use outside of school and the more limited technology available to them in the classroom.
• In broad terms, Cator said in an interview with eSchool News, the administration's ed-tech plan will seek to bring to fruition the president's vow to make the United States first in the world in the number of college graduates by 2020 and to give every willing student at least one year of postsecondary education.

* keywords are in blue