Freeware Information management tool

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Note: This message is from the outliners.com archive kindly provided by Dave Winer.

Outliners.com Message ID: 2622

Posted by graham.smith
2005-01-20 04:06:25

I am trying to put together a software package for my students to try and help them handle information better and for planning and writing essays and lab reports. To do this I am trying to put together a collection of useful free software, along with lectures/handouts etc

FreeMind seems an obvious program to include for Brainstroming and I have a few free bibliographic tools that I can suggest such as JabRef, which I have just found.

As an aside for someone looking for an excellent bibliographic tool for the MAC, Papyrus is now free and got excellent reviews when it was released http://www.researchsoftwaredesign.com/Mac.html

Most people use Word so for outlining so I will just use Word as well.

However, what I am not so sure about is the best choice of a free “data gathering/note taking” type program. The sort of thing that I use Zoot for, but free and preferebly for Windows and Mac. maybe Linux.

As background, I want to put together a guidance booklet for my students (undergraduate biologists) on the “writing process” including brainstorming ideas, gathering data, storing and managing data, and then structuring the essay or report. This is something they are often tremdously bad at and to my surprise (as I am new to teaching) not taught at any stage in their education (this is the UK).

Any way, I would be grateful for any suggestions for a good Freeware information management tool, and indeed for any suggestions that you feel may be useful.

Many thanks,

Graham

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