Transcript th!nkmap - Thinkmap

The Visual Thesaurus is:
an animated display of
words and meanings –
a visual representation
of the English language.
With the Visual Thesaurus you can:
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Find the right word and explore
Improve your grasp of the English language
Hear words pronounced correctly
Understand the relationships between English words and meanings
Expand your search to the Internet
Check spelling
See how the Visual Thesaurus
works with the following
step-by-step Product Tour:
View the interactive version of this Product Tour at:
http://wwwvisualthesaurus.com/tour/load.html
To start using the Visual Thesaurus, type a word in the search box…
… and click “LOOK IT UP”.
To listen to the audio pronunciation of the center word, click the speaker icon next to it.
You can click on any word to make it the new center and see the words and meaning
related to it.
Clicking on “exercise” will make it the new center, revealing its definitions and word
relationships.
With the Visual Thesaurus, you can filter by parts of speech. For example, turn off
nouns by clicking the “off” button next to nouns.
By turning off nouns, you have simplified your results to display the verb meaning
and word relationships of “exercise” only.
With the Visual Thesaurus, you can search words or meanings (represented by
circles).
Roll over a meaning (circle) to see its definition and usage examples. Bring it to the
center by clicking on it to make the meaning, not the word, the center of your search.
The Visual Thesaurus reveals many types of word relationships. Synonyms are
connected by solid lines. Dashed lines show other types of relationships.
Roll over a dashed line to learn what kind of relationship is being revealed.
The meanings on the screen are listed on the right, in the Meanings List, organized
by parts of speech.
Rolling over a meaning in the list is the same as rolling over its circle in the main
display.
You may right click (command click on Mac) to reveal a “pop-up” menu showing
optional actions that may be taken on a word or meaning.
Actions include: Pronounce Word, Search Internet (for content), Search for Images
(internet images), Expand Selection (revealing more words and relationships), Make
Center (the same as a single click).
For example, “Search for Images” will pull up Google Images of the word in question.
At any time, you may look up another word by typing it into the search box. Not sure
how to spell it?...
… The word suggestions panel will open. (At any time, additional word suggestions
are available.)
You may turn on “Help” and roll over items on the interface to reveal navigational
tips.
The help tool tips will explain what you are looking at and what actions you may take
to proceed.
You may open the settings panel to adjust display, relationships, dictionary,
languages, and much more.
Simply click on “Settings” to open the panel and reveal your options.
The settings panel has many sub-panels where you can control various aspects of
how the Visual Thesaurus works, allowing for a customized and user-friendly
experience.
For example, simply move the “Font Size” slider to the right to increase the font size.
Press apply to apply the changes and close the settings panel. Once you have
applied the settings you prefer, you may save your changes, creating a personalized,
customized, default view.
The Visual Thesaurus benefits
students of all ages.
The Visual Thesaurus can be incorporated in a broad
range of curricula from elementary school to college
and continuing education courses.
Educational accounts include the ability for central
administrators to choose settings and displays
appropriate for their educational purpose and use.
Curricular Use:
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Elementary Education (grades 3-8)
Secondary Education (grades 9-12)
University Education
Secondary Literacy
Gifted/Talented
Remedial Education
Continuing Education
Online Teacher Resources!
Student Workbook Included!
Elementary Curriculum:
• Explore parts of speech
• Turn on/off nouns, verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs
• Explore words that are used in multiple ways
• Explore and construct sample sentences
• Explore antonyms and synonyms
• Practice basic word replacement exercises
• Explore basic word relationships
• See also
• Similar to
• Use in introductory composition
• Use for vocabulary building
This is just the beginning of a life-long visual
and interactive relationship with the English
language!
Secondary Curriculum:
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Review correct use of sentence elements
Build advanced vocabulary
Use for composition
Use for reading comprehension
Explore advanced word relationships:
•Is derived from (fond/fondly)
•Is a participle of (applied/apply)
•Pertains to: academic/academia
•Entails: snore/sleep
•Verb group: harmonize/jibe
•Attribute: light/weight
In addition to weeks’ worth of assignments,
build special assignments around remedial
learners or encourage exploration by gifted
and talented students…
Administrator/Educator Features:
• Standards Compliance
The Visual Thesaurus helps teachers and students meet educational standards
as set forth by IRA, NETS, NCLB etc., as well State Standards.
• Teachers’ Guide and Student Workbook
We offer a Teachers’ Guide and Student Workbook designed to improve reading,
writing, and vocabulary skills. These lessons can be used as the basis for
integrating the Visual Thesaurus into your curriculum.
• Administrator Control of Content Filtering
As an administrator, you decide which of the four levels of content filtering is
appropriate for your students.
Quotes from the Educational Press:
“Once again, my favorite of the show was not the latest hardware gadget or
some technology wonder; it was in fact a small little English utility that just
astounded me. The Visual Thesaurus… is just what I need to get students
excited about learning vocabulary.”
– Tech Edge
“The Visual Thesaurus is a superbly conceived and designed piece of software
that is as addictive as it is useful, and is suited to ages ten to adult.”
– ITC For Education
“…an engaging way to explore the English Language.”
– Magazine Education and Reference
“A+.”
– Education World
Quotes from Educators:
“What a great way to project similar words for my students!”
“It is a informative site, designed beautifully and is above expectations.
Thanks for providing us with such a helpful tool.”
“I was doing homework with my 11 year old son and he was dealing with
synonyms… I looked up your site on the web and...WOW. What a great
site. It made his learning really fun. It was great and easy to use. Thank
you so much.”
"Wow! I'm an English teacher who is also an ESL tutor... This is just what
I've been looking for… Great job..."
"The Visual Thesaurus is a revelation… more than an aid in finding the
right word, it also assists in making the appropriate, and often unexpected,
connections. The program's think maps… literally clarify one's thought
processes and spark one's creativity…”
We offer two options for
unlimited access:
Desktop Edition
Online Edition
Online Edition:
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Simply go to http://www.visualthesaurus.com/online
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No need to install software
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Updates/Upgrades included
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Internet Connection required
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Educator Resources available online
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Language Lounge (a monthly column for word lovers)
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Tips and Tricks (useful tips that will help you get the
most our of your Visual Thesaurus subscription)
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Get access to our International Edition (Beta Version)
Search and View Results in English, Dutch, French,
German, Italian and Spanish
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Priced from only $1.25 to $0.20 per user
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Multi-year licenses available at deep discounts.
Desktop Edition:
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Installed on your computer
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Hybrid PC/Macintosh CD-ROM shipped to you
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Perfect for small classrooms and labs
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Internet connection optional
(Required for audio pronunciation feature)
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Priced from only $29.95 to $9.95 per computer
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Software ownership vs. online licensing
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Educator resources available at www.visualthesaurus.com.
Get excited about words
with Visual Thesaurus!
Available Online or via CD-ROM
VISUAL THESAURUS
phone. 212.285.8600
fax.
212.285.8999
web. www.visualthesaurus.com