Thinking Maps

This Monday, a small group of students and I observed Ms. Tonti's 4th grade class. After the lesson on transitions, during which she mapped the use of transitions in a story, she showed us some of the students' publications and raved about "Thinking Maps." Thinking Maps is part of a commercial product and is marketed as an amazing tool for learning. Take a few minutes to view their video and see what you think.

Does this strategy strike you as sound and valid? Are there possible challenges to this strategy of relying on graphic organizers that have been made even more sophisticated through the use of Thinking Maps?

When we think of graphic organizers, we think of the schematics illustrated to the left of this post. Is there something more than this that we need to rely on an educational supplies company to provide, or can we figure it out ourselves as teachers?

What do you think?