As technology advances, there seems to be more apps for things people used to just do on paper. Making a sort of visual outline is something students used to always make with paper for some school assignment, but now, there is an app students can use for that.

Popplet is essentially an app one can use to create various “mind maps” but on the Popplet app, they are simply referred to as “popplets.”  Mind maps are often referred to by several different terms, but it is essentially just a “web of words” centralized around one idea, a visual outline of something. For example, if one were reading a novel, he/she may create a mind map to organize and help connect the various characters and identify his/her traits. If this were thecase, the title of the novel would go in the center, and then one would spurt different boxes, all coming out of the center box, with different character names. Then, from the character names, one would identify or list anything about that particular character.

Popplet is not only useful for English, it can also be used for a variety of other subjects. If one were reviewing for a history class, he could have a major time period and then connect important people to key events they accomplished. Another way to utilize popplet is through creating a sort of web of key definitions. So if one wanted to review key biology terms from a unit, they could create a web of words they were reviewing with the definitions or examples.

However easy it is to create, visual outlines with actual pen and paper, creating a visual outline on Popplet is much simpler and more effective. One can easily rearrange any box he/she has created and reassert the line. Popplet also allows one to chose from a range of seven different color boxes, so each subsection can be color coded and organized.

The only downside to Popplet is that one can only create one “popplet” at a time. This can be an inconvenience; however, the actual background screen is incredibly large that one can create another “popplet” that is unconnected to the previous popplet. Fortunately, this is only the case with Popplet Lite, the free version. If one is willing to pay $5 for the full Popplet, he/she can then create as many Popplet boards as he/she likes, along with uploading pictures. However, for the average high-schooler’s use, he/she would be perfectly content with only using Popplet Lite, the free version, because it offers all the necessary features of the full version of Popplet without the price.

All in all, Popplet Lite is a very useful and effective app for students. Either can use and create popplets in any of their subjects as they are easy to use, and even easier to understand and learn off of.