Review of bubbl.us

If you look at the name quickly, you might see "Bubble Us!!" or even "Bubblicious!" if you're really tired or squinting. But bubbl.us is a Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Tool found at http://www.bubbl.us/

My first question (and possibly yours) was: what does the .us mean? I learned that it is an internet domain, just like .com, .net or .org, that can only be used by United States citizens or by those with a presence in the United States. The “.us” domain is more commonly used by governments (for example, Pennsylvania uses www.state.pa.us for their informational website address, but Texas uses www.texas.gov). There was no information on the website about why they used an “.us” domain, but it certainly makes their address stand out.


This tool allows you to create mind maps, which are visual diagrams of ideas and the ways they are connected. You can start with one central idea or more than one, and show the connections between ideas or concepts by drawing lines between them. This tool makes it easy to create colorful mind maps of any topic you choose, and allows you to share them. You can send images of your mind map to people, and even allow them to edit or add to the mind maps you create.


You do not need any prerequisite knowledge or skills in order to use this tool.


The steps are as follows:


1. Here is a picture of the main page:

You can simply click on “Start Brainstorming” to begin creating a mind map, or you can login with a free account. Creating an account will allow you to share the mind map with others or collaborate on one. 


2. Once on the main mind mapping screen, you can select your main topic as the center balloon.

3. Clicking on the bubble will allow you to create “sibling” balloon (a parallel balloon) or “child” balloons (for subheadings).

4. You can change the color of your balloons.

5. You can zoom in or out to change the size of the balloons, and you can move the group of balloons around on the screen.

6. Once you have completed your mind map, you can print it, share it to be viewed or edited, or post it on a website or blog.


Here is an example of a quick mind map I created about the surgery clerkship.

One idea for using this for teaching would be to organize clinical scenarios and assist medical students and residents in formulating differential diagnoses. They could use the constellation of signs and symptoms, and organize it into a mind map that would help demonstrate an understanding of the hierarchy of the patient’s presentation. For example, if the patient complained of “abdominal pain” and “fever”, they could choose those as the two center balloons, and then arrange the other presenting complaints, labs and physical exam findings around these complaints to narrow down possible diagnoses. Another idea would be to have small groups of students collaborate on creating a mind map about a specific topic, and then use them to present from and teach each other.


The advantage of this tool is that it is fun to create and easy to understand. While one might not want to create a mind map on paper, on which it is difficult to move ideas around and form new relationships between topics, this program allows you to easily edit your mind map. Finally, the ability to share the mind map with others who can then add to it or edit it makes it a unique tool for collaboration of ideas.


The disadvantage lies in the fact that medical students and residents are sometimes reluctant to try new ideas, particularly for studying, and might feel that mind mapping is not applicable to medicine. There might be significant motivation barriers preventing them from utilizing this tool. In medicine (particularly in surgery, probably), there is a tendency to reject ideas or tools that may seem too artistic or "touchy-feely", and might not seem useful for the study or practice of medicine. Hopefully by introducing this in the surgery clerkship or residency it could help to overcome those barriers.