(openPR) - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announces a new resource for school library media specialists and their teacher colleagues. The Best Websites for Teaching and Learning, a list honoring the top twenty-five Internet sites for enhancing learning and curriculum development, is considered the "best of the best" by AASL.

The Top 25 Web sites for Teaching and Learning were named so because they foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation and collaboration. The Web sites honored include: Animoto; Classroom 2.0; Curriki; Diigo; Edublogs; Facebook; Good Reads; Google Reader; Mindmeister; Ning; Our Story; Partnership for 21st Century Skills; Polleverywhere; Primary Access; RezED; Second Life; Simply Box; Skype; SOS for Information Literacy; Teacher Tube; Twitter; VoiceThread; Wikispaces; Wordle; and Zoho.

“The task force worked very hard to target websites that support learner-centered, inquiry based curriculum. In the hands of knowledgeable educators, these innovative and versatile Web 2.0 tools and resources can be used to engage and motivate students in the learning process and to develop 21st century skills,” said AASL Best List Task Force Chair, Pam Berger.

With its Academic Edition, MindMeister provides a complete collaborative mind mapping solution for educational institutions such as schools, universities and learning centers. It helps teachers and instructors to apply essential thought mapping elements in the classroom and ensure that learning is an effective and memorable experience.

“We certainly feel very honored to be included in the AASL’s best list. Mind mapping is a highly valuable educational technique with proven benefits for both teacher and student, yet it is still somewhat underrepresented in a typical curriculum. We hope that the AASL’s recognition will help us change this,” said Michael Hollauf, Marketing Director of MindMeister.

The Top 25 offer tools and resources in organizing and managing; content collaboration; curriculum sharing; media sharing; virtual environments; and social networking and communication. Each Web site is linked to one or more of the four strands of the Standards for the 21-Century Learner – skills, dispositions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies. The list will be updated annually based on feedback and nominations from members.

About MindMeister

MindMeister is the market-leading collaborative online mind mapping and ideation tool. Launched in May 2007, the site quickly gained traction among businesses, educational organizations and consumers.
MindMeister's benefits comprise ease of use, online and offline availability, real-time collaboration, and sharing. It innovates the way you take notes, brainstorm, or plan your projects.
MindMeister -- a solely browser-based software service -- takes out the hassle of maintaining software installs for usage in organizations like schools or enterprises. To learn more about MindMeister please visit www.MindMeister.com/home/about.

About the AASL

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library media services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library media field.

MeisterLabs GmbH

Verena Betten
Marketing Manager
Phone: +49 (89) 12135359
Fax: +49 (89) 18921347
Email: verena@mindmeister.com