Cathy Moore has a slideshow about how to plan for active learning – whether online or not. The key: concentrate on what people need to do, not what you think they need to know. Her slides would make excellent wallpaper for any instructional design atelier.
http://blog.cathy-moore.com/?p=215
In the same post, she also says how she uses Compendium for doing her mind mapping. A quick download (Open University and others are behind Compendium) and peek later, I have it on my list of things to play with later. It looks pleasantly easy to use and flexible (you put down your ideas first, then connect them - no hierarchical connections from the start to deal with).
