Inspiring Software-Inspiration 8 is Released
Saturday, July 1st, 2006
Inspiration Software, Inc. has just recently released Inspiration 8, its award winning software. Inspiration has been a basic part of my software toolkit for years and with each release it just keeps getting better and better. User of previous versions of Inspiration 8 will feel right at home using the latest release but will enjoy some of the new features that have been included in this version. When you first open Inspiration 8 you will note the new Inspiration Starter screen. The Inspiration Starter Screen gives you quick access to Templates, saved Files as well as to a new Learn to Use feature. When you click on the Learn to Use button you gain access to training videos on how to use Inspiration as well as new Curriculum Packets which show you how Inspiration 8 can be incorporated into the classroom with really wonderful examples of students work. The training videos are easy to access and let you learn the features at your own pace. They cover the topics of Visual Learning, Diagram View, Outline View, Enhancing a Project, Publishing Work, Customizing Inspiration, and Integrating Inspiration. The videos guide you through learning how to use Inspiration and can be stopped at any point. It is wonderful supplement to the new version and one that I’m sure that teachers will love to have at their disposal when they are learning or teaching students how to use the software.
One of the new features which teachers and students will really like is the ability to search from over 1 million pictures that they can add to their graphic organizer. While students can use the standard library of graphics the new feature add all kinds of possibilities to enhancing your concept map or web. Students can now look for graphic and limit it to photos as well as clip art. Simply type the picture you are looking for and if you are connected to the internet, Inspiration 8 will search the picture database and display the graphics. Searching is very quick, but more importantly you are assured since the graphics are coming from Inspiration Software, Inc. server that they are appropriate for school use. Student will also be glad to know that the new version of Inspiration now supports MP3 audio files and Quicktime movies. So now it is easier then ever to include videos or high quality audio files in Inspiration. Including MP3 files or Quicktime movies is very easy to do and will allow teachers to think of different ways to use Inspiration as a presentation tool with both movies and audio files integrated into the web. What a great way to address the various learning styles of your students by including both music and video to capture their imagination.
Many teachers over the years have used Inspiration to help students develop their vocabulary skills. In the latest version Inspiration now includes the Word Guide which can help students develop their language skills. To use the Word Guide students can simply highlight a word and then click on the Word Guide button on the Toolbar to bring up the feature. Students can easily find related words and synonyms for the word that they are looking up or they can type a word in Word Guide and then click Lookup to see the word defined. By turning on the Talking Interface feature within Inspiration it is possible for Inspiration to read all of the text that is displayed in the Word Guide. This is a tremendous feature for both students who struggle to read and for ELL students. You can turn the Talking Interface feature on by going to the Preferences and making sure that Talking Interface is checked off.
For those of you who are considering upgrading now is the time to do so. Inspiration 8 has many new features that will enhance your experience when creating and using graphic organizers in the classroom. While a host of new features were added users of previous versions will feel right at home. If you would like to download a trial of Inspiration 8 to try out the new features you can do that from www.inspiration.com. Inspiration 8 is packed with some new and exciting features that make it a worthwhile upgrade-check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
What are your thoughts about Inspiration 8 versus Draftbuilder for helping 4th and 5th grade students (who learning disabilities) writing skills – particularly organization and use of language?
Thanks, Robin
Inspiration is a great program but out of the box can be overwhelming with features that may seem hard to use. If you build a process for using it it’s the way to go. But, without that process it can be overwhelming.
Draftbuilder is a more structured approach and as such provides the scaffolding. The problem is, if it’s not the right scaffolding it’s worse than useless. For me, it would be a disaster; I like to make a mess and clean it up. Inspiration is the tool for me. But, that’s just me.
Here’s how I’d use Inspiration.
Make a main topic (you can change it later)
Turn on rapid fire
Start typing everythig you know about the main topic, any related words, anything that describes, it, whatever. If in doubt, type it. In rapid fire mode you simply type a single word or short phrase and hit enter to do another one.
When you’re done you’ll have a huge mess of radial arms/topics leading out from the main topic.
Now change views to outline view.
Now you can easily make subheads to contain these descriptive topics and drag things around to build the beginning of a hierarchy.
Once you’ve got things a bit more organized go back to the diagram view.
Now choose “rearrange” from a menu or button and arrange the diagram top down.
You’ll be left with a clean chart of the ideas.
You can go back through any one of these steps and then do the last step again to clean things up.
I can create a large, complex outline/diagram like this in a few minutes (I’m a fast typist) and it’s a great way to get things down on paper.
I would highly recommend some initial facilitation: don’t just sit students down with it and talk them through it, demonstrate the entire process for them with your computer and a projector with them just watching, not doing.
Then, maybe give them a step by step list of this process.
Then have them give you the ideas, you do the typing and using of the program.
Then, slowly wean them from you typing and doing to them typing and doing with you helping.
In time, they’ll be cooking like crazy.
You might have them pair up with one person using the program and typing, the other coming up with the ideas, then switching.
Have fun, let us know what works for you.
How can I find out about Inspiration 8 and purchase it? I am a clinical administrator and LD/ADHD specialist in private practice.
Inspiration Software
I think I want to try this software for an adolescent with an expressive language disability but have two concerns. First, will the program help her compensate, or will it help her learn? Second, will she play with it a lot, or will she actually generate text?! Any thoughts?
Janelle, you have to work with the student to show them the process of coming up with ideas, structuring them, then turning all of that into text. The application doesn’t do the thinking and writing, it’s simply a structured tool for helping.
I found it useful to use rapid fire to generate a lot of ideas then clean them up with the arrange tool so they look orderly and I could see a structure, then back to rapid fire to generate more, repeating this until the idea was fleshed out. Then I’d dig into each topic and write a short paragraph.
I don’t use it anymore but I found it extremely useful for idea generation and putting things in a hierarchical order.
Again, the software is a tool, it’s not a computer aided instruction environment. You should learn to use it, then teach the student.