Using WebspirationPRO for Brainstorming Ideas

I recently started using WebspirationPRO, which is a software as service application from Inspiration which allows me to brainstorm and think visually in the cloud. As  along time Inspiration user, I feel right at home using WebspirationPRO since many of the conventions used are those that can be found on the desktop version. To this day, RapidFire remains one of my favorite tools when I am brainstorming- it is easy to use and very efficient when you want to get your ideas down. WebspirationPRO supports RapidFire and within minutes my ideas were literally shooting out around my central idea. While WebspirationPRO has a nice library of pictures and clip art it does allow you to bring in your own graphics which was easy and straightforward to do. When it is time to share my visual map I was able to use the Sharing feature and publish it to the web with a unique URL. Once you publish your visual map you can also capture the embedding code that is handy to paste into blogs and wikis making it easy to share. You can see visual organizer above.

Once you start using WebspirationPRO you will swear that it feels just like a desktop application until you realize that you can now access your files from any computer connected to the internet that has a browser, and that is what makes this application really stand out. Having access to my files from any computer is the new law of the land for me. The more I work with the computers - the more I want my files available 24/7 to me from anywhere I am connected. In this sense applications like WebspirationPRO become even more important to me- now if it only worked on the iPad. But yes, I know it is on the road map!

PS: Coming Soon - information about a 1 day iPad Summer Institute to be held in New Jersey

Inspiration Launches Webspiration Pro

It was really exciting to learn about the launch of Webspiration Pro from Inspiration, which is geared for business professionals and college students. Launched as software as a service all you need is a browser an a account to get started to access this feature rich tool for visual thinking. Webspiration Pro is sold as a subscription and if you act now you can get some really great deals on the pricing. Webspiration is ideal for brainstorming and collaborating with colleagues when working on shared projects. Using Webspiration it is easy to invite, comment,  chat with collaborators as you are working on your ideas. You will find Webspiration to be easy and intuitive to use with the right mix of features. I have always enjoyed using Inspiration on the desktop and now with the release of Webspiration it affords the capability to share my ideas and collaborate across time zones. When I'm ready, I can publish my maps to my blog or web site with the provided URL and embed code. So if you have the chance take the time to look at the release of Webspiration Pro. There is a free 30 day Trial - so get started and let me know what you think? And by the way, Inspiration is working on an iPad App for Webspiration which should be pretty cool! More to come.

Kidspiration 3 Workshop

This past Friday I spent the entire day working with elementary school teachers in New Jersey showing them how to use Kidspiration 3 in the classroom. Within a two hour period all of the teachers were introduced to the Picture, Writing, and Math View. The teachers were quick to learn how to use the program and the intuitive interface found in Kidpsiration 3 which really helped them along. With the addition of the Word Guide and the Math manipulatives, Kidspiration 3 is clearly an essential piece of software for the elementary school classroom. Many of the teachers were excited to explore the Activities and Online Lessons to get more ideas on how this tool could be used in their classroom. With the text to speech support and the graphic representation of information Kidspiration 3 is an ideal tool for students whose learning preference is visual. Kidspiration 3 is also ideal for use with interactive whiteboards- and remember if you are working with young children you can move the tools to the bottom of the screen. Many of the teachers were really excited with the possibilities and thoroughly enjoyed using the Math tools that are now built into Kidspiration 3. If you have not taken a look at Kidspiration 3 in awhile, I would urge you to take a look at it and download the Trial version that is available from the Inspiration web site.

Inspiration 9 Coming January 2010

Inspiration 8 continues to be on my top 10 all time list of software applications and every time I use it or run a workshop showing teachers how they can support students I am always amazed at the built in features and templates. Just yesterday, I did an in-service program on using Inspiration 8 and Webspiration and I showed a group of Middle School teachers how they can integrate graphic organizers in their classroom's with students. Some of the features which really shine are: Text to Speech, WordGuide, Templates, and the Transfer to Word. On the heels of this I was excited to see that Inspiration 9 will be released in January 2010.

Here is what Inspiration Software is saying about Inspiration 9:

Comprehend. Create. Communicate. Achieve More

For visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, use Inspiration® 9, the ultimate thinking and learning tool. Brainstorm ideas, structure your thoughts and visually communicate concepts to strengthen understanding with the Diagram and Map Views. To take notes, organize information, and structure writing for plans, papers and reports, use the integrated Outline View to focus on main and supporting ideas and to clarify thinking in written form. With Inspiration's Presentation Manager, transform your diagrams, mind maps and outlines into polished presentations that communicate ideas clearly and demonstrate understanding and knowledge.

For more information go to Inspiration Software website.

Today's Webspiration Training

Today I was called into a Middle School to do some training with teachers on Inspiration to help support a student with writing and reading comprehension difficulties. Last year I had done a comprehensive assistive technology evaluation and had made the recommendation to the Child Study Team that the student would benefit greatly from using Inspiration on a computer as a pre-writing strategy and to help him to better understand and retain information. When I went into the school today I decided to take a little different tact and worked with the teachers on getting them comfortable with Webspiration. Since all of the teachers did not have Inspiration installed on thier laptops I figured why not try Webspiration a tool that they could use not only with this student but with the entire class. There are lots of advantages to using Webspiration if you are teacher, most notably, you can access your graphic organizers from any computer connected to the internet and you can jointly share your webs and templates with others.

During this short session we were able to create a graphic organizer on the "scientific method" as well as add graphics from the library. We also had a chance to add notes and to look at some of the templates that come with Webspiration. The "aha" moment didn't come until I showed them how they could share their files with others. Within minutes teachers were collaborating with one another and could see just how easy it was for them to share their graphic organizers with the identified student who would need this to support his learning. It was a rell eye opener for them to also learn that the student could then access these files and open them with Inspiraiton 8 which he has installed on his laptop computer.

I had a chance to work directly with the student and showed him how to access these shared files that some of his teachers had shared with him in Webspiration. He quickly grasped how to use Webspiration and was taught how to download the files he needed so that he could use some of the other supports that were only found in Inspiration 8, Text to Speech, and the Word Guide. Using the Listen Tool the student was able to click on any symbol on the screen to hear the text being read. Likewise I also showed him how to turn on the Talking Interface which would then allow him to have the computer read the definitions in the Word Guide.

Having the ability of the teachers and the student to have access to Webspiration really was very empowering. I will be going back to the district in a couple of weeks to do a follow training to see how everything is going. In the interim please take a look at Webspiration and see how you can begin to use it with the students that you work with.

Webspiration Updated!

I have been a big fan of Webspiration and it is always exciting for me to hear about the latest changes and updates to the application. Here is a recent email that I received about some new features which I'm sure you will want to try out.

The newest Webspiration updates include the ability to easily create personal templates, to distribute copies of documents to other Webspiration users and to set up collaboration groups.

Personal Templates

Now you can create your own personal templates. This is especially useful for documents you use on a regular basis, such as weekly project notes or monthly reports. Learn more.







Distribute copies of your documents to other users

The Distribute copies option allows you to provide other users with their own copy of an existing document. This is especially useful if you have created a document as a starter for a group, but you want each individual in that group to be responsible for completing the work. Learn more.

Collaboration Groups

Creating Collaboration Groups makes inviting users with whom you regularly collaborate fast and easy. Once a group is set up, you can invite all of its members at once to view or collaborate on a document. Learn more.














Check out the newly redesigned myWebspiration.com website!

In addition to updating our look, we have added several tools to help you use Webspiration to think visually and get organized:

• Visit our new Examples Gallery to find and share Webspiration examples with your peers
• Browse our Tips & Tricks section to find ideas that will help you focus your projects and jumpstart your work
• Or, find answers to your questions in our newly redesigned Help Center.

We are always looking for your feedback. Please send us an email with suggestions of what you'd like to see.

Thank you for your continued support and use of Webspiration,
The Webspiration Team

Webspiration has been Updated!

Just wanted to let you know that I received an email today from Inspiration, Inc., that a host of new features have been added to Webspiration. I wanted you to be the first on the block to hear about this. Some of the new updates to Webspiration include:

• Insert your own graphics to your Webspiration diagrams or outlines
• A new Starter screen which gives you easier access to your documents
• New button on the Starter screen to access templates and Examples
• Improved Chat features

Visit http://www.mywebspiration.com/blog/updates-launched to learn more. One of the most asked for features the ability to add you own graphics to your mind map has been added. I for one have sked for this feature for awhile now and am glad to know that it was included in this update. I have tied this feature this morning and am glad to tell you it worked great. I found it very intuitive and easy to use. You will see in my mind map that each of my symbols now has a customized picture. This is a huge feature and one that I know that you will enjoy. Another key feature of Webspiration is the ability to embed or publish your mind maps to the web. To view the mind map that I created with Webspiration click here. Webspiration makes it very easy to share your mind maps over the web and the new Chat features will make it even easier to communicate while collaborating. I would be interested in how you are using Webspiration in the work that you do? So please feel free to comment! To sign up for a free Webspration account click on the link.

It Doesn't Get Any Easier than with Inspiration 8

I have used many mind and concept mapping applications in the last couple of years and it is always refreshing to revisit Inspiration, where I first learned about the power of visual thinking. I'm not sure what version of Inspiration I initially worked with but it was probably version 2 or 3. When I first saw a demonstration of Inspiration it was an epiphany for me. The light bulb turned on and I never looked back. You see for me, when I am thinking about organizing my ideas, or working on a new project one of the first tools that I look for is Inspiration 8.

Inspiration 8 is easy to use and all the tools you need are there in front of you. Over the years more features have been added but the program has always been true to its mission allowing the user to think visually about the topic at hand. You see for me, the true test of a software application is that it fades into the background and doesn't interfere with the work at hand. In this respect Inspiration 8 with its powerful RapidFire feature makes brainstorming and getting your ideas out on the page easy and elegant. For the the visual thinkers the Library of pictures adds to the appeal of the program but the same can be said for the linear thinkers who have access to a powerful outlining tool with the click of a button.

Today I had the opportunity to work with a student with a learning disability and I asked him if he had been using Inspiration as I had recommended to his teachers. The student said that he had been using it and when I put Inspiration 8 in front of him he quickly created a map of his favorite activities. Within minutes he had mapped out his favorite activities and if we had more time he would have been able to add note cards and transfer the information to Microsoft Word. I had a chance to speak to this student's Language Arts teacher and she reinforced how important it was for this student to use graphic organizers in the writing process. She shared that for this student, being able to visually see his ideas and the connections was an important and essential part of the writing process for him.

As we all work with students to develop their skills, it is important to give them life long tools that they can use even after they finish their formal education. I for one am a big proponent of teaching all students how to use visual thinking and mind mapping skills-which are essential in helping students to think, create and present information in a graphical way. As the amount of information expands exponentially the ability to use tools like Inspiration 8 to help students organize and visualize information will become more important and certainly one of my priorities as a 21st Century skill set.

On the Road with the Acer Aspire One

I'm on the road today and stopped into a Panera's to have some coffee and use their free wifi on my recently purchased Acer Aspire One. Many of the schools and students that I am working with have been asking me about these netbooks and I thought that it was time to invest in one so that I could try it out and use it with some of the students that I'm presently working with. When I saw the Acer Aspire One on sale at Staples for $299 dollars I knew it was time to jump in. The 2.2 pound Acer Aspire One has worked famously and while the keyboard is a little smaller than the typical laptop keyboard it is fine for some light typing. In fact I'm blogging from my Acer Aspire One right now without any difficulty. I typically have the screen zoomed in so that it is easier for me to see te text. By putting two fingers on the trackpad and gesturing towards the side of the computer you can easily zoom in which makes it a lot easier for me to see the text. For younger students with smaller hands and better eyesight the screen and keyboard should not be an obstacle.

I have installed some of my favorite applications on the Acer Aspire One, which has a a 160 Gb hard disk drive running the Intel Atom processor with 1 GB of RAM. The Acer Aspire One runs surprising well and is very responsive even running larger applications like Microsoft Office 2007 and MindManager 8. Having used the Acer Aspire One for the past couple of weeks I has lead me to believe that this could be an ideal assistive technology tool for students with writing disabilities. I have used the Acer Aspire One with a couple of students who have used Inspriation 8 in the writing process and it worked like a charm complete with text to speech. Transferring the student's work to Microsoft Word from Inspiration was very fast. I was also able to install NaturalReader the free text to speech application which worked well right within Microsoft Word. All told I have been really happy with the Acer Aspire One and look forward to seeing how other will benefit from this technology. At just 2.2 pounds and a battery life of around 2.5 hours this could be a great assistive technology tool.

Webspiration Updated

One of the first visual mapping tools that I worked with many years ago was Inspiration and the first time I encountered it, it was a real epiphany for me. I could not believe how you could go from the diagram view to the outline view with a simple click of the mouse. But more importantly Inspiration always allowed me the capability to brainstorm and get my ideas down in a way that was more consistent with my learning style and I have been using visual mapping tools ever since. To this day, Inspiration remains one of my favorite tools for brainstorming and concept mapping and now with the introduction of Webspiration it has expanded the utility of the tool for me.

Just this morning I learned that Webspiration will now allow you to publish your visual maps to a public area on the web with a click of the mouse and give you the embedded code to place your maps on your blog. When you log onto your account you will now be taken to the Document Manager which enables you to quickly view your documents. Here is a screen shot to the left of how to publish your visual maps.





Here is the embeded visual map from my Webspiration account:

just click on the map to zoom in and move around.

New Features in Webspiration

Here are some updates to Webspiration which I have previously written about. Webspiration is really maturing and is a wonderful online tool for visual thinkers. As a long time Inspiration user I am really excited by this version which is accessible to me anytime I am connected to the web. If you haven't taken the time-please do so you, will be very pleased with the features and the collaboration tools that are built-in to this application.

Learning Library

Inside the Launch Center we've built a learning library with helpful articles to strengthen your visual thinking skills. College users will find some great tips on how to write papers with the least pain possible, or how to use Webspiration to study more effectively. Business users can learn the essentials of brainstorming, read some quick tips for creating diagrams, or learn how outlining can streamline your business writing.

Help Center

Our new expanded Help Center is designed to get your questions answered quickly and provide access to the information you need to use Webspiration's functions to their fullest.

The new Frequently Asked Questions section answers the most common questions we get from users, and is a great place to start if you need some help. Also in the Help Center is the Getting Started Guide, which gives you a comprehensive overview of Webspiration.

And, of course, the Help Center provides you access to our friendly Webspiration Technical Support team, in case you need help with anything that wasn't covered in the FAQ's or Getting Started Guide.

Sample Gallery

Seeing how other people are using Webspiration can sometimes trigger some great ideas of your own. The new sample gallery has samples of many different uses for visual thinking, whether it's mapping out processes, organizing papers, or laying out web sites.

The Joy of Teaching

There is no better feeling when you are teaching to see your students in perfect sync with you as the lesson or demonstration unfolds. In many ways it almost feels like a symphony of sorts- there I am teaching and I can watch the expression and the heads moving in unison as they grasp the ideas that I am espousing. Pretty powerful stuff to say the least. Today was one of those days where everything just flowed. I have been introducing my students to the power of videoconferencing and challenging them to think of some ways to use it in the classroom. In this vein, I introduced them to two of my favorite videoconferencing applications Skype and Oovoo.

For the first part of the class, I connected with my friend Laura at Inspiration, Inc. and my class had a chance to meet her via videoconferencing. We had a very good connection and the class marveled in just how easy it was to accomplish the connection. After Laura introduced herself, we connected via Glance so that we could share her screen. Laura and I have done this before with some other classes but it was the first time we were using Glance to share her screen. Using the latest version of Glance and my account I was able to Start a session and view Laura's screen. As I have noted one of the things that I like most about Glance is just how easy it is to use. Today was a perfect example- within seconds of starting the session, Laura's screen was up and my class was viewing her computer. Laura did a great job of demonstrating InspireData which continues to impress me. Just this past week I modeled for a fifth grade teacher how to set up a mock election by using the eSurvey feature within InspireData. Glance was really fast and the screen redraws were nearly instantaneous. It was a great session and Glance worked flawlessly. My students were very excited to participate in the webinar and began to see just how these tools could be used together to deliver professional development and instruction.

After the short webinar- I had a chance to show them OoVoo and connected with Philip Robertson from OoVoo. We had a great conversation and the students remarked on the clarity of the image and the quality of the audio. We also had a chance to record the session which is another benefit of OoVoo and I had a chance to replay it for them. The session was a big hit and once again Philip came through and provided some great information and his great sense of humor. In in all it was a great day of teaching!

Webspiration to Go Beta This Week

It is with a great deal of excitement that I announce that Inspiration will be releasing in a public beta Webspiration, their online visual thinking tool. (Webspiration will be available to the public this Wednesday for a free sign-up). I have had the privilege to work with Webspiration for the the last couple of months and have to say it was a truly wonderful experience. Inspiration, Inc has been able to take that same experience you have had when using the software on your desktop and translate it to that same experience within the browser. You will feel right at home once you log into Webspiration and all the familiar icons still adorn the web application. The major difference between the desktop application and Webspiration is that you are now able to invite others via an email to collaborate with you on your visual web. This is a very unique feature and one that will go a long way in the classroom, as you build collaborative activities. You will be glad to learn that you can upload your existing Inspiration graphic organizers to the web as well as download the ones you create from within Webspiration. Overall, Webspiration gives you all the power of the desktop version with the added benefits of collaboration, and being able to access your visual maps from any computer connected to the web. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

bCisive for Decision Making

Many of you may not know this about me, but in my previous life, I was a practicing school psychologist and worked with many students to help them develop better social problem solving and decision making skills. I even went on to write two parenting books on emotional intelligence and have been interested in this area for the better part of my professional career. As a practitioner, I would carefully break down the skills that the students needed to learn and I would often help them see the consequences for their actions by using flow charts or doing it them in Inspiration, a really fantastic concept mapping application. Trying to make the handouts and materials very visual and showing the students I worked with the decision making process was in the long run going to help them make better decisions.

The idea of visualizing the outcomes is very powerful and if I had some of the tools that I now have I know my work would have been that much easier. Regardless if you are a student or a business person we are always confronted with having to make literally hundreds of decisions each and everyday. Some of the decisions we make are made effortlessly without much deliberation, however there are always those few decisions that gnaw at us and force us to sit down, ponder, and evaluate. It is for the former, that having visual tools like bCisive can come in really handy. Before I talk about bCisive, I do want to thank Katherine Brandenberger from Austhink Software for providing me with a copy of bCisive, to review. Austhink Software promotes bCisive as a simple software application for business decision making and diagramming that goes beyond mind mapping. bCisive runs on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 2000.

bCisive has a very clean and pleasing interface to navigate and provides the user with the now familiar Ribbon interface. The Left panel provides the user with all of the symbols that can be used to build your decision tree, while the right panel provides you with the Text Panel. The Text Panel allows you to do Internet searches right within the application using Google and Wikipedia as well as searching for images using Flickr and Google. You can also use the Text Panel as a Scratch pad for your ideas or use it to attach Notes to an idea in your decision tree. Within the Text Panel you can also view a Summary of your decision making as well as an outline- which are two really powerful features. The user can also export the outline into a word processor for further editing or revision.

I decided to do a test run of bCisive working through a decision to take traditional courses or on-line courses for a Supervisor's Certificate. I started out building my decision tree by using the Basic Map template provided and dragging it into the middle of the screen. This provided me with a number of specific icons that I could now enter text into. I was now able to type my question as well as my options and the pro's and con's of each option. This was very straight forward and having the visuals laid out on the screen does make you go through the process more systematically documenting your thoughts and ideas. Once I worked through the process I was able to select my decision and code it using the decision icon. The process was very quick and straight forward. If I needed to have supporting materials, I could have attached files and URL links to my decision tree.

bCisive really shines when you are ready to share your decision processes with others. You can always Export your Outline to a text file to email to others or output your decision tree as an Image file (png, jpeg, bmp, tiff, and emf, and gif). One of the really exciting output features is being able to export your bCisive decision tree as a bMap Bundle. The bMap Bundle creates a zip file with all of your attachments and URL's and creates an html file with all accompanying media so that you can upload it to the web (Click here to view the bCisive map on the web) or share it with anyone who has access to a browser. Once you open up the bMap Bundle you can interact with your decision tree and look at the steps and process you took in coming to your decision. bCisive is a very specialized tool for all types of open ended decision making. It provides a very engaging environment in which to think about and clarify the options as well as the pro's and con's of your decisions in a very systematic fashion. I particularly liked the fact that the program automatically generated a summary of your decision. While I know this program is geared for business people, this could be an extremely invaluable tool for those professionals who work with students to help them look more carefully at the decisions they make and the consequences of their actions. Providing individuals with a structured visual approach to making better decisions is such and important support when students are in the process of having to decide on what to do. So if you have the chance, take a look at bCisive- there is a 30 day trial version available.

Kidspiration 3 Announced

Today Inspiration, Inc. announced that Kidspiration 3 will be released on February 6th. Kidspiration 3 adds lot of new features which really make this a very substantial upgrade. Kidspiration 3 will now allow students to use the expanded Symbol Library with over 3000 pictures as well as searching the symbol library for pictures when connected to the web. Kidspiration 3 now included Word Guide which is an online dictionary and thesaurus which is great for language development. Kidspiration 3 now includes an extensive visual math tools which makes it an ideal tool for interactive white boards. Teachers will have access to color tiles, pattern blocks, base ten blocks, fraction tiles and fraction boxes. Once I have had a chance to use Kidspiration 3, I will give my thoughts

Zaner Bloser Templates for Inspiration & Kidspiration

If you are looking for top quality writing templates for Kidspiration and Inspiration then you should be aware that they can be downloaded from the Inspiration Software, Inc website. The templates are derived from the Strategies for Writers 2008 textbooks which are published by Zaner Bloser. The Inspiration and Kidspiration writing templates compliment the Zaner Bloser writing program-but could certainly be used as a standalone.

Yuuguu to the Rescue

One of the tools that I use on a regular basis to support others who are using technology are desktop screen sharing applications. For the past year I have been using a commercial product which allowed me to share my computer desktop with others. Having the ability to share my desktop has allowed me to demonstrate how to use various software applications without the need to get into my car. It is a great tool for providing "just in time" software support and training. It is also an ideal tool for doing webinars.

I am always on the lookout for new companies that are developing new and innovative products and I recently came across a new desktop sharing piece of software called Yuuguu. You simply download the application from their website which is available for Macintosh a Windows and within minutes you could be doing a web conference, as I did this afternoon with my friend Laura from Inspiration, Inc. Laura was kind enough to show me some of the new features in InspireData 1.5, which I have written about in my blog. Both Laura and I were amazed at just how fast it was to start a desktop sharing session. Using a familiar buddy list metaphor you simply click on start a session and when the other person accepts you see their screen. You can also request to take control of their screen which was very cool! Here is a screenshot of what the session looked like when we were using Yuuguu. Yuuguu was fast and easy to use. Yuuguu will be adding the capability of doing desktop sharing directly through the browser in a future update which will make it an even more indispensable tool for providing others with support and training.

Analyzing Data in InspireData 1.5

In this video I will show you how easy it is to use a Pie Graph to analyze the data from the eSurvey that was published on the web using InspireData 1.5. Click on the first video in the Screencast Media roll to see a demonstration of how easy it is to use. I also show you how you can use the SlideShow feature built into InspireData 1.5.

Inspiration Releases InspireData 1.5

Earlier this month, I posted a review of InspireData and shared with you just how innovative and well designed this application is. Well to top it off, Inspiration, Inc. just released InspireData 1.5, a free upgrade from InspireData 1.0. With InspireData 1.5 it is now possible to create surveys and post them to the web with a click of the mouse. Inspiration has done a great job of implementing this feature so that students and teachers can post their surveys to the web and have others with the link and code complete the survey on with a browser. When the publisher of the survey is ready they can end the session and then access the data right from within InspireData 1.5. Combining the data analysis tools within InspireData 1.5 with the ability to do online surveys makes this the perfect tool for project based learning and collaboration across the web. In no time you will be thinking of creative ways to use InspireData 1.5 for all kinds of cross curricular projects. If you have InspireData 1.0 then point your browser to the Inspiration web site to download the updater-you won't be sorry you did. InspireData 1.5 is one piece of software that can open all kinds of doors to learning.

I have posted a Blog Survey to the web that you can complete that was done entirely with InspireData 1.5. When you click on the link you will be prompted to enter a six digit code. The code is 209062. The information will be helpful to me so give it a try and let me know what you think. Thanks

InspireData from Inspiration

I originally wrote this piece about a year ago but thought that it would be of interest to you. This is a very exciting piece of software to help students make sense out of data by teaching them how to do analysis using visual and analytic methodologies.

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After checking in to the National Educational Technology Conference at the San Diego Convention Center I decided to see what materials the Exhibitors had left for us in anticipation of the start of the conference on the following day. To my surprise, the Inspiration Company, was about to announce a new product called InspireData, which really intrigued me. Having been a long time user and trainer of Inspiration products I was excited to see a product that was cross curricular and that could help students develop their ability to analyze data. With all of the data that is around us, students more than ever before need to develop their ability to make sense of the data and interpret what it all means. In this respect InspireData gives students the tools to begin to sift through data sets and draw conclusions by using visual methodologies. Students canuse Venn, stack, pie and axis plots to help them interpret and draw conclusions about the data set they are working
on.

A Closer Look
Having played around with InspireData for the past week or so and I am very impressed with the user interface and its ease of use. InspireData comes with over 50 data sets on a wide variety of topics and subjects, which are sure to engage students in the inquiry process. InspireData data sets span the areas of science, mathematics, social studies and more and give teachers a great place to start in learning how to use the program. Some of the examples of the data sets that are included are: US Immigration, World Population, Plant growth, Planets basic, NBA Statistics, and Hurricanes, Both students and teachers will find something of interest in these varied data sets to pique their curiosity and to engage them. Using a very similar metaphor as you will find in Inspiration students can move from the Table View to the Plot View with a click of the mouse. When starting the program students can select one of the pre-made data sets or students have the option of entering their own data directly in the application. Students also have the option of importing data from tab delimited or CSV files. One of the really nice features is the ability for teachers to create a Questionnaire which then allows students to fill in data into a form as one would find on the web. This really facilitates data entry and assures that the required data is properly entered into the Table. Teachers can set up a computer with the Questionnaire and have students enter data that they collected right into InspireData. Once the data is entered into the Table that is when the fun really begins. Switching over to the Plot view students can decide which of the type of plots can help them to visualize their data and make meaning from the disparate data points. Students can use the following types of plots to better help them understand their data: Venn, Stack, Pie, Axis, and Time series.

With a click of the mouse students will be able to switch from the Table view to the Plot view to begin plotting their data. InspireData adds two unique types of plots, the Venn and the Time series plot. The concept of Venn plots may be new to students at it really helps students to visually how different variables in their date tables are related. InspireData allows
students to have up to 3 hoops as they are called when they are creating their Venn plots. In one of the sample data sets called Sleep Survey students can begin to explore how the number of hours of sleep is related to the ease of waking up or if there are any relationships between gender, age and hours slept. Within each of the Venn loops students can set the filters that determine where the data points move to. This is highly visual and students can quickly begin to compare and see how the data points are grouped. For example in the first loop you can have a filter that says Hours Sleep < proccess=" hard.">

InspireData invites students to look for relationships and makes it extremely easy to change filters when creating Venn plots. One of the unique plots that your students will find in InspireDate are Time series, InspireData allows students to plot a series of data as a line graph representing change over time. Once the data is plotting you can animate the data to illustrate the change over time. This is a great feature for scientific data that your students may collect as part of a science project. Students will enjoy the ability to create the Time series plots and see the relationships evolve over time. Once students have analyzed and plotted their data, InspireData will allow them to capture their slides (plots) so that they can retrieve it at any time. When students capture a plot, InspireData records the following information: plot type, axis assignments, notes, view constraints, labeling/coloring and the plot title. Students can rearrange their slides in the slider sorter and use them to present a slide show. Students also have the ability to Update slides from the Slide Sorter if they have made any changes to them for example adding a note.

Conclusion

InspireData is one of the more creative cross-curricular tools that
has come out in a long time. There is something inherently engaging about the
program that will keep students asking questions about the data they are studying. As I noted students and teachers will find the program easy to use and the 50 data sets that come with InspireData should meet the needs of many teachers. InspireData is a program that you will want to jump in and play with as you explore relationships with your data set. With so much data being produced today it is imperative that students become informed consumers and learn to use tools like InpsireData to make meaning of data in the world around them. InspireData has tremendous cross-curricular applications and will quickly become of the leading analysis tools in the K-12 educational marketplace.

Reprinted by permission from Inclusion Times, which is published by AssistiveTek,
LLC. Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D. is a trained school psychologist, with expertise in the area of assistive technology.