Write Online Adds a Mind Mapping Workspace

I have been impressed with Write Online from Crick Software since I first saw it, and initially remarked that this Web 2.0 application breaks new ground for assistive technology. Write Online provides the user with a rich feature set for writing that is accessible from any web browser. Just this past week John Crick alerted me to the addition of a mind mapping workspace to Write Online which I had a chance to use this past weekend.

When you open Write Online you will notice a Document and a Workspace tab. If you click on the Workspace Tab you will see that it puts you into a mind mapping mode that lets you do some quick brainstorming using a variety of different shapes to get your ideas down. Using some of the short cuts I was able to quickly prepare my mind map and link my ideas. You can see from the screenshot that you can add linking text to the ideas and add color to the various shapes that are provided. You will find it an easy to use addition to the program. Once you are done you can quickly transfer your mind map to an outline in the Document space- which is a great feature. But it even gets better than that! With one click you can create a Wordbar with the words you used to generate your mind map. Imagine all of the possibilities for having students create their own mind maps with the support of a customized Wordbar. Write Online continues to innovate and now provides a quick way for students to brainstorm using mind maps to do so. For more information about Write Online click here.

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 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.