97. Inspiration

As a thinking tool, Inspiration in my book, is the ultimate.This application is a stand alone, you need it loaded onto your computer / laptops.I enjoy using Inspiration because it allows me to  brainstorm, manipulate ideas/data, organise information/ data
etc, use images, sequence, group, hyperlink to other documents or websites, create graphic displays,
colour ideas,, create notes, add sounds, use flowcharts and thinking templates etc etc. You can even use your Inspiration diagram as a presentation tool, opening and closing features and points as you present  and use them.  Languages and symbols are systems for
representing and communicating information, experiences and ideas so this application appeals to many types of learners and learning styles

I
love the freedom, flexibility and opportunity Inspiration gives the
user. I enjoy using my own photos, colour coding the information
especially when placing 6 hat thinking over the ideas. Inspiration allows you to move your idea bubbles around which also help clarify and classify ideas. The options and
opportunities are endless.
I've included an in-depth Inspiration example
from a secondary school student I worked with. They put down all their
ideas. manipulated them into sections and related topics and then sat
down and wrote the IB extended essay. The organising and articulation of the
ideas took some time, but at the end they had a very clear vision of
the way the essay would unfold. Talk about big picture thinking, this
was it.
I use Inspiration to plan and write my papers.
On completion of an Inspiration mid map, you can export these as jpg's, gifs, html etc and use them in other applications eg your blog. I'm attaching a few examples from Year 6 last year.

How can I use this in my classroom? IPC topics, knowledge harvest, as a presentation tool, brainstorming, sequencing ideas and experiences, planning for an writing. Creating and sequencing instructions eg systems and circuits. Creating food pyramid, as Inspiration includes a small bank of clip art images, however you can make your own banks with photos. Flow charts, thinking maps.