Educational Software

We started off today's ICT class looking at Inspiration, the latest version 8. We had previously used Inspiration Data as a graphing tool and I had been a big fan. This software seems equally user friendly. There are plenty of templates to use in a wide variety of lessons. We looked at the outline for a persuasive essay.

Two key tools are diagrams and mind maps. We had a play around with diagrams. They are like brain storms and a way of arranging ideas. There are plenty of ways to personalise your diagrams: colour, shape, pictures, line effects. 'Notes' can be added to individual items where more information is desired. These can be hidden or shown as required. The sub-headings can also be hidden which lends the Inspiration Diagram for use as a presentation tool. When each item is discussed it can be opened. Intriguing - I really felt powerpoint had the monopoly on presentations. I can see Inspiration as being a useful tool for me in teaching and planning, and also for the pupils to use for their own learning, particularly for allowing personal choice. It would particularly apply to visual learners. It always for careful structure and organisation in planning. Files can be saved as inspiration documents (.isf) or can be exported as a multitude of other types of file for word processing, powerpoints, graphics, web based. Sadly I don't believe my diagram is up to scratch to post on this blog!

We next moved onto looking at Textease Studio: a word processing tool but designed for school children - particularly suited for KS1 and early KS2. You can start typing anywhere on the blank page - not just the top left corner! A very cool tool is that it will read back to you what you have typed! - just click on the lips A-Z button at the top. You can also record your own sound if you had a microphone. Sadly I can't find a way to upload it onto the blog :-( A shame as I think my posts would be more interesting if there were more pictures in them. You can create branching trees that would be useful for classification. I have seen a pretty dry classification lesson in Year 6 - this would have made it more interesting, I believe. There are other features such as spreadsheets and flow charts, but they aren't as sophisticated as Excel or Inspiration.