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About the publisher - Inspiration Software® Inc.
Leaders in visual
learning
Inspiration Software®,
Inc. is recognized as the leader in visual thinking and learning. They
develop and publish innovative software tools that inspire learners of
all ages to brainstorm, organize, plan and create. With more than 15
million users worldwide, their award-winning software is
revolutionizing visual learning in education—inspiring students to
develop strong thinking and organizational skills and improve their
academic performance.
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Their mission
Inspiration Software® Inc.
strives to support improvements in
education and make a positive difference in students' lives by
providing software tools that help students learn to think.
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Recognized
commitment to excellence
Inspiration Software is dedicated to championing the growth and
improvement of technology in education. In addition to creating
software and support materials that build a solid learning foundation
for students of all ages, they offer professional development
scholarships for educators. Company leaders demonstrate their
commitment to encouraging the use of technology to improve education
by serving on industry boards and committees such as the Software &
Information Industry Association's (SIIA) Education Division Board.
Their flagship product, Inspiration®, has
earned many industry awards including three prestigious SIIA Codie
Awards, most recently in 2005, and the Association of Educational
Publishers (AEP) 2003 Distinguished Achievement Award for
Instructional Materials for Young Adults. Kidspiration®
also won both a 2005 and 2003 SIIA Codie Award and two AEP 2005
Distinguished Achievement Awards, for most innovative educational
software and the best educational software for reading. Inspiration®
for handhelds have received a number of awards, including a 2004 Award
of Excellence from Technology and Learning Magazine.
Their company has been recognized for its accomplishments, receiving
the
EdNET HERO and
PIONEER awards for making significant contributions to education
and the education market. In 2002, they ranked 310th in our first
appearance on the Inc 500, Inc. magazine's list of the 500
fastest-growing U.S. private companies, and in 2003, they were
included in Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast 50 (fastest growing
technology companies in Oregon) for the fourth consecutive year. In
2005, they were selected by Oregon Business Magazine as one of the
state's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the third time.
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Inspired products
Educators agree that visual learning is one of the best methods for
teaching thinking skills. Visual learning techniques - using graphic
organizers to work with ideas and present information - teach students
to clarify their thinking, and to process, organize and prioritize new
information. Visual diagrams reveal patterns, interrelationships and
interdependencies.
 | Kidspiration: Created for K-5
learners, Kidspiration provides an easy way to apply the proven
principles of visual learning. Students build graphic organizers by
combining pictures, text and spoken words to represent thoughts and
information. Younger learners develop early literacy skills and more
advanced students improve comprehension skills and organize their
ideas for writing.
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| Inspiration: Powered by the proven
strategies of visual learning, Inspiration®
is the essential tool students grade 6 to adult rely on to plan,
research and complete projects successfully. With the integrated
Diagram and Outline Views, they create graphic organizers, develop
ideas and expand topics into writing. As a result, students gain and
retain a better understanding of concepts and demonstrate knowledge,
improving their performance across the curriculum.
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| Inspiration for handhelds:
The learning benefits of Inspiration combine with the natural ease
of handhelds to give students grade 4 to adult handheld power to
develop ideas and organize thinking. With Inspiration for
Palm OS and Inspiration® for
Pocket PC, it's easy to capture ideas and show
relationships by sketching symbols and arranging thoughts directly
on screen with a stylus. It's an innovative, versatile way to help
students achieve clearer thinking, better writing and improved
performance across the curriculum. |
With Kidspiration, Inspiration, Inspiration for
Palm OS and Inspiration for Pocket PC educators of all grade levels
and curriculum areas have the ability to fully integrate a wide range
of visual learning techniques into the classroom and the curriculum.
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Company history
Founded in 1982 by Donald Helfgott and Mona Westhaver with a focus on
business software products, their first product was for the CP/M
operating system to help systems analysts build products to meet
business needs. Next they created a line of products for the Tandy
Model 100, the original notebook computer, used primarily by outside
sales staff, writers and editors.
In 1987, they began to focus on brainstorming, thinking and organizing
tools. The first version of Inspiration, the premier tool to develop
ideas and organize thinking, was released for the Apple®
Macintosh® in 1988. Subsequent releases
included a Windows® version, major upgrades and
a native Japanese version on both platforms.
1996 brought an exciting change - a new focus on developing
Inspiration to meet the needs of educators and students. Inspiration
5.0 Education Edition was released in 1997. To extend the power of
visual learning to younger students, they released Kidspiration in
January 2001.
In 2002, a growing interest from countries around
the world prompted the release of International English editions of
Kidspiration and Inspiration. In 2004, a French edition of Inspiration
was released, followed closely by Inspiration and Kidspiration Spanish
editions in 2005.
Committed to improving their products and meeting the needs of
our customers, they are continually evolving their award-winning
software lines. In 2005 they introduced the updated Kidspiration 2.1,
while spring of 2006 brings the release of Inspiration®
8. In 2004 they released Inspiration® for Palm
OS® and followed that with the 2005
introduction of Inspiration® for Pocket PC to
support emerging technologies.
Currently, according to market research firm Quality Education Data (QED),
a division of Scholastic,
Inspiration Software® Inc.'s
products are in use in more than 60 percent of U.S. school districts.
To deliver an integrated, flexible learning
experience and make Inspiration's visual learning tools available in a
range of teaching environments, Inspiration products are optimised to
support interactive whiteboards and Tablet PCs. |
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