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| 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.
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. 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. Today, 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. |
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