Inspiration is the premier tool to develop ideas &
organize thinking for all learners from grade 6 through college and for adult project managers and team members in any organization.
Inspirtaion is based on the proven principles of visual learning and helps anyone tap into their creative juices and build new knowledge, develop ideas, analyze complets topics and improvie organizaitonal skills.
Features
Inspiration®'s integrated diagramming and outlining views work together to help students comprehend concepts and information. Below you'll see a general product overview. For capabilities added with Inspiration 7 and above, click here.
Visualize thoughts in Diagram View
In the Diagram View, students easily create and use concept maps, webs and other graphic organizers. The result is clearer thinking, more-creative projects, better-organized writing and improved student performance.
In the Diagram View you can:
Capture ideas as quickly as you think with the RapidFire® tool.
Add as little or as much text as you want — symbols grow automatically to record your thoughts.
Illustrate ideas and convey meanings by inserting symbols from the web or other applications using the insert graphic, drag & drop, or copy & paste functions.
Show relationships between ideas with the Link tool.
Explain relationships between ideas by adding text directly on the links.
Rearrange symbols by dragging without breaking links.
Differentiate among ideas with colors, shapes, patterns, shadows, fonts and styles.
Bring writing power with visually integrated notes.
Explore multiple main ideas simultaneously.
Transform a diagram into an outline instantly!
With the simple click of your mouse, you can transform an Inspiration diagram into a traditional hierarchical outline. In the powerful Outline View, students can quickly prioritize and rearrange ideas, helping them create clear, concise essays, reports and more.
Use the Outline View to:
Organize topics by dragging — subtopics move automatically.
Plan projects and track ideas using the Checklist feature. Simply mark off completed items in either the Diagram or Outline View.
Develop topics into a written report using notes text.
Export your outline to popular word processing or presentation programs.
Toolbars make using Inspiration intuitive!
Diagram Toolbar
Outline Toolbar
Formatting Toolbar
Major Inspiration functions are at your fingertips with our smart toolbars. No need to memorize keyboard shortcuts or search through menu items to find features — just click on the toolbar and keep working! If you do have a question or problem, our fully indexed and searchable help system provides answers to all your Inspiration questions.
One click to word processing
Inspiration's one-click transfer instantly moves students' work to their favorite word processor. After working in Inspiration to brainstorm, organize and outline, students then use Microsoft® Word or AppleWorks® to finish the writing process and prepare their paper for publication.
Simplified template integration
Inspiration sparks teacher creativity with inspiring new ways to design and use templates . . . the fastest way to introduce visual learning and Inspiration to students in all subjects, including language arts, science and social studies.
Template Wizard - Create customized visual learning activities! The Template Wizard gives teachers step-by-step help for designing templates to support any curriculum area.
Flexible template access - Use and share templates with ease! Templates can be stored and launched from any location, making them readily available for students and teachers.
60+ templates - Quickly integrate visual learning into your classroom! A wealth of ideas from across the curriculum inspires students and teachers to plan, organize and create.
Symbols at your fingertips
Inspiration contains over 1,300 colorful, high-resolution symbols, including several hundred photographic quality images and animated symbols. Students just scroll through the floating symbol palette to find exactly the right shape to express their thoughts. And, if you want to customize your work, you can recolorize an existing symbol or import images from other applications and the Internet. Click here to download a PDF of the Inspiration symbol guide. To view this file you may need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Audio supports multiple learning styles
Students can hear work read aloud or record their own words, adding a new dimension to their projects. A talking interface increases accessibility for all learners.
Direct connection to the Internet
You can set up live hyperlinks in Inspiration and tie the immense resources of the Internet into your diagrams and outlines. Just type in a web address and Inspiration automatically creates a hyperlink. You can also create web pages with URL hyperlinks through the HTML export function and drag & drop JEPG and GIF images into Inspiration diagrams straight from the web!
Gather and present information from multiple sources, including documents created in Inspiration or any other application, by hyperlinking to any file.
Compatibility with Inspiration® for handhelds
Sync to and from Inspiration® for Palm OS® and Inspiration® for Pocket PC, the handheld tools to develop ideas and organize thinking. Expand and enhance diagrams created on the handheld, or transfer projects to the handheld for on-the-go visual thinking and learning!
Support of emerging technologies
Inspiration 7.6 offers enhanced capability with interactive whiteboards and Tablet PCs. Shape and handwriting recognition make it possible to sketch symbols and write text directly on whiteboards such as Promethean ACTIV board, so teachers can work efficiently and students can participate easily. Drawn symbols "magically" become converted to standard symbols. Hand-written text "magically" becomes the default font. Toolbars may be moved to the bottom of the screen for easy access by all students.
Web site planning made easy
Build the bones of a new web site with the Site Skeleton® export. Each symbol becomes a separate web page, complete with appropriate hyperlinks. Inspiration even creates a site map for you.
Benefits
Inspiration's integrated diagramming and outlining environments work
together to help with brainstorming, writing, organizing and more. In the Diagram View, you can easily create and use concept maps, webs and other types of graphic organizers. With the integrated Outline View, you can see your thoughts and ideas instantly transformed into the foundation of written projects, naturally prioritizing and rearranging information. The results are clearer thinking, more creative projects, better-organized writing and improved performance.
Inspirations key benefits:
strengthen critical thinking, comprehension and writing
skills
inspire individuals and teams to tap into their own creative juices
develop existing ideas
build new knowledge
analyze complex topics
improve organizational skills by creating graphic organizers to visually represent concepts and relationships
Use Inspiration in a wide variety of situations to:
Brainstorm and explore ideas
Improve writing proficiency
Organize planning efforts
Improve project planning and management
Other Inspiration capabilities include:
NEW! One-click transfer to word processors streamlines the writing process.
RapidFireTM tool supports brainstorming.
Visually integrated notes bring writing power into diagrams.
Hyperlinking incorporates web sites and files for research and
portfolios.
Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT 4.0, ME or XP (including Tablet PC
Edition)
486 processor or higher
8 MB RAM
640x480 display, 256-color display
5 MB available hard drive; 20 MB for full install
CD-ROM drive (for installation)
Optional:
Windows compatible printer
Internet browser
Sound card and speakers
Microphone
Interactive electronic whiteboard
About FutureU
At FutureU we've identified and tested dozens of low-cost site-building resources that really work. We're always on the lookout for the next great bargain. It's kind of a hobby around here.
Like all enthusiasts, we have a network of colleagues who let us know about bargains and great ideas they discover. Software developers around the world have asked us to "beta test" their new products. Seems like every week there's something new worth checking out.
Meanwhile, we marvel at how much institutions spend on software that accomplishes little or nothing more than what can be done, just as well or better, on a dime.
We sympathize with the many eager course developers who loyally wait while a campus committee debates the many software options and reaches an agreement on which one to anoint. We've seen that process take years.
With all FutureU Best-of-Breed recommendations, you can count on getting the best value for your investment.
FutureU publishes Web books, provides online and face-to-face learning experiences, consults with institutions, and studies the fields of online education and virtual communications.
Visit the FutureU Web site for more information or for access to books, tapes and other resources.
For more information, please contact Gail Terry Grimes, CEO, at 415/824-7726 or Claude Whitmyer, Chief Information Officer, at 415/648-2667.
Inspiration®'s integrated diagramming and outlining views work together to help students comprehend concepts and information. Below you'll see a general product overview. For capabilities added with Inspiration 7 and above, 
In the Diagram View, students easily create and use concept maps, webs and other graphic organizers. The result is clearer thinking, more-creative projects, better-organized writing and improved student performance. 
With the simple click of your mouse, you can transform an Inspiration diagram into a traditional hierarchical outline. In the powerful Outline View, students can quickly prioritize and rearrange ideas, helping them create clear, concise essays, reports and more.
Inspiration's one-click transfer instantly moves students' work to their favorite word processor. After working in Inspiration to brainstorm, organize and outline, students then use Microsoft® Word or AppleWorks® to finish the writing process and prepare their paper for publication.
Sync to and from Inspiration® for Palm OS® and Inspiration® for Pocket PC, the handheld tools to develop ideas and organize thinking. Expand and enhance diagrams created on the handheld, or transfer projects to the handheld for on-the-go visual thinking and learning!