Thanks to Kevin Jarrett, I just learned that the popular educational diagramming and design software Inspiration is now trying out a free web-based version called Webspiration. I’ve got to say, though, that I’m less than inspired by it.
You should read Kevin’s post about it, though. I’ve only used Inspiration software once several years ago, but Kevin is obviously very experienced with it and has more positive feelings.
It just seems overly complicated to me. Plus, only people who are logged-on can view your finished work — you can’t just get a public link to it. It does have a nice collaborative feature, though.
For English Language Learners, at least, there are plenty other Web 2.0 applications that are much more accessible.
As Kevin says, though, it’s a brand new application and might very well improve with age.
What do the rest of you think? Am I missing something?
Hey Larry,
Thanks for the mention, I think Webspiration has promise, but the limitations – importing/saving/exporting, email required for usage, no ability to manage multiple user accounts (yet) mean that it is as you say a work in progress. The UI is complex because Inspriation is itself complex; we use Kidspiration a lot in my lab, and this won’t replace that, but I am sure Inspiration doesn’t want the online version cannibalizing sales of the offline one! Will have to keep an eye on this…
Peace, kj
Wow! I’m so excited!! To me, it looks just like the actual program, and like you said, I believe it will improve with age.
What I prefer about Inspiration to other Web 2.0 mind mapping tools is the use of graphics…think Marzano’s nonlinguistic respresentations. That is also what has captured the imagination of most students I have worked with, including my own daughter, and drawn them to Inspiration/Kidspiration as opposed to the circles, squares, and rectangles of the others.
What has been the down side of Inspiration for years for many schools, however, has been the cost. I hope they keep this version free, although I don’t see it happening if it competes with their desktop software.
Just my opinion. 🙂
Thanks for the heads up! I just created an online professional development module last week on using Inspiration and/or free Web 2.0 mind mapping/graphic organizer tools. I’m thrilled to be able to add this to the list!
Thanks for the heads up!