About Inspiration Software, Inc.
Leader in visual thinking and learning
Recognized as the leader in visual thinking and learning, Inspiration Software®, Inc.’s award-winning technology tools are based on proven visual learning methodologies that help students, educators and 21st century business leaders think, learn, brainstorm, analyze and write. The company's visual learning tools are used by more than 25 million people worldwide and are revolutionizing visual thinking and learning in education. Inspiration®, Kidspiration® and InspireData® inspire students and creative thinkers to develop strong thinking and organizational skills, improve their academic performance and tap the power of visual thinking.
Our mission
Our company strives to support improvements in education and business and to make a positive difference in our users’ lives by providing software tools that help people of all ages use visual thinking and visual learning to achieve academic, professional and personal goals.
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, we 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.
Our flagship product, Inspiration®, has earned many industry awards including four prestigious SIIA Codie Awards, most recently in 2007, a 2006 Award of Excellence from "Technology & Learning" magazine, the 2006 Editor's Choice Award from "Children's Technology Review" as well as multiple awards from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), including a 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award for Reading and Language Instruction Software for Grades 6-8. Kidspiration® has earned three SIIA Codie Awards (2006, 2005 and 2003) and two AEP 2005 Distinguished Achievement Awards for most innovative educational software and the best educational software for reading. Inspiration® for Palm OS® earned a 2004 Award of Excellence from "Technology & Learning" magazine.
InspireData®, launched in 2006, has received several accolades as well. Winner of a 2007 Best Educational Software (BESSIE) Award, the visual way to explore and understand data was also a 2007 Codie Award finalist in the "Best Science Instruction Solution" category. In addition, InspireData earned a 2006 Seal of Approval from the National Parenting Center, as well as a 2006 iParenting Media Award.
Our company has been recognized for its corporate accomplishments, receiving the 2007 EdNET IMPACT award as well as prior HERO and PIONEER awards for making significant contributions to education technology and the education market. In 2002, we 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, we were included in Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast 50 (fastest growing technology companies in Oregon) for the fourth consecutive year. In 2005, we were selected by Oregon Business Magazine as one of the state's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the third time. Our company prides itself on being a fun, creative and casual place to work.
Company history
For more than a quarter century, Inspiration Software’s focus has been developing innovative technology to support visual thinking and learning. Founded in 1982 by Donald Helfgott and Mona Westhaver, the company developed its first product for the CP/M operating system to help systems analysts build products to meet business needs. Next, Inspiration Software 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, the company's focus turned to brainstorming, thinking and organizing tools. The first version of Inspiration was released for the Apple® Macintosh® in 1988. Subsequent releases included a Windows version, major upgrades and a native Japanese version on both platforms.
By the early 1990s, Inspiration made its way into the classroom as teachers started using it to help their students plan, organize and write. 1996 brought an exciting change – a new focus on developing visual learning software to meet the needs of educators and students. Inspiration 5.0 Education Edition was released in 1997. The newest version, Inspiration 8, was released in 2006 and features expanded visual capabilities, increased support for writing and easily accessible online resources for curriculum integration.
To extend the power of visual learning to younger students, Kidspiration was launched in January 2001. Early 2008 marked the debut of the most recent version of Kidspiration, which uses the proven principles of visual learning to help K-5 learners strengthen reading and writing skills, build conceptual understanding in math, and develop thinking skills across the curriculum.
In July 2006, Inspiration Software's flagship products were joined by InspireData, the visual way to explore and understand data. Students in grades 4-12 use InspireData to build data literacy skills in science, mathematics and social studies. In September 2007, InspireData 1.5 was released with new and enhanced features to increase data literacy, including more than 100 content-rich databases, the e-Survey tool and database templates to jumpstart data collection.
Today more than 200 of the nation’s largest school districts have Kidspiration and Inspiration licenses for every instructional computer, making it easy for all students and teachers to use the software as a core instructional tool.
Momentum for the use of visual learning software in the classroom continues to grow not only in the United States, but also worldwide. Inspiration Software developed International English editions of Inspiration and Kidspiration for Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and other English-speaking countries around the globe. A French version was released in Canada and France and in response to requests from countries such as Mexico and Puerto Rico, a Spanish-language version was also launched and Inspiration was localized in Portuguese to serve the growing Brazilian education market.
As the company writes the next exciting chapter in its history, Inspiration Software continues to develop innovative visual learning tools that that help students build the thinking skills necessary to achieve at the highest levels and become successful, contributing members of 21st century society.
