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Upgrade Features New Visual Maths Tools, Enhanced Capabilities for Building Literacy Skills PORTLAND, Ore. – Feb. 6, 2008 Teachers and learners can use Kidspiration 3, a cross-curricular visual workspace, to build fundamental skills in literacy, maths, science and history and citizenship. In literacy, Kidspiration supports students as they think creatively and organise ideas to write, comprehend and communicate successfully. With the new visual maths tools in Kidspiration 3, pupils build a strong mathematical foundation for reasoning and problem-solving by using visual representations to understand maths concepts. Across the curriculum, they express and communicate their thinking with pictures, words and numbers. New capabilities in Kidspiration 3 include powerful tools for using visual learning to build maths skills, a Word Guide, expanded searchable symbol library and additional enhancements that support vocabulary building, particularly for English Language Learners (ELL) and English as Second Language (ESL) students. "Kidspiration 3 takes everything that teachers and learners love about Kidspiration and expands its tools for learning maths, broadens its support for building literacy skills and makes it an even more powerful tool for visual learning across the curriculum," said Mona Westhaver, president and co-founder, Inspiration Software. "When pupils use Kidspiration to make visual connections, they build skills in literacy, maths, science and history and citizenship and, most importantly, develop critical-thinking skills." Kidspiration 3 extends the proven principles of visual learning to mathematics with five new visual maths tools. Combining the hands-on learning power of manipulatives with the benefits of computer interactivity, Kidspiration gives pupils the tools to grasp essential and sometimes challenging math concepts. Using Kidspiration for maths builds problem-solving and reasoning skills in the core conceptual foundations of counting, place value, computation and geometric thinking. The new visual maths tools in Kidspiration include:
With its expanded library of more than 3,000 symbols, pupils can use Kidspiration 3 to create graphic organisers including webs, concept maps and Venn diagrams to clarify thoughts, organise information, use new knowledge and build critical-thinking skills. The new symbol search capabilities allow pupils to find the right symbols to express their thoughts and ideas or they can use Symbol Maker to create and personalise their own symbols. The visual learning software's new Word Guide helps young learners build vocabulary and reading comprehension skills with easy access to nearly 13,000 words, including sight vocabulary from the Dolch and Frye's word lists. Each entry includes definitions, recorded speech for pronunciation, synonyms and antonyms, parts of speech and sample sentences. The Word Guide pairs 1,400 words with images to enhance word recognition and comprehension and is aligned with Teachers of English as a Second Language (TESL) vocabulary to support ELL and ESL pupils. Enhanced support for audio in Kidspiration 3 encourages pupils to express and document their ideas. For ESL and ELL learners, teachers can record instructions in native languages to enhance pupil understanding. With the Listen tool, pupils can hear any text read aloud, strengthening word recognition and comprehension. Kidspiration 3 now supports higher resolution monitors with a larger visual workspace and is compatible with Windows Vista.
Single and volume licences are available. Contact a local dealer for pricing and purchasing information. For a free 30-day trial of Kidspiration 3, visit www.inspiration.com/global/freetrial. More information about purchasing Kidspiration is available by calling +1 503-297-3004 or through your local education software dealer. About Inspiration Software, Inc. | ||
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