Online Training Videos for Inspiration 9 Now Available

More Than 70 Video Tutorials Help Teachers and Students Learn How to Use Premier Visual Learning Software's Powerful Capabilities

PORTLAND, Ore. – April 13, 2010
Inspiration® Software, Inc., announced today that more than 70 training videos are available to teachers at the hundreds of schools and districts around the country that have purchased volume licenses for the newest version of the award-winning visual learning software, Inspiration® 9. Inspiration 9 is the ultimate thinking and learning tool to comprehend, create, communicate and achieve more. These videos, available at www.inspiration.com/inspiration9training, were developed in collaboration with Atomic Learning, the award-winning producer of educational resources designed to help teachers, students and learners of all ages to embrace technology. The library of online videos developed specifically for Inspiration 9 provides teachers with training tools for learning how to use all of the visual learning software's powerful capabilities at their own pace. Beginning with a series of overview videos that introduce both using visual learning in the classroom and the tools in Inspiration, these short – some less than a minute – online tutorials provide step-by-step instructions for using the software, including Inspiration 9's new Presentation Manager and visual view, Map View. This robust library of online training resources is available free to teachers in schools and districts with current Inspiration Software Site Licenses, Cumulative Volume Licenses or Comprehensive Licenses.

"At Inspiration Software, we believe that developing easy-to-use training resources to support our visual learning software is just as important as adding new capabilities that teachers need to help students take their critical-thinking and communications skills to the next level," said Mona Westhaver, president and co-founder, Inspiration Software. "This library of online training videos for Inspiration 9 was developed so that, at their convenience, teachers can use them to learn more about the software's powerful capabilities for supporting instruction – while they are planning a lesson or just before teaching it."

Among the new capabilities in Inspiration 9 that teachers around the country are excited about is the Presentation Manager, used by students to create organized and compelling presentations to present and communicate their knowledge and work. The Presentation Manager automatically creates bulleted slides and graphics from a student’s diagram, mind map or outline. Students use this as the starting point to build their oral presentation and handouts and then add slides, speaker notes, talking points, graphics, video and sound to emphasize their points. Inspiration 9 ships with numerous ready-made, professional-quality themes to quickly develop a visually appealing presentation, or students can create their own themes to personalize their presentations. Once their presentation is complete, they can play it directly from Inspiration or from any Macintosh® or Windows® computer using the free Inspiration Presenter available on the installation CD and at http://www.inspiration.com.

Teachers are also finding innovative ways to integrate the new visual view, Map View, into instruction. Map View allows students to create and think in mind maps, another proven visual learning methodology that promotes better understanding of the relationships and connections among ideas, and helps students retain information. Mind maps capture information in a natural, free-flowing style. With Map View, students build visual models, adding ideas branching off a central topic with just one click, and reorganize ideas by simply grafting one branch to another. Graphic images, colors and fonts allow learners to embellish, differentiate and emphasize their ideas. Just like with idea maps, concept maps, graphic organizers and other diagrams created with Inspiration, the process of building a mind map is fluid and visual, complementing the natural way that students think and expand on ideas. As with other diagrams created with Inspiration, mind maps can be instantly transformed into outlines to support the writing process.

For a free 30-day trial of Inspiration 9, visit http://www.inspiration.com/freetrial. More information about Inspiration is available at http://www.inspiration.com/inspiration or by calling 800-877-4292.

About Inspiration Software, Inc.
Recognized as the leader in visual thinking and learning, Inspiration Software, Inc.'s award-winning software tools, Inspiration, Kidspiration® and InspireData®, are based on proven visual learning methodologies that help students think, learn and achieve. With the powerful combination of visual learning and technology, students in grades K-12 learn to clarify thoughts, organize and analyze information, integrate new knowledge, and think critically. Founded more than 25 years ago by Donald Helfgott and Mona Westhaver, the company's visual learning software tools are used today by more than 25 million students and teachers worldwide.