District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support Educational Technology
Technology Toolkit

A Dash of Inspiration
Pioneer Valley Regional School District

Description of Activities

During this nine-week research unit, each student chose a particular topic for his or her research paper. Using a research manual designed by the teacher, the student was guided through the research process. One goal of this project was for each student to become a specialist on a particular topic, and the manual provided a record of this journey.

Throughout the research component students were expected to locate, evaluate, collect, and process information from a variety of sources, both electronic and non-electronic. As students organized their research notes, they were introduced to Inspiration, a visual learning tool. Visual learning helps students understand abstract ideas and organize their thinking.

Inspiration strengthened students' organizational skills while reinforcing their knowledge. Although some students tended to be linear thinkers and were able to quickly understand the concept of an outline, other students found the concept map was an easier tool to understand. Inspiration's ability to quickly switch from the concept map view to the outline view [PDF] allowed students to gain an understanding of how the two views are related. Inspiration also provided a tool to assist the students in organizing their writing activities. The note feature of Inspiration allowed students to add notes in either the diagram or outline view, and to make the notes attached or independent. This allowed students to quickly brainstorm thoughts and later organize them.

Inspiration also allowed students to export their outlines to Microsoft Word. The outlines were then pasted into Write:OutLoud [PDF], a talking word processor that allowed students to hear what they had written. The use of the software enabled students to be more successful in editing their work.

After the students finished their rough drafts, they began to develop their Microsoft PowerPoint slide shows [PPS]. This work required students to use critical thinking skills to select and synthesize information from their reports to share with their audience. Students learned that a slide show requires an oral presentation to expand on the information presented. The slide show activity provided another opportunity to reinforce many of the Instructional Technology Standards.

In the final component of this project students created three-fold brochures about their research projects using Microsoft Publisher. Once again students needed to use critical thinking skills to select information since the brochure format allowed less room for information than the report or the slide show.

Universal Design/Inclusion
Software programs such as Inspiration 7.5, Write:OutLoud, and ReadPlease 2003 enabled all students to participate in this unit. Inspiration helped students visualize and organize their information. Write:OutLoud and ReadPlease enabled the computer to "speak" the text for students who needed support in reading and writing.

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