Pre-Writing with Inspiration (and free alternatives)

Inspiration and FreeMind are concept-mapping tools that let students express their ideas in a visual, non-linear medium, which is often just what students need to generate ideas for writing assignments. Inspiration also allows you to convert your concept map into an outline. We discuss these programs in depth in Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers, by Teachers.

• Inspiration lesson plans & ideas at edtechteacher.org
• Inspiration video tutorials at edtechteacher.org
• Inspiration web site

Inspiration has numerous templates for different types of writing in the language arts and social studies, such as “Comparative Analysis” and “Pro and Con.” Students are presented with pre-organized models for arranging information, and their job is to insert the specific details. These templates can easily be converted into an outline or exported into a word processor to get students started with their writing.

FreeMind is a free, open-source mind-mapping tool. It has fewer features than Inspiration, but it also has much smaller files and you can put it on unlimited computers at no cost.

• download Freemind
• find Freemind templates for an introductory, five-paragraph essay at edtechteacher.org.

Gliffy and Bubble.us are "Web 2.0" tools that may lack some of Inspirations's features, but offer the ability to collaborate on documents from anywhere! Thus, no software needs to be downloaded and students can edit the same document via the web.

• Here is an example of what Tom's students created using bubbl.us. They shared and edited the document online and utlimately embedded the chart into a web page:

SCORE offers mind-mand templates at their web site. Their "Cyberguides" include examples of Graphic Organizers and Journals useful for English and Language Arts classrooms.

Teaching English & Language Arts with Technology Workshop

Edtechteacher presents the third-annual "Teaching English and Language Arts with Technology" Summer Workshop with Tom Daccord and Carla Beard. Contact us for early notification of 2009 dates and read testimonials from past participants.

Edtechteacher is the parent site of Teaching English with Technology, Teaching History with Technology and Best of History Web Sites. Co-Directors Tom Daccord and Justin Reich have created many resources, including innovative strategies, video tutorials, tips and lessons for integrating technology effectively in to the classroom.

Teaching for the 21st Century Program

Our "Teaching for the 21st Century" (T21) Professional Development Program helps teachers develop their technology integration skills over a one year period with coaching and support of experienced educators.