Tips for Using Kidspiration Learning Software in the Classroom

When I was in elementary school, we learned to make outlines for reports. We gave our main ideas Roman numerals, and assigned subtopics to uppercase letters, and added details with numbers and lowercase letters. Only then, after figuring out how to organize our facts, did we write our reports.

This still works well for me. I tend to work in a linear manner, and I like organizing things with letters and numbers. Many children, however, learn best through different methods. Some children are visual learners. Some are kinesthetic (touch/movement) learners, and some are auditory (hearing) learners.

Kidspiration is a learning software program from Inspiration Software, Inc. that kids can use to organize information visually. Kids can actually draw and fill in diagrams showing how their information fits together, in a linear or non-linear manner. This works will for visual learners, but also helps kinesthetic learners, since they are using a computer mouse to physically move information and pictures around, and they are using a keyboard to type. Kidspiration can also be configured to speak text for students, helping the auditory learners and those who don't read as well.

A complete package of templates is included with the software. Templates range from simple to complex, and cover different subject areas, including language arts, social studies, science, and math (see picture 1). Teachers can also create and save their own templates for student use, or students can draw their own diagrams from scratch.

One of the simplest templates is Five Facts (see picture 2). This template shows a Main Idea in the center box, with bubbles for five different facts surrounding it. Students just fill in the blanks. For instance, if students were going to write a paragraph about their city, they could type the name of the city in the center box, and then enter a different fact about the city in each bubble. Later, they can take those five facts, put them into sentence form, and write the paragraph.

A more complex template is Supporting Details (see picture 3), which allows the student to enter a main idea or topic, three sub-points, and supporting details for each sub-point.

In addition to outlining and organizing information, Kidspiration provides learning activities in the various subject areas. For example, under Reading and Writing, the Snake With an S activity (see picture 4) has students find pictures of things that start with certain letters. It's a fun way to learn or reinforce phonics.

Finally, some activities can be educational or just plain fun. One of my students' favorites is Get Ready (see picture 5), in which they can dress digital paper dolls for various occasions. Many students choose this one when they have free time in the computer lab.

Now, here are some tips for using Kidspiration most effectively. In my school, classes often have only 30-45 minutes per week in the computer lab, so we need to be efficient with our time.

1. Run through the entire activity yourself before springing it on the kids. Make sure you know exactly how everything works, and think about what problems students might encounter, so that you will be ready to help them.
2. To save time, print a copy of the blank template ahead of time, and have the kids fill it in by hand. They can then enter the information quickly when they get to the computer.
3. Demonstrate the entire activity using a projector if you can. You can also use Kidspiration with an interactive whiteboard, such as a SMART board.
4. For newer readers and writers, write words they may have trouble spelling on a whiteboard or chalkboard.
5. For non-readers, a picture is worth a thousand words. Kidspiration includes picture libraries for various subject areas. Students can insert pictures into their concept maps instead of words.
6. Kidspiration will even label many of the pictures for students. After inserting all of the pictures, click on the Writing button (looks like a pencil) at the top of the screen. This will bring up a writing screen, with text on horizontal lines, which looks somewhat like a traditional outline. The program will automatically insert text labels for the pictures. Just click the picture button (looks like a concept map with blue bubbles) to go back, and you'll see a label under each picture. Easy-schmeasy!

The more I work with Kidspiration, the more I like it. Using technology is important with today's kids, and Kidspiration does it in a highly effective way for a variety of subjects.

Kidspiration can be purchased directly from Inspiration Software, or through several certified dealers listed on their website.