Readers' Survey 2007: Best Education Software

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Inspiration

For the second year, Inspiration [1] (designed to help students plan and organize projects) has nabbed first place, and the ubiquitous Microsoft Office [2] is again not far behind. Next in line came Vernier's Logger Pro [3], thanks to its array of data-collection tools for science classrooms, followed by the addictively cool Google Earth [4]. (See the Edutopia.org article "The Good Earth [5]" for a profile of its use in education.) But a sure sign of the technological times was the wide, wide range of additional responses -- from "My eCoach [6]" to "the Geometer's Sketchpad [7]" and the "The Phonics Game [8]" -- with very few "I don't know's" scattered between.

Our Take

Inspired Readers

A two-peat win raises the question, what makes Inspiration such an inspiration? A handful of respondents offered this feedback:

1. The visual-mapping component makes information easy to process and remember.

• "The ability to easily create, edit, print, and share graphical constructs of thinking processes, topics, and timelines makes Inspiration an essential tool for all teachers."
• "Maps are extremely helpful with complicated topics and new subjects. Students can better remember the maps than their notes."
• "There's enough flexibility to meet various learning styles."

2. Works well with others (software, that is) and is helpful for curriculum building.

• "I use it for assignments that also tap Word, PowerPoint, Photoshop, and the Internet."
• "The software also includes curriculum links, toolkits, and other more advanced functions that make it simple to design a curriculum map for an entire course."

3. Easy to learn -- for both kids and teachers.

• "It's easy as pie. Kids pick it up mighty quick."
• "It's also idiot proof. That is always helpful."

NEXT PAGE OF READERS' SURVEY: Best book for parents on technology and children [9]

2007 Readers' Survey Index [10]