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Universal Design: Before we explore examples of Inspiration in action, let's look at Universal Design and how it applies
to Inspiration. Architecture/Design
The concept of Universal Design originated in the field of architecture. The website “The Centre for
Universal Design” describes Universal Design as "The design of products and environments to be
usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized
design."3 Three of the design principles from this site apply directly to Inspiration.
PRINCIPLE ONE: Equitable Use - The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities. Inspiration is uniquely suited for all ages and intellectual abilities. Learners can successfully use
Inspiration from Pre-kindergarten (using Kidspiration) into elementary and high school and beyond,
into higher education and business. Concepts, structures and diagrams may be basic or complex
depending on the user. For example: Writing frameworks might be at the pictorial level for beginning
…or highly detailed for advanced writers. (See Diagram 5)
PRINCIPLE TWO: Flexibility in Use - The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. Inspiration provides unlimited accommodations. (See Diagram 6) The user easily moves between
outline and diagram. Images replace words, sounds enhance images and videos explain processes.
Inspiration is flexible, meeting the needs of all learners and is easily altered to meet those needs.
PRINCIPLE THREE: Simple and Intuitive Use - Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
Although I teach a 30 hour course
on using Inspiration to differentiate
instruction, the basics of the
program are simple to acquire for
both the teacher and the student.
(See Diagram 7) As with all
technology, it is the teacher who
leads and supports learning. I
believe it is fundamental that
teachers understand how to use
Inspiration in order for students to truly benefit from its power; however, regardless of the teacher’s
experience with Inspiration, students are able to use the program with a high degree of success due to
its intuitive design and visual interface.
Education - Universal Design for Learning In education, Universal Design boils down to "...identifying and removing barriers from our teaching
methods and curriculum materials." 4
Inspiration helps to effectively remove barriers in ways that supports all learners. It provides students
with multiple means to gather, plan, organize, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, create and present
It is useful to a variety of learners and supports their learning differences
It is flexible; easily altered to address learning styles and needs
It is intuitive in its use; students (and teachers) quickly learn the basics of the program
In my school, Inspiration
became the tool of choice for
students and teachers as they
developed ideas, organized
information, structured thinking
and presented findings. Often,
technology provides students
with access to information but
not access to learning. (See
Diagram 19) In fact, access to information quickly becomes overwhelming. Students lack the tools
and skills to structure, design and share their understandings, solutions and products. This is
especially true for students who struggle with text and text bound information. Inspiration is a model
UDL tool, that when used effectively and creatively, unbinds information and provides important
access to learning…for all. 1 Quote from a presentation by Ken Robinson during the TED conference -
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html 2 Ken Robinson, Out of Our Minds: Learning To Be Creative, page 83 3 http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/udprinciplestext.htm 4 Chapter 4 - Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age by David H. Rose and Anne Meyer 5 Chapter 2 - Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age by David H. Rose and Anne Meyer 6 Chapter 3 - Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age by David H. Rose and Anne Meyer 7 For another article I wrote on using Inspiration as a presentation tool please go to