Supporting the Student Journey

Life for students hasn’t got any easier over the years; we understand the struggle to juggle multiple subjects and modules, take coherent notes in class, gather research, write essays, revise and create presentations. Jumping between all of this can be overwhelming, but it can be made simpler by having a software that supports each of these stages of the student’s journey: saving time by keeping notes in one place, with the ability to apply this gathered knowledge to various formats.

Understanding your studies

We find that the very process of creating a mind map or concept map can help us to understand a topic better.


We often speak to students who just can’t get their head around a subject, but once they start using Inspiration 10 to put their thoughts down on the screen in a visual way, they start to make sense of things, essentially unravelling the subject bit by bit.


They are then ready to
put it back into a more linear format clearly and cognitively and with greater and deeper understanding, setting them up for success.

From notes to the next level


Most people think visually, so having all their notes and coursework ideas in one place and being able to view it in a visual way makes complex concepts easier to tackle and understand.

The majority of students don’t complete all of their studies using just one piece of software; usually it's a combination of several different programmes to work through all the revision, research, note-taking, coursework, essays and presentations.

Inspiration 11 as a multi-use student tool

So, this is where Inspiration comes in, not only as a visual thinking tool, but as an essay and presentation builder, and so much more.

Help through all the stages


Inspiration 11 can take the student through each of these stages, as a standalone software or in conjunction with other software.

For example, a student could use Inspiration’s flexible Diagram View to take highly personalised notes during a lecture, that they later add research to. From here, the student can flip to Inspiration’s Outline View to see their notes in a structured hierarchy format, perfect for written tasks. They can turn their notes into slides using Inspiration’s Presentation Manager, before exporting to PowerPoint. Or they could simply print their visual diagram to revise from and share with others.

Let’s briefly discuss each stage in turn:

Mind map on supporting the student journey

1. Revision

Studies have proven that working with different visual aids and mind maps can also help us to recall information more readily. Inspiration 11 has a variety of ‘views’ to choose from within the software that mean each user can display and organise their work in the way that is best suited to their particular thinking style.

  • Diagram view
  • Map view
  • Outline view

Being able to visualise your subject knowledge and research can really help you recall that information when you need it, during exams or when you’re under pressure.

2. Essays

 

Outlining is the best way to organise your notes and large amounts of information, before diving into writing. Using Inspiration 11, you can switch from your visual diagram to a structured outline in one-click, providing the perfect basis for a writing project.

Reorganise and build on notes within the Outline View, saving time and taking the pressure away from starting with a blank page. Students can then easily export their outline to Word. There are also several outline templates that can help users visualise how to outline and help start the writing process. Click to learn more about outlining.

3. Presentations

 

If you’re struggling to put a presentation together, Inspiration 11 can provide the perfect starting point to help you create and finish a presentation. Inspiration 11’s presentation feature creates slides for you from your visual diagram, providing the structure and visual cues for your presentation.

You can work with these slides within Inspiration or, export to PowerPoint to put the finishing touches to your presentation. It not only saves you time, using the two pieces of software together, but it also saves you from the daunting task of creating the presentation from scratch in PowerPoint.


Utilising the power of Inspiration 11 at each of these vital stages can make such a difference in supporting and enhancing the student experience. Inspiration recently won a local tech award in the Social Impact category for the positive effect it has on users’ lives. A lot of these users are students with neuro-differences who want to make their student journey easier and less overwhelming.