Inspired

Hey, look what I made!  This is a graphic organizer for Leonardo da Vinci, but what I like most about it is that it can be easily modified for another historical character.  I think graphic organizers are great ways for students to organize their notes in class, and they look cool too.

Graphic organizers can be useful, but sometimes they become overwhelming.  My finished product is fairly simplistic now, but the working model was a monster.  I had poor Leo looking like a spider with how many legs sprouted out of him, I was scrolling back and forth to input information, and the font was teeny tiny.  No good.  Simple is better, unless the idea is to convey the complexity of an idea.  That could be a fun activity to show mass amounts of connections by letting students connect ideas as a group, and at the end have a overflowing web that can't be picked apart.  But when it comes to organizing thoughts to be used later, let's not get crazy.

Overall, I really enjoyed using the Inspiration software.  The only problem I had was not listening to directions on how to convert my image to jpg (always listen to instructions!) and using Inspiration 9, which is not compatible with any computer on UT's campus.   However, my blunders aside, I love Inspiration and I might even purchase it once I get a real paycheck!