Inspiration

Inspiration is a great tool for creating digital diagrams.  It is very open ended so it can really be used many many ways in the classroom.

I used Inspiration to make a diagram showing the three classes of animals- mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. I used a web to show the three classes, then used further webs off of them to illustrate their similarities and differences between their characteristics.

Another way that you could use Inspiration is during class brainstorming. There is a fireshooting feature that automatically makes bubbles and sub-bubbles (i don't think that's a real word).

A reason I really like Inspiration is because I'm a very visual person. This tool allows you to make a clear map of topics and ideas. This is something that can be beneficial to students because they can see the material as they discuss it.