A few years ago, while I served as an instructional technology director for a school district, I proposed the creation continuum after researching project based learning. The following link to my Prezi is an updated version of the presentation I shared on the subject…
Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category
The Creation Continuum Revisted…
Posted: January 5, 2015 in Creativity, Differentiated Instruction, digital storytelling, Education, Educational Technology, Instructional Technology, Learning, project based learning, Technology, Technology IntegrationTags: creativity, differentiated instruction, Education, Instructional Technology, project based learning, Technology
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Obvious to you. Amazing to others…
Posted: April 23, 2012 in Communication, Courage, Creativity, Innovation, Inspirational, Learning, Sharing, TeachingShare your ideas!
When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is…
Posted: December 15, 2011 in Adult Education, Courage, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Ethics, Hero, Human Resource Development, Innovation, Inspirational, Instructional Technology, Leadership, Learning, Reflection, TechnologyWhat are you thinking?
Posted: March 28, 2011 in Creativity, Educational Technology, Innovation, Instructional Technology, TechnologyTags: Thinking
Tennessee and Ian Jukes…
Posted: March 2, 2011 in Creativity, Critical Thinking, Differentiated Instruction, Digital Literacy, Education, Educational Leadership, Educational Technology, Exploration, Ian Jukes, Instructional Technology, Interdisciplinary, Leadership, Learning, Reflection, School, School 2.0, Student Centered, Students, T+L Conference, teachers, Teaching, Technology, Technology Integration, Technology Planning
It has been a few years since I heard Ian Jukes speak at the T+L Conference in Nashville (October 19, 2007). However, his words continue to ring in my ears, and I want to share some of them with you as I reflect on where our school district is with embedding technology in learning.
Ian Jukes said:
“We have access to some new technologies but their use is generally optional not integral and certainly not required of all teachers – and the technologies are often used to reinforce old practices and assumptions about teaching and learning and assessment and do not require the teacher to change their current instructional practices.”
“Ask yourself this very important question – would your students be there in your classrooms if they didn’t have to be? Are they there because they want to be there? Or are they there because they have no other choice? And if they’re there only because they have to, what can we begin to do differently to help more students want to be in our classes?”
“…Our emphasis as professional educators has to be on more than just LOTS.”
“The starting point for making the necessary changes is that as educators we have to understand how truly different our students are.”
“This shift is so fundamental – the gap between them and us is so wide – that there’s no going back to the basics. There’s no going back to the way things were when we were kids.”
“The problem is that many educators just don’t get that there is a digital divide. Many of us pay lip service to the notion that this generation is different. We knowingly nod our heads but then we shut the door to the classroom and go back to business as usual where it could just as easily be 1960 all over again.”
“Most teachers know very little if anything about the digital world of their students – from online gaming to their means of exchanging, sharing, meeting, evaluating, coordinating, programming, searching, customizing, and socializing.”
“The bottom line is that we really don’t understand their digital world and we never will until we take the time to honor and respect where they come from. But to do this we have to be willing to acknowledge their world and start to educate ourselves about that world.”
“If we truly want to make a difference in the lives of our children, schools must become a place where students are actively engaged in constructing their own knowledge and know how…”
“The context of a significant event provides a frame of reference and relevance for remembering the specific information about what you were doing long after the event. By providing a context for the new information teachers are actually helping students with long-term memory.”
My summary and challenge to myself and others that continues today: As educators it is time that we take responsibility for our own learning. If we want to create self-directed learners, we must become one. We must model self-directed, independent learning, and we need to discover how our students learn in the 21st Century.
High Five Escalator
Posted: January 18, 2011 in Collaboration, Courage, Creativity, Exploration, Innovation, Inspirational, Just For Fun, Learning, Networking, Respect, Teaching, ThanksNPPSD Technology Days Presentation…
Posted: January 12, 2011 in Creativity, Differentiated Instruction, digital storytelling, Education, Educational Technology, Innovation, Instructional Technology, Interdisciplinary, Learning, School 2.0, Students, teachers, Teaching, Technology, Technology Integration, Technology PlanningThe Creation – Consumption Continuum
RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms
Posted: October 18, 2010 in 21st century, animation, Creativity, Education, Ethics, History, Learning, School, School 2.0, Students, teachers, Teaching“This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award.”
Derek Lomas: Open Source Games
Posted: April 9, 2010 in Creativity, Education, Educational Technology, Exploration, Innovation, Instructional Technology, Learning, Open Source, Student Centered, Tech Tools, Technology, Technology IntegrationVodpod videos no longer available.
more about “Derek Lomas: Open Source Games“, posted with vodpod
6th grade archaeologists
Posted: November 24, 2009 in Creativity, Learning, Middle School, School, Students, teachers, TeachingOur 6th grade students at Adams Middle School!!! Thanks Mrs. Isom and Mrs. States you are awesome!!!
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I need this video today…
Posted: October 22, 2009 in Courage, Creativity, Just For Fun, Reflection, Students, teachersMy Fixed Arm
Posted: October 5, 2009 in Collaboration, Courage, Creativity, Exploration, Innovation, Just For Fun, Nature, Tech Tools, TechnologyNice work and it’s healing well!
Miguel Guhlin shares some great videos!!!
Posted: August 24, 2009 in Courage, Creativity, Education, Innovation, Leadership, Learning, Reflection, School, Students, teachersAs always I have found interesting information at Miguel Guhlin’s blog Around the Corner! The following three videos are worth reflecting on. Thanks Miguel!
In this first video I hope the answer is YES!!!
Since I reside in Nebraska I wish I could have caught this act, but alas tragedy struck!!! It’s kind of like my trees the power district cut down and the one they butchered (I have to let this go, but this song captures some of what I feel!).
It seems amazing to me that we would need to create a sense of urgency in education, but the ideas presented here are valid for any organization.
Online Resources…
Posted: February 26, 2009 in Computer, Creativity, digital storytelling, Education, Educational Technology, Instructional Technology, Learning, Media, Multimedia, Photography, School, School 2.0, Social Networking, Student Centered, Students, teachers, Tech Tools, Technology, Technology Integration, Web 2.0
The following are some new and old online sites that you may find useful as educational resources and fun instructional tools. I have included links to each site, a brief description, and information quoted from each site. I have known about many of these and learned about a few at an Educational Service Unit (ESU) meeting I attended in Ogallala, Nebraska.
Lesson Plans, Resources, and SO MUCH MORE!!!
Thinkfinity http://www.thinkfinity.org/
Remember the Marco Polo site? Thinkfinity is Marco Polo in its new incarnation.
“Thinkfinity.org makes it easy for educators to enhance their classroom instruction with lesson plans, interactive activities and other online resources. Thinkfinity.org also provides a wealth of educational and literacy resources for students, parents and after-school programs.
All of Thinkfinity.org’s 55,000 standards-based K-12 lesson plans, student materials, interactive tools and reference materials are reviewed by the nation’s leading education organizations to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, unbiased and appropriate for students.
At Thinkfinity.org, you’ll find primary source materials, interactive student resources and grade-specific research lists to help you tailor materials to meet your needs. Start exploring now!”
Web Tools
Tiny URL http://tinyurl.com/
Have a long web address/url/or web site “number” as VP Biden calls it ;-)? Tiny URL can assist in creating a much shorter url for you to use or remember.
“Are you sick of posting URLs in emails only to have it break when sent causing the recipient to have to cut and paste it back together? Then you’ve come to the right place. By entering in a URL in the text field below, we will create a tiny URL that will not break in email postings and never expires.”
Web 2.0 Sites
Glogster http://www.glogster.com/
This site has some possibilities and there is an education version: http://www.glogster.com/edu/
I envision students using this to create posters, collages, etc. for various classroom projects.
“Mix graphics, photos, videos, music and text into slick Glogs. Glog yourself every day!
Amaze your friends – send others links to your Glogs.
Pimp your profile! – share your creations on Myspace, Facebook, Hi5, Friendster, Bebo or wherever you want…
Find new friends by their style
Have fun browsing Glogs, comment on other people’s Glogs and get inspiration”
MorgueFile http://www.morguefile.com/
This is a place to free photos and there is also a classroom section where you can learn the basics of photography.
“Morguefile, where photo reference lives. This morgue file contains free high resolution digital stock photographs and reference images for either corporate or public use. The purpose of this site is to provide free image reference material for illustrators, comic book artist, designers, teachers and all creative pursuits.”
Gigapan http://www.gigapan.org/index.php
See the “Gigapan” from the Nebraska vs. CU game (For my fellow Nebraskans, click the following link and zoom in to find yourself if you were there!): http://tinyurl.com/88ao9d
“GigaPan consists of three technological developments: a robotic camera mount for capturing very high-resolution (gigapixel and up) panoramic images using a standard digital camera; custom software for constructing very high-resolution gigapixel panoramas; and, a new type of website for exploring, sharing and commenting on gigapixel panoramas and the detail our users will discover within them. The GigaPan website allows hosting and sharing all kinds of panoramas, and so the robotic GigaPan mount is recommended but is certainly not required to be part of this community.”
Picnik http://www.picnik.com/
Online photo editing and more.
“Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. Tweak to your heart’s content, then get creative with oodles of effects, fonts, shapes, and frames. It’s fast, easy, and fun.”
BeFunky http://www.befunky.com/
Create artwork with your photos.
“BeFunky Photo Effects allow everyday people to easily create photographically rich and artistic results from their digital images without the need for any technical knowledge. These “one-click” photo effect options produce desired results effortlessly and each effect comes with the option to make simple adjustments.”
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