Tech Play 3: Creativity Tools

Exploring Creativity Tools

About four years ago I found myself in a quite a predicament. I was utilizing technology in my classroom as well as my students but I felt that they were never doing more than researching information to regurgitate facts. When utilizing technology my students were not operating on higher levels of thinking therefore at one point I kind of wanted to dial down the technology usage in my classroom because I felt that although it was great for them to use technology was it really the best way for them to learn? How can I make them utilize technology while learning at an optimal level? Then something great happened!

My third year of teaching I attended a CAST conference and attended a workshop on utilizing iPads in the science classroom to inspire creativity. I didn’t own and iPad but was thinking about purchasing so I went on whim to see what I could learn. I walked out with so much information and resources so the first chance I got I ran to a store and got an iPad. Then I fell short. I gave up after only a couple of uses and then the iPad I originally purchased for my classroom became my own personal toy. After that we primarily used Google Docs to create student presentations and share them. Prezi was also heavily used and I could tell my students were getting bored with it. Now that I have had the opportunity to study new tools I am excited what I have discovered and share a couple of new creativity tools that I found. 

Make Beliefs Comix

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/

Make Beliefs Comix is a web based app that allows students to create their own comic strips utilizing the content in which they choose. Students can manipulate backgrounds, characters, think and talk bubbles, etc. I find myself liking this app for my students but do not like it for me as a teacher because the only way the students can show me their comic is to print it or email it to me. The comic does not save for later usage so they must finish it in one sitting. It would like to use this app for short term assignments or homework assignments so that students could spend as much time needed to create their comics. Overall I would say I definitely pleased with the app and see it being used on a regular basis in my classroom. 

Blendspace

https://www.blendspace.com/

With Blendspace students can navigate through content and through a step by step lesson. I almost didn't write about this because I initially only saw it as a space for ME to create things while the students explored. Then I started thinking why couldn't students have their own Blendpace to create a content board about what they are learning. I am not exactly sure if that could be possible but I would love to find out. I would say that this particular web based app would initially be more beneficial for me to use and not the students but would love to see it turn around and used heavily by the students.

Animoto
http://animoto.com/pro/education

I have personally used Animoto before to produce videos to introduce myself to the class or open up a new unit but I have never had my students use it to make their on videos. Of course with a free trial students can only make a 30 second but I think it would interesting to see what they could create with a time constraint. Some difficulties I predict taking place is showing the students how to use it but Animoto is extremely user friendly therefore I think it would not be a bad experience.

 

Utilizing Make Beliefs Comix

I think that Make Beliefs Comix might support learning because it allows for students to create a comic that shows what they have learned. The content goals would be about a specific topic that the students are learning about and the objectives would include the student explaining the content they have learned it, define it, and put it into a language that both the students show their mastery of content and the teacher can assess the knowledge they have gained. I would have students utilize this particular creativity tool as an assessment to wrap up a specific concept or topic that is taught from one day to maybe a week.  The technological affordances that this tool has is that it give students the opportunity to work on a higher level of thinking to create and produce their model all while learning how to manipulate and design their overall product.  

Make Beliefs Comix could be use din a multitude of ways in the classroom, such as:
- to have students show their particular knowledge on specific content are such as how the periodic table is used
- defining a term such as greatest common factor
- summarizing the events of the Battle off Bull Run
- making predictions of what students think might happen next in a story
- students could infer what they feel a particular character is thinking of feeling based off of what they had read so far in a story.

Why Use Creativity Tools?

As educators we always trying to find new ways to have our students operate on high levels of thinking. Creativity tools give both the student and the teacher the opportunity to maximize learning in the classroom all while utilizing technology to enhance instruction. Creativity tools offer opportunity for students to have authentic learning experiences because they are manipulating, designing, revising, editing, and most of all, creating! When students are creating products they are operating on the highest levels of learning which adds depth and complexity to their overall thinking as well as being rigorous and relevant to them as adolescents. The only creativity tool that I have run across that I do not particularly care for is iMovie. I have not had a whole lot of experience with it but so far I see it to be very intense and just learning how to use it alone takes a lot of time. I think if I had technology specialist on my campus that could come in and show my students how to use it, as well as me, then I might be more open to using it on a regular basis. If my students already know how to use iMovie then I have no problem with them using it to create a product or if they want to learn how to use it on their so that they can use it.

Creativity tools give our students the opportunity to create products that have personal meaning to them which makes their learning more meaningful and authentic. Creativity tools also allow the teacher to assess student mastery of content as well as learn more about their students individually and how they think. so far I have seen nothing but positive outcomes from utilizing creativity tools in the classroom. With the new knowledge I have acquired I can't wait to see how I can implement these resource sin my classroom more often to maximize learning and creativity.

Tech Play 2: ePortfolios Tools

"Folio Thinking"

Portfolios bring education and learning to a whole new level. Through portfolios the learner is able to display the knowledge they have acquired over a period of time. By doing this the learner is able to show how they have developed and evolved throughout the learning process. Portfolios give the evaluator, teacher or administrator the opportunity to see how the learner has grown as well as help them to understand how the learner obtains knowledge and processes. In today's world it is becoming more and more obvious that each individual learns in a different way. Sure we can all be generalized into categories such as Gardner's multiple intelligences but overall we each learn in our own manner. Portfolios give both the learner and the educator the opportunity to assess the student's learning as well as give them an outlet to express their learning in a way that is unique to them.

One might compare and contrast portfolios to other forms of assessments such as quizzes, tests, essays, research papers, homework, worksheets, etc. All forms listed are great ways to assess where your students are before during and after learning but I can't help but generalize these into two different categories based on a new perspective that a classmate gave me this past week through our reading discussions. For me quizzes, essays, homework, worksheets all fall under the category in which students are regurgitating facts and information which means that very little meaningful learning experiences are taking place. That is not to say that no teacher should ever utilize these assessments. I would use most of these to assess before and during the lesson or unit to pre-assess, monitor student progress and clarify misconceptions or misunderstandings. The second category would consist of the research papers, student presentations, etc. These are are used as more of a summative assessment in which students display everything that they have learned about a concept or topic and include student insight that is particular to their thinking and development of thoughts. Portfolios I believe could be utilized to encompass all of these types of assessments to show how a students has developed and progressed throughout the unit or units therefore making it a rich and meaningful learning experience for both the learner and the educator.

As I pursue my graduate degree I find myself thinking that what would be relevant and meaningful to my academic and professional goals to articulate what I know and have learned about educational technology from my academic, professional, and personal experiences and provide evidence with a collection of artifacts I have created. I believe that this would be better because would enable my colleagues, administrators, and future places of employment to see what I have learned and to what depth and complexity. I also find that this is the way that I prefer to do because as an educator I have ideas and beliefs that are unique to me i would want to people to know how I think and feel about certain topics and knowledge base. 

Technological Affordances

Portfolios in general give a great insight to both student knowledge obtained and their unique perspective about what they have learned whether they are physical or digital. Through my experience with portfolios not one looks the same therefore making it exceptional and exclusive to the learner. Physical portfolios can be great for collecting works that are done over time as well as tactic information about the learner and the knowledge they have gained about particular subjects. in my opinion physical portfolios are great for younger students who have not yet grasped technology skills and can be utilized for students to conduct their own parent/teacher/student conferences with help and guidance form their teacher. Some disadvantages to physical portfolios are storage space, difficulty of locating and possibility that artifacts could be lost. 

Digital portfolios or e-portfolios are great tools for older students or adults to display the knowledge they have acquired about different concepts or topics over time. ePorfolios have great affordances in that they allow the learner to organize their thoughts and ideas in a user friendly format, reflection pieces can be constituted through blogs, collaboration can take place among viewers, educators, and the learner and more importantly there is literally no space necessary for the portfolio to occupy other than a domain on the world wide web. 

In my exploration I found different ways to create an e-portfolio as well as my thoughts and ideas. 

Wikis- When explored various wikis I found them to range based on organization and topics but other than that they all primarily looked the exact same with differentiation in color. I found wikis to not be very unique and personal in the sense of showing personality. 
Websites-When viewing websites I found there to be more variation and I really got the sense of the type of person the author was which helped me to understand their thoughts in a different perspective.  
Proprietary Tools- I viewed various types of software used for e-portfolios from watching a tutorial for an e-portfolio for Epislen on YouTube to playing with a free trial through Foliotek. I found all of the software to be extremely user friendly, organized and enables a few personal touches but overall the cost of having the software is what ultimately turned me off. One type of software costs over $2000 to start up with a $25 to $30 per student fee.  

For my e-portfolio I have decided to go through Weebly and create a website to display the knowledge I have gained over the course of this class. Click here to view my e-portfolio.

Shift in Context/Perspective- Implementation in My Classroom

When thinking of implementing digital portfolios in my class I can't help but differ my perspective in which type of tools I would want them to utilize. If it were a perfect world, I had an infinite budget, and I was working with students who were using e-portfolios for the first time, I would want them to use a software such as Foliotek. This software enables students to select their own personal backgrounds, gives a an easy to use format, guides students through the process with tutorials and very aesthetically pleasing. 

Sadly enough this is not a perfect world so I had to choose what I e-portfolio tool I think would be most beneficial to my students I would choose wiki dues to it being user friendly and little types of user personalization. The students I work with do not have an extensive technology background and wiki seems to be great for beginners. If my students were more technology savvy students I might have them create a website. Since I work in intervention I could have my students track their reading progress, do their writing exercises, have them write reflections on what they have read, etc. There are various types of standards that could be attached to what we are working since they range from 1st-5th grade. Overall I think that e-portfolios would be useful as well as beneficial for my students in preparing them for working and learning in the 21st century.

Tech Play 1: Blogs

What is a Blog?

     A blog is a media output in which individuals can share their views, ideas and thoughts about particular topics such as vocations, hobbies, or experiences. I developed this particular definition of what a blog is by exploring various types of blogs ranging from education, to family blogs, as well as blogs that discuss topics from cooking to home design. Each blog had its own twist or signature to it which enables the blogger to make their blog more personal and meaningful to them as well as their audience. From looking at each blog you could get a sense of the type of person you were reading about and how they interpreted the usage of their blog from informational to experiential.

     Blogs are different from glogs, vlogs, discussion boards and typical web pages in that a Blog is centered on the author’s personal experiences and thoughts. Glogs contain picture boards, vlogs contain information using a video platform, discussion boards start with a prompt and various authors center a discussion around that particular topic. I used to think that Blogs were just a different type of webpage but after exploring blogs further I have come to realize that they differ from typical webpages in that they again are centered around personal experience. Typical webpages disseminate specific types of information and may have bogs attached but blogs in their own right, are a type of journal for the author to be reflective on their experiences and give them a platform to share those ideas and thoughts with the world.

                       

Affordances

     As I further explore Blogs and their usage I find myself discovering that they can allow me to have an outlet to share my educational thoughts and ideals with those of the outside world. Blogs afford me the opportunity to connect and network with those who are in the same field as me and collaborate with my peers. Blogging also gives me the chance to reflect on my actions as a teacher and receive feedback from others in the educational or non-educational field to develop a different perspective.

     The affordances of differ from other technologies in that it gives me the opportunity to reflect and connect with my peers. Glogs, vlogs, discussion boards, and typical webpages can give me affordances as well as an educator but through my exploration of blogs I feel that it gives me a different type of media to be reflective in and share my experiences with others.

Blog Usage

     Blogs used in the educational framework can potentially have positive aspects to me as an educator and support the learning of my students. Through the blogs I have viewed I have seen many educators that share their classroom experiences from designing and desecrating their classrooms, sharing tips and tricks as well as reflecting on lessons and activities that they have found to be successful in their classrooms. Blog usage can benefit me in numerous ways concerning content, pedagogy, and technology.

Content

     In correlation with blogs in content this where I feel that blogs can be a great platform to deliver thoughts, ideas, and opinions about specific topics or content. It would be a great outlet to share articles, theories, and laws to where students to reflect and reply with their own thoughts and ideas. In some ways this would give students voice that they feel they might not have or exercise in the classroom setting and well as give them ample to reflect on the information they have received. Under Blooms Taxonomy one might express that students would be utilizing the higher quadrant of the scale by analyzing, evaluating, and creating therefore using the higher critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Pedagogy

I feel that blogs correlate with constructivist learning due to the idea that students as well as myself are using a platform that is generated and used in the real world therefore giving students the opportunity to learn proper usage under teacher facilitation. Throughout my educational experience as a teacher I have reflected and responded to various topics and ideals shared by my colleagues and peers although it has never been done using a blog. Throughout this play set process I see how educator blogs can be better utilized to share ideals and thoughts on pedagogical practices and ideas as well as share and receive feedback from other educator sin the field. Collaboration is key in the educational field therefore blogs can be used to extend and enhance instructional as well as educational standpoints and views.

Technology

Blogs give my students and me the opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas among ourselves as well as present a media type that my students could utilize beyond the walls of our classroom. As our world changes, technology evolves therefore giving students more opportunities and channels to share their thoughts and ideas with other. Through classroom blogs the teacher is able to facilitate and model for students proper blog usage and set a meaningful stage for learning to take place.

Possible Obstacles to Blogging

As many affordances that blogs can give there can also be many obstacles as well such as developing and creating a blog, thinking through and developing the reason for creating and utilizing the blog as well as continuously keeping up with it. I think that is the things I see that most bloggers have difficulty with is keeping up their blogs or regularly responding to feedback or comments, especially those with questions or seeking insight. Aside from the thought process and time needed to successfully blog, they can be beneficial to both the blogger and their audience. As I have stated before blogging is a great opportunity to collaborate with peers and colleagues therefore making it extremely useful and beneficial. If time allows and great thought goes into creating a blog it gives the author and their audience a great platform to share and express ideas and thoughts that have great meaning to them.