Sheen Vaidyanathan, in "Fostering Creativity and Innovation through Technology," explores the idea of teaching core subjects simultaneously with creativity and innovation. She chose to do so by teaching digital art and design. The Los Altos School District in California provided their fourth through sixth grade students with a 12-week digital design program that focused on using computers for creativity. This art class encourages students to try new things without the fear of failure (because you can undo any mistakes). A lot of what is learned in digital designed is based off of STEM subjects, especially math. This type of class is relatively low cost. The software is free and the school recieves donations in order to pay for computer lab maintenance. The reactions and responses from both parents and students have been positive. Students are excited to come back to digital design class, and some even go home to spend more time creating using digital design programs.
I think this is a very beneficial and fun type of program for students. This is the type of thing that will get them excited about learning and will encourage their creativity. I like how students are given tasks, such as build a computer game, and are able to create a game of their very own. They are also able to make any modifications after the project is done. This is something that I would love to incorporate in my class with projects on books, where kids might make a story out of a book we read, or a game based off a book we read. Vaidyanathan explained how is is low cost, which I hope encourages teachers and schools to include this type of learning in their curriculum. I think budget has a lot to do with what is available for schools, and this article shows that we can still find ways to reach out to our students creatively without spending too much money.
This type of learning incorporates ISTE Student Standards 1 (creativity and innovation), 4 (critical thinking), and 6 (technology operations and concepts). Students are encouraged to think creatively while designing something digitally. The create their own original works though technology, and through expression. Students also are required to think critically and figure out ways to best fit the desired project results. They use standard 6 by learning to use the digital software and understanding what each tool does, along with the outcome.
Vaidyanathan, S. (2012). Fostering creativity and innovation through technology. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(6), 24-27.
This was an interesting post and a tool that I would like to use in my classroom as well. I like how the tool promotes student creativity and learning, while also being educational. I think it is very important that students learn to use technology, because in today's world it surrounds us. I agree that this tool uses ISTE standard 4 and 6 of critical thinking and technology operation because the students have to figure out how to operate the technological tool while also thinking critically to finish their assigned task. Finally I like this tool because it is something that gets students excited, and something they look forward to doing, which makes our jobs as teachers much more exciting as well!
ReplyDelete