Today I have been catching up on some tweets/blog posts that I favourited on twitter. I thought that some of them were worth sharing.
The first post I re-read this morning was Oliver Quinlan's Knowing Creativity. I took time to reply directly on the post, but had ipad failure once again and it deleted my comment. Next time I will try to remember to copy before I press send... In a very small nutshell (I recommend reading it for yourself), Oliver's post explores the idea of creativity being less of a result of inspiration and more as hard graft. I agree with this as it reflects my practice and who I am as a teacher/learner. My colleagues have described me as a creative teacher, but the approaches and ideas I use in the classroom have all been adapted or inspired from other people's ideas and practices. In short, I am a magpie - unashamedly so. It's not that all my ideas are pinched directly from other people, it's just that I could probably identify the initial inspiration for most of them (even if they do not seem at all related-my thought processes are not a uniform thing!) The more 'unique' ideas that I have had have not always worked so well, but I like to try them out, even if I fail. Taking risks is a big part of my learning. I would like to point out here though that if the idea ends up being a big one, I am always careful to attribute the source of my inspiration.
Another related piece of reading and TEDTalk is by Sir Ken Robinson 'Do school's kill creativity?' which I believe all edcuators should watch (2006 but very relevant).
Scratch
The third favourite was from @digitalmaverick about the Scratch Literacy Project between schools in London and Prague. This project involves year 8 children, but could be a great thing to adapt for younger children.
Nick Chater also shared this youtube tutorial - how to create a duck hunt style game using Scratch. A great share for our digital leaders.
This next favourite is a 'Bloom's taxonomy' in apps shared by @ethinking, created by @aangeli. Lots of great apps, even if you don't necessarily agree with their position in the table.
This was also shared by @ethinking and is a chart of key apps and a 'master plan for a 1:1 ipad programme.
And a final favourite that I felt important to share is this:
Need I say any more?
Footnote
Some creative ideas that haven't reached fruition. Yet...
1. A set of story books based around the 'Fairytale Advice Bureau' ... seriously! I've written one. It's got chapters and everything!
2. A set of eco-friendly picture story books. Quentin Clancy lives in a beach hut ...
3. Betty Buttercup's recipe book. (A spin-off from the 'Fairytale Advice Bureau)
4. A blog by 'Billy Buttercup' that shares his personal, social and emotional problems, requiring children to help him through with their comments. (Another spin-off)
There are more ...
The first post I re-read this morning was Oliver Quinlan's Knowing Creativity. I took time to reply directly on the post, but had ipad failure once again and it deleted my comment. Next time I will try to remember to copy before I press send... In a very small nutshell (I recommend reading it for yourself), Oliver's post explores the idea of creativity being less of a result of inspiration and more as hard graft. I agree with this as it reflects my practice and who I am as a teacher/learner. My colleagues have described me as a creative teacher, but the approaches and ideas I use in the classroom have all been adapted or inspired from other people's ideas and practices. In short, I am a magpie - unashamedly so. It's not that all my ideas are pinched directly from other people, it's just that I could probably identify the initial inspiration for most of them (even if they do not seem at all related-my thought processes are not a uniform thing!) The more 'unique' ideas that I have had have not always worked so well, but I like to try them out, even if I fail. Taking risks is a big part of my learning. I would like to point out here though that if the idea ends up being a big one, I am always careful to attribute the source of my inspiration.
Another related piece of reading and TEDTalk is by Sir Ken Robinson 'Do school's kill creativity?' which I believe all edcuators should watch (2006 but very relevant).
Scratch
The third favourite was from @digitalmaverick about the Scratch Literacy Project between schools in London and Prague. This project involves year 8 children, but could be a great thing to adapt for younger children.
Nick Chater also shared this youtube tutorial - how to create a duck hunt style game using Scratch. A great share for our digital leaders.
Ipads
This was also shared by @ethinking and is a chart of key apps and a 'master plan for a 1:1 ipad programme.
And a final favourite that I felt important to share is this:
In an interview, children reckon that writing the objective at the top of their work had never helped - personal targets and good marking do
Need I say any more?
Footnote
Some creative ideas that haven't reached fruition. Yet...
1. A set of story books based around the 'Fairytale Advice Bureau' ... seriously! I've written one. It's got chapters and everything!
2. A set of eco-friendly picture story books. Quentin Clancy lives in a beach hut ...
3. Betty Buttercup's recipe book. (A spin-off from the 'Fairytale Advice Bureau)
4. A blog by 'Billy Buttercup' that shares his personal, social and emotional problems, requiring children to help him through with their comments. (Another spin-off)
There are more ...
