Applying Best Practices to Facilitate Creativity
Disc Week7: Applying Best Practices to Facilitate Creativity
ISTE-E 1.c. Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.
ISTE-E 6.c. Create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems.
ISTE-E 6.d. Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections.
ISTE-E 7.a. Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology.
The main goal of this discussion is to get you thinking about things you can do, beyond the project for this week. That way, you have the beginnings of a plan for next year!
Remind us of your content area, technology available, and your students (age/grade, special needs, language fluency, etc.).
Then, applying the readings, and in particular the best practices for developing creative thinking (see the digital lecture in Readings & Resources),
1. discuss at least TWO ideas for using technology to inspire student creativity and innovation. Be specific: discuss how/where in the curriculum you would implement these ideas.
2. Explicitly state which best practices your ideas adhere to.
3. Feel free to ask questions as well, and learn from each other.
Can you responds for two colleagues?
1.You should to response for two colleagues. I will post their response.
2.You should to give them helpful suggestions /feedback and/or asks/answers questions, based on their responses.
3.You must use correct conventions for grammar, spelling, and punctuation; avoids most slang AND cites all sources used to develop posts .
1/The class I chose to focus on for the purpose of this discussion is my Modified Curriculum ELA class. This class is a 7th/8th grade mix of students all with identified reading and/or writing disabilities. In addition to self-created curriculum connected to Common Core State Standards, the students are given direct instruction through Fountas & Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI). We have a variety of different technologies available to us. First, all students have Chromebooks which they can use to create digital products and record videos. We also have 10 iPads that students can use with a variety of different apps and for photo/video. Finally, we have access to the Creation Station. This is a room in the school where we have a bunch of tech available for classes to use for specific projects. Our Media Specialist and Technology Assistant are located in this room as well so it is nice to utilize their expertise for those “M” and “R” projects! In the Creation Station, students have access to a green screen, stop motion, a recording booth, large whiteboards, and a variety of different manipulatives which they can use to create videos.
The unit I chose to focus on is titled “Fleeing Home”. The literature circle novel we read together as a whole group during this unit is A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. In this unit we discuss in depth refugees, civil war, and other crisis that are happening all around the world that students may not be aware of. In the past, I had students conduct a short research project at the beginning of the unit to introduce students to the concepts of refugees and civil war. Students were given videos and guiding research questions. Groups were scaffolded based on student needs, interests, and abilities. Students create a Google Slides presentation of 5 slides which addressed the area they were assigned. Then, they presented to their peers and acted as the teachers to introduce us to their concept. Overall it went really well and the students enjoyed it. However, after completing this unit earlier in the year, I felt that there was so much more we could have done summatively at the end of our unit to wrap up everything we have learned and to get our learning “out the door” as we like to call it at my school.
When the unit ended I created this Project Menu (linked here (Links to an external site.)) with some ideas of potential summative projects that would wrap up our unit. For this week’s discussion I went back to this draft and added in some digital platforms I have learned about and modified some of the projects based on what I know and have learned about the SAMR model. Obviously, the menu still needs work, like rubrics for each project and connections to content and technology standards but I feel good that I have a starting point for the next time I teach this unit.
Some ways this project will take my students to the “M” and “R” of the SAMR model is through the fact that they are displaying their learning in a digital format. They are not just typing their projects in a Google Doc These projects could not be completed without the use of technology. Students are being pushed to use platforms that involve more than just text. Students have the opportunity to create videos, audio, and pictures that display their learning. In order to get the projects “out the door” I could tweet them out using our district hashtag #d60learns, connect with other teachers in the district or area that are reading the book to hold discussions or virtual presentations. I could also share the projects with our Media Specialist for her to put them on the Tech Corner on our school webpage.
Some resources that I would need to make this project happen would be access to the Creation Station and our technology specialist/assistant for further support/guidance. I would also need subscriptions or trials of some chosen platforms to ensure that students can publish their final projects without any major complications. And as always, I would need time. This project would involve several class periods for research and project creation. I have to be comfortable with using class time to give students the opportunity to explore new technology and channel their creativity to create a final product they are proud of!
One question I have is: When completing a digital project in your classroom what are some ways you share the projects with other students, teachers, parents, or people outside of the school? Has anyone collaborated with schools around the state, country, or world? I always find that so fascinating!
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2/Currently I teach freshman through senior students but classes are usually grouped with freshman/sophomore together and junior/senior students together. Being an elective department, my classes have a wide range of students. I usually have 1-4 students with IEP’s in each class. This semester I also have a student who is legally blind in my Foods 1 class. We currently are not 1:1. We have two campuses with one computer lab and 60 laptops available to reserve each day. Some departments have laptop carts that are shared between rooms. My department has a laptop cart at one of our campuses that is shared between 16 teachers and no cart at the other campus. I feel that we are in desperate need of more computer access but it seems that it will still be awhile before we are where we should be technology wise.
An upcoming unit I will be focusing on is the Egg Unit in Foods 2. I have taught this unit for the first time last semester but am hoping to add some ideas to make it more exciting for the students this time around. One area that students struggle with was labeling and naming the parts of the egg. After reading about the SAMR model I thought a way to enhance the lesson I have on this topic would be to have students actually crack an egg open and use their phone or a camera to take pictures of the egg and the various parts and then put together a visual using their own pictures. To make this happen I would probably just have students use their phones to take pictures. I could have a camera on hand for those that do not have a phone but I am fairly certain every one of my students has access to a mobile device. We would then need to reserve some time in the library to put the visual together.
A question I have about this particular idea is if you all think it is worth taking the time to book the computer lab and work on this project. Does it seem like too much for something that could be done with a worksheet. I think it would stick with the students and get them more engaged but I wonder what you think
facilitating_creativity_and_innovation_in_a_digital_world_readings
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For this project, I will teach fifth-grade students aged 10 to 11 years with fluency difficulties. There are about ten students who are all under the IEP educational services. The aim is to help them improve fluency in reading and writing to assist in the attainment of their educational goals……………….
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