Why is Creativity So Important for Today's Learner?

In a previous post I discussed Collaboration as the first skill I dive into when I evaluate possible uses of an online tool or app. If I can't find a way to use a tool in a collaborative way, I may not invest much thought into using it.

Once I've established how collaborative a lesson can be with a specific tool, I dig deeper to evaluate the other skills it can help develop. I always want to know how it can support and build essentials skills before I think about content. Don't get me wrong, there are some incredible content resources available for today's learner, but if I don't design a lesson that uses content to develop student skills, too often that content becomes quickly forgotten with no real learning gains. A great resource combined with a great lesson helps develop all of the 4Cs.

We want our students to be creative, but sometimes the whole idea of being creative is left to a student's own devices. For many students being creative starts and ends with them creativity planning to meet the requirements with as little work as possible.  If I  leave the product of an assignment a bit more open-ended one of the most common questions from students is "Is this good enough?". I typically respond with, "It's good, but can you think of a way to be more creative? Either I get a no, or the real discussion begins.

Creativity - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students will:

• Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
• Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
• Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
• Identify trends and forecast possibilities.

ISTE National Education Technology Standards

With the help of my incredible PLN, I've compiled a list of tools that can support creativity in classrooms and for professional development. Check out these resources in this collaborative Google Doc:

• Creativity Tools to Support the 4Cs and Student Growth

Learn more about creativity:

• Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity Is In Everything, Especially Teaching
• What Schools Can Learn from Google About Nurturing Creativity
• Why Creativity in the Classroom Matters More Than Ever

How do you promote creativity in your classroom?

The 4Cs and Google Apps for Education

Over the year's I've always looked to improve the way I teach and my students learn. Google Apps for Education has changed how I teach and how my students learn more than any other resource or idea. 

A few years ago I agreed to pilot Google Drive after spending years using Microsoft Office and Smart Technologies to support teaching and learning. Google was only a search tool that helped me find lessons and my students research ideas. My students collaborated on a variety of in-class activities, but we rarely collaborated using digital tools. My classroom was very teacher-centered. We focused on content first and foremost. The skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity were an afterthought. 

I won't tell you that I started using Google Drive and I immediately became a different teacher. I was probably a full year before I fully engaged in Google Drive.
The shift to Google Apps for Education also brought a change in my teaching. My classroom has become more student-centered. We focus on using the content to teach essential skills.

Today the activities in my classroom start with the 4 Cs (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity). Google Apps for Education provides me with a great set of tools to support these skills in a learner-centered classroom. 

Since I shifted my classroom to be more learner-centered, my own learning has shifted to a great reliance on my personal learning network. I've learned a great deal about Google Apps for Education and a student-centered classroom and I am always driven to learning more. 

I learn the most by sharing, so here are a few resources that we've found or created to support learning in a student-centered classroom using Google Apps for Education: 

• Recharge Learning - GAFE Resources

A Few of My Favorite Themes in Education Today

The pace of educational change can be staggering, but sometimes if you slow down and take a look at around you will discover how lucky today's educators can be. The internet makes it possible for ideas and knowledge to be everywhere. Educational technology has invaded classroom across the world. There number incredible resources and tools to enhance learning and engage students is staggering. 

The educational world is full of buzzwords. Like them or love them they are unavoidable. Here are a few of my current favorites:

• Life-long learner
• Student-centered
• Differentiated learning
• Blended learning
• Personalized learning
• Personal Learning Network
• Connected Learning
• The 4Cs (or 5 or 6 or 8 depending on who you talk to.)
• Google Apps for Education
• Formative Assessment

On my radar:

• Maker Spaces
• Coding
• Digital Literacy

With so many choices it is often difficult to decide what is best for learning in my classroom. There is not enough time in the day to try everything that looks cool. My solution is my Personal Learning Network. My PLN helps me find the right tools to enhance the right objectives.

We've taken the top recommendations from our PLN and organized them around the 4Cs of education on our Recharge Learning Website. It is not a static place and constantly evolving as new tools and ideas arrive. Check it our and let us know what we are missing?

• Recharge Learning

Learn more:

• Educational Buzzwords
• Educational Chat Schedule

IFTTT for Productivity and Creative Thinking

IF This Than That is a great resource that has been around for a while, but one that I sadly have not fully engaged in until recently. The slogan is: "Put the internet to work for you." In recent days I've started automating many of my manual tasks online using and creating recipes. If something is connected to the internet you can probably create a recipe to make you online life a bit easier.

What is IFTTT?

IFTTT empowers you with creative control over the products and apps you love.

What are Recipes?

Recipes are simple connections between products and apps. There are two types of Recipes: Do Recipes and IF Recipes.

Do Recipes

Do Recipes run with just a tap and enable you to create your own personalized Button, Camera, and Notepad. The Do apps are available for iOS and Android.

About IFTTT

Ideas for some recipes:

• Create a recipe for a newsletter that auto publishes.  
• Recipe to collect favorite tweets in Google spreadsheet.
• Recipe to connect Pocket to Google Drive.
• Use to trigger certain email events to a group.
• Text reminders from calendars and events to remind me of something I always miss.
• Create a recipe to post autopost a thank you when someone follows me on Twitter.

How can you use this to support teaching and learning? Please share your ideas below.

This is the post that connected me to IFTTT again: http://goo.gl/2Zefwy

This is the video that got me thinking about and using IFTTT to automate much of my online life.

Special thanks to Daniel Rezac at the 2015 ICE Conference and Joe Macchia an old friend for getting me started with IFTTT again.

Formative Assessment with Poll Everywhere

Reasons to poll your students frequently and consistently?

• Discussion Starters
• Quick Checks for Understanding
• Enhance Communication Skills
• Inspire Creative Thinking
• Critically Evaluate Resources and Ideas
• Jump Start Collaboration

Poll Everywhere is a recently released Chrome Extension that works with Google Slides to allow presenters to quickly and easily create quick survey questions in Google slides. Create a survey ahead of time or quickly insert one during a presentation. 

• Polls can include multiple choice questions, open-ended questions, Q & A / Brainstorm, or even clickable images. 
• Results can be displayed live on screen or hidden from the audience.
• Students can respond via Text, via the Web, via a Mobile Browser, or even through Twitter. 

Initial Setup Guide:

1. Click here to open the Poll Everywhere Extension description in the Chrome Web Store. 
2. Click on the "Add to Chrome" button to install the extension. 
3. A dialog appears letting you know about the types of data that the extension will be able to access. Click Add to grant the extension access to the data described and install the extension.
4. The Poll Everywhere Extension will work in your Chrome Browser behind the scenes in the address bar. You will not see a Poll Everywhere icon in your row of extensions. It will appear as a menu option in Google Slides and be viewable
5. While you can get started with the Poll Everywhere in Google slides, we recommend that you first sign up for a free educator account.  Click here to signup for a free Poll Everywhere K-12 Educator account.
6. Open a new or existing Google Slides Presentation and you will see Poll Everywhere in the menu. You will need to login in the first time you insert a poll. You will be able to create a new poll or insert an existing poll from you account. You can only have 1 active poll at a time in slides.
7. You can learn more about the setup and views in Google slides in the Poll Everywhere user guide. Click here to access the User Guide and then click on Control+F to search for "Google Slides" to learn more about the features of the Extension.
8. We recommend testing out the features with a colleague or on your own using a mobile device before going live with a full classroom.

Click here to learn more about installing and managing all your Chrome Extensions.

How will you use Poll Everywhere with your students?