Can Technology Allow Opportunities for Creativity?

This is a challenging question. I do believe technology can open many doors for creativity in our students. There are some aspects of technology that enhance play and offer unique learning opportunities for creativity, while others can be not as helpful. 

The videos were very effective in pointing out how crucial creativity it is to recognize and encourage creativity in the students we teach. Instead of pushing the "core" subjects in our classes, we should be holding subjects such as music, art, dance, and physical education as equally important. Each individual student in our class will have a different skill set and will excel in their own way. We need to recognize the strengths of our students and be sure to interpret them as important and valuable. 

Researchers have been tracking children's creativity for over 50 years and are discovering a significant decrease in creativity among children for the first time, especially younger children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Researchers believe this could be due to the large decline of play. However, research has also proven that worldwide, children are very creative with their digital media. In the limited play time that students seem to have these days, their play has in fact become more imaginative (Rachael Rettne, 2011). It seems to me that if we can find a balance between the amount of time students are spending on their technological devices in class and their play time, we will see greater positive outcomes in their creativity. 

It has been argued that play for students is a significant creative process that fosters emotional health, imagination, original thinking, problem solving, critical thinking, and self-regulation. When they play with materials, children are building a foundation for understanding concepts and skills that form the basis for later academic learning. I think students can also benefit from these creative processes through using technological devices. As a student I wasn't a great artist. I couldn't draw, paint, or come up with creative ideas during art class. If I had been given the chance to use a technological device to create for example a collage of clip art with drawings, I would have finally been able to excel in art class! Technology gives students a chance to be fearless when it comes to art. It also gives students an opportunity to erase their work, use clip art, use programs with built in paint brushes etc. There's an incredible app for students who need extra confidence with their skills in art. The name of this app is Unleash Creativity and is designed for everyone who needs to unleash the creative potential they have. 

The website below gives educators the Top 10 Great iPad Apps to Enhance Student Creativity

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/02/10-great-ipad-apps-to-enhance-students.html

Creative Whack Pack

Clear

Mind Tools

Evernote

Oflow - Filled with over 120 proven tips on how to be more creative. You can flag, browse, and email all of your favorites. Plus create, save, and share ideas you have right from within the app.

Innovate

The Brainstorm

iBrainstormer

Behance

Download these for your students!!

Another website I found extremely useful is the following:

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/11/10-pinterest-boards-every-teacher-must.html

This website has the top 10 pinterest boards for educators. It includes teaching resources, ways to incorporate technology well in the class etc. 

http://pinterest.com/medkharbach/ (this pinterest board needs to be followed by all of you teachers out there!!)

Fleith (2000) says that "in a climate in which fear, one right answer, little acceptance for a variety of students products, extreme levels of competition, and many extrinsic rewards are predominant, it is difficult to foster high levels of creativity." Through providing students with a variety of creativity tools on their technological devices, teachers are giving students a variety of ways to come across an answer and create a product using many different devices. Students who aren't confident with their art skills can finally develop their creativity with the use of technology and its tools. 

There is an ongoing research experiment going on right now that is striving to create a way in which disabled students can create art through technology. The software being created recognizes the meaning, or intent, associated with eye-movements, enabling the software to work with the user, presenting design variants which are increasingly optimal over successive presentations. This technology will allow disabled students to do something they currently can't do. This program is currently named the "dinosaur drawing" program. It will allow students the ability to draw and create art. It's pretty amazing that technology is allowing students with disabilities to be able to showcase their talent.  

Overall, I do believe that technology can allow for opportunities for creativity, especially for those students who couldn't necessarily use their potentially creative side in the first place!

The article I referenced above: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44121819/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/are-todays-youth-less-creative-imaginative/#.URv6LaWsiSo

Kids + Computers = Cognitive Growth?

I would like to pose a question to Educators: 

What do you think children can learn from using computers in an informal collaborative setting? Come up with some ideas before scrolling down. 

I found a study online which explores the ways in which learning to master educational computer programs can promote problem-solving transfer. The study revealed that children who use educational software may learn content knowledge about computer literacy, comprehension skills for understanding instructions, planning skills for learning new games, and some basic academic skills.

This study consisted of:

Elementary school children, often from low-income homes. The program took place after school hours and was not associated with the child's school. Participation was voluntary and there was no traditional teacher-student structure. In the program, there were many opportunities for writing and creative expression.Students wrote messages to a mythical Wizard using a word processor and received written responses. Collaborative learning took place when children worked together or with adult mentors called Wizard's Assistants.

There was an opportunity for students with extensive experience to achieve the status of Young Assistant to the Wizard.

The researchers sought out to answer the question: Does learning to use computers--or more specifically, learning to use educational software on computers--improve a child's mind?

The researchers gave results in four main categories: Effects of Computer Experience on Computer Literacy, Effects of Computer Experience on Comprehension Skills, Effects of Computer Experience on Game-Playing Skills, and Effects of Computer Experience on Academic Skills

A few of the interesting results were:

• solid evidence that experience in an educational computing environment results in gains in specific computer knowledge
• students may learn specific facts and procedures that are relevant to operating computers
• Overall, across three different measures of language comprehension skill, students who had figured out how to use a wide variety of educational computer games tended to have developed better comprehension skills than equivalent students who had not learned to play educational computer games
• Learning to use educational software--particularly a wide variety of educational games--may help students develop effective problem-solving strategies
• students who are exposed to a wide variety of educational computing experiences develop skill in comprehension and planning that can transfer to new situations
• students who had extensive computer experience outscored their peers on improvement over their prior year's score on both reading and mathematics achievement
• participation in an educational computing environment results in far transfer--that is, in learning that goes beyond simple retention of specific computer facts and procedures

These results show the numerous benefits of computer use for our students and the ways in which their computer knowledge can help them in other academic subjects and skill sets. Experience with technology seems to encourage important cognitive changes in children. The fact that educational technology can assist students with comprehending written instructions, devising problem-solving techniques, and improving their academic skills is quite impressive! We as teachers need to realize that there are different ways to work on improving the skills of our students, technology is a useful, fun way in which to do this!!

To find the full study, search here:

http://www.education.miami.edu/blantonw/5dclhse/publications/tech/mayer_schustak_blanton.html