Creativity in Schools

The above video is very popular in the homeschooling community, largely because we don't really have the problem of children not being creative, so it tends to make us feel good to watch it. Even in the most conservative, classically based, drill and kill homeschool, children have plenty of time to play... and create. They don't necessarily lose their creativity as they get older, in fact they get to be more creative with their life, with a higher percentage becoming entrepreneurs as adults (Sorry, I can't find where I saw that statistic before. However, here is an interesting blog post which muses about homeschooling and career choices.)

Does this mean I blame public schools for destroying creativity? Not necessarily, but I will say children need time to be creative. (Some inspiration in content and materials wouldn't hurt either.) Going to school during the day, avoiding the outdoors excepts for structured programs, and then plugging into digital media at night leaves little room for creativity. Schools can start to change this dynamic by giving students at least a portion of the day to explore ideas and have a bit more freedom, but they are not responsible for the societal environment as a whole. They can also change this dynamic by making assignments more complex and open ended. This may complicate neat rubrics and "standards", but will also give students a chance to go deeper and to new places, which their teachers may have never gone.

Currently, I am in a class on digital media, and there is a question about digital media and creativity. Giving students time to use digital media may enhance creativity, but I believe it to simply be a tool. Paper, crayons, instruments, a dance floor are also tools, and involve more of the body. While I think there are interesting tools in digital media, it would be a mistake to restrict students' time and exposure to primarily digital tools as a creative media.

References

Robinson, K. (2006). Sir Kenneth Robinson: Do schools kill creativity [web video]? Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Trunk, P. (2011). Generation Z will revolutionize education [web post]. Retrieved from: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/03/30/generation-z-will-revolutionize-education/

Fractal Prezi

What I liked about the Fractal Prezi is that is gave me a chance to bring in various material which my students can explore on their own. In this particular case, I was more focused on developing a disciplined mind, giving students a chance to explore a topic. I tried to include resources which I thought would be helpful to not just learn the topic at hand, but might inspire exploration into other topics (such as TedX, and Vi Hart). I also included some easier material which would be more assessable to students, all the way up to material from university math departments. For an intermediate or advanced student, using materials from such a department can also start to make the university a familiar place, and help students envision their future participation in academic life. Lastly, I had a video which connected a math topic to the natural world, hopefully increasing both understanding and a sense of wonder to the world around students.

            At this point, I wasn’t focused on teaching synthesis, although a great way to do that would be to have the student create a rich, interdisciplinary, project. My oldest son and I are planning such a project. Much of this plan has nothing to do with technology. He wants to raise money to have a well built in a poorer country. However, to accomplish his goal, I am having him study several things: the issues around needing clean water, how to judge the efficiency of a charity in accomplishing its goals, and details from organizations in how they actually go about building wells. He then is planning on giving a presentation and holding a fundraiser. Again, part of that fundraiser will be low tech, such as selling things he has knitted and simply talking to people. But, part of that fundraiser will involve technology, as he can take what he has learned and create an online format to share what he has learned and even collect money. This is an expansive enough project that he will be required the take information from different sources and synthesis it. Creating an online component of his presentation will also give him a chance to reflect on the information he has gathered.




For more information about the concepts of disciplined and synthesizing minds, see:

Gardner, Howard (2008). 5 minds for the future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.



Math History

Educlipper for math history

The link above goes to an educlipper, which could be again be used for a math club. One of the resources is actually for parents, three for high school/ middle school, and one may be appropriate for elementary/ middle school.

Notes on using educlipper:

This was the first time I used educlipper. I actually found it someone frustrating to use: it took awhile to figure out how to use it, some of the clips with downloads did not work, and the embed code did not work. When tested the web link did work, which is why I have that listed above.

Math Club Poster

Next year I am hoping to get a math club going for a multi-age group of mainly highly gifted kids. Some of these kids have fallen in love with concepts such as pi, fractals, or  Möbius strips since preschool. For these kids, the club will seek to introduce them to new problem solving techniques, math characters and concepts from history, and a fair amount of math doodling. The students who have less experience will have a chance to be exposed to fascinating topics in math, play games, and make math related art. The goal for all students will be to enhance their love and understanding of math. 

The poster above seeks to help set the tone for the group. Often, I find kids who are interested in math topics, are excited, and want to share, but have a hard time finding peers who share their interests. Besides having a fun picture and quote, this poster can serve as a conversation piece, both about fractals and Edwin A. Abbott's book, Flatland (1992). Without any adult instruction given, this poster will hopefully get kids talking and sharing.

References

Abbot, E. (1992). Flatland: A romance of many dimensions. USA: Dover Publications.

Introduction "Tweet"

Education in the Maker Movement

Thank you everyone for a wonderful class! 

Here is my project video about the maker movement in education:

Resources accompanying this video can be found below. Please click "Read next page" at the bottom so you can see all of them. You wouldn't want to miss out on "Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show"!

Update on "This was a bittersweet assignment for me."

On Tuesday, my boys just started a STEM class led by Mike Murphy. Mike is a homeschool Dad who just graduated his 16 year old son off to Brown University. His son, Ben Murphy, is the the one who taught the class last year which introduced my sons to Scratch (a programming language for children, developed by MIT) last year. So, I was super excited for my sons to learn more. In the first class, my sons were able to use Makey Makey to make joysticks for the computer. This is exactly the type of technology I would love for them to be exposed to and feel a bit intimidated to do myself.

The point of all this, is that I now really need laptops in a hurry. One son was able to use my lap top, but the other one was stuck.

Since my last post, I read an article about codestarter.org using chromebooks to teach kids programming. They made it work by wiping out the operating system of the chromebook and installining linex (which is free/open source). They then donate these machines to low income children who are interested in learning to code. I sent the article to my husband, who could see the advantages but is concerned with the fragility of chromebooks and most laptops.


What my husband really likes is toughbooks, a laptop built to military specification. They are strong enough to withstand being driven over. However, toddlers are still able to destroy them by ripping off the keys, which can sometimes be fixed, sometimes not. (Ask me how I know this, I dare you!)

While expensive new, inexpensive toughbooks can be found. We have ordered three, two for the boys (about $235 & $400) and one for my husband (a newer model for $1000). The older toughbooks have an old windows operating system which is longer supported, so the plan is to wipe it out and then install linux. He has done this with the first computer & successfully got Scratch going. His blog post on how this worked is here. My husband's computer has a newer operating system which he needs to run some of the translation software (mainly Trados) which he uses. (His last laptop recently died, so he also needs another computer. Especially as we sometimes lose power & internet, so he occasionally needs to be able to take the laptop into another town to work on assignments.)

On other fronts, I have a friend with a raspberry pi which was played with for awhile and is now sitting gathering dust. So, it may be coming our way.

Just wanted to share our tech adventures.

Here is a fun ad, but remember, toughbooks can be destroyed by toddlers!



References

"CrunchGear.com - Running over the CF-30 Toughbook with a Truck" 
[you tube video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41lXVKSTOGQ

Fisher, Mathew. " Ubuntu 14.04 + Scratch Offline Editor on a Toughbook CF-29". [web article]. Retrieved from: http://planetcubicle.blogspot.com/2014/11/ubuntu-1404-scratch-offline-editor-on.html

Preston-Werner, Tom. "How we turn $199 Chromebooks into Ubuntu Based Code Learning Machines for Kids" [web article]. Retrieved from: http://blog.codestarter.org/post/93985346780/how-we-turn-199-chromebooks-into-ubuntu-based

Makey Makey [web site], Retrieved from: http://www.makeymakey.com/

Linux [web page]. Retrieved from: http://www.linux.com/

Raspberry pi [web page]. Retrieved from: http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Scratch [web page]. Retrieved from: http://scratch.mit.edu/

"Toughbook 31 vs ATV" [video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n6mX8Q1waA

Toughbooks [web page]. Retrieved from: http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/laptop-computers.asp

Trados [web page]. Retrieved from: http://www.sdl.com/products/sdl-trados-studio/