What is Creativity?

I came across this image and statement in a blog post I recently read and wanted to think about it more:

"Now the word 'creativity' is used across the curriculum. As educators, we are encouraged to promote the development of creativity in our students. This raises the question, What is Creativity?" from Digital Tools for Teachers

I liked the way the author presented her definition of creativity in this blog post:

"I see creativity as a process. There is a beginning, which is the task or problem and the end is an original creation or result. The process in the middle is creativity."

I have never really thought of creativity defined that way, but it makes perfect sense. When I look at the diagram, I immediately think of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) which builds both critical and creative thinking skills. This diagram also brings to mind the many ways we can use technology tools to facilitate the learning and creativity process.

When I read the blog post mentioned above, I immediately thought of this WallWisher related to being a creative teacher:

WallWisher on Creativity in the Classroom



What is your definition of creativity? How are you creative in the classroom? Do teachers need to promote creativity in students? Are there ways technology can be used to encourage creativity in students? What advice can you give to others?

Xtimeline

This tool was shown at one of the session at the NCTIES conference. Xtimeline is a free web-based timeline for teachers and students. Take a look at this Xtimeline for Romeo and Juliet: http://www.xtimeline.com/timeline/Romeo-and-Juliet-timeline


Notice that students can choose to see the timeline as links to information or as more detailed information, as shown below, by changing the icon link in the upper right corner. Students use the scroll bar at the bottom to scroll through the timeline. The timelines can be printed by permission, but teachers and students can easily use Xtimeline from the web.

Xtimelines can be explored by categories, by keyword searches, or by lists.
To checkout Xtimelines go to: http://xtimelines.com/
Image from xtimelines.com

Twitter as a Treasure Chest

I have found lots of new things (blogs mainly) to read and to add to my google reader using Twitter recently. Two of the blog posts I recently read talk about the importance of twitter to a PLN (especially concerning #edchat on Twitter). I could not agree more! I have learned so much and been "granted access" to so many great ideas and resources by participating in Twitter. Notice that I said PARTICIPATING and not just reading. Even though I am not sure that I directly did anything that lead me to find new blogs for me to follow, I do feel like that by interacting and feeling like "part of a group" I am exposed to more options. I like to see what people retweet and then go check out the person they retweeted to see what I might be able to gain by making that connection (that sounds a bit selfish, but . . . ).
Here are the ones I found recently to add to my list of things to read . . .

• The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness
• What's New in the World?
• How to Teach a Novel

Here is one I found several days ago that I think deserves to be here too:

• Teacher Reboot Camp

When I decided to write this post, I wasn't really sure what title to give it. But as soon as I started working it, the comparison of Twitter and a Treasure Chest popped right to my mind :) I really see Twitter as a Treasure Chest since it contains lot of valuable information/resources and . . . you never know what you might find . .

*Emory's "Why Tweet" Blog Post and Presentation do an excellent job of providing information about using Twitter

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/80994469@N00/426780934/

"Books are not dead . . . "

Gail Lovely led a session at NCTIES 2010 called "Books Are Not Dead . . . Using Technology to Enliven Your Literacy Program" that I was unable to attend. However through the power of twitter, I learned about some of the ideas and resources she shared in her session. The snippets of information that "leaked out" made me want to go find out more, so I checked out both her website and her NCTIES Site. All kinds of great reading resources can be found at her site, which made this "Reading Teacher" smile! Her presentation from NCTIES also brought a smile to my face since it showed so many ways that technology and reading can be combined seamlessly. Key to reading comprehension for students is the interaction that takes with books before, during, and after reading. Really reading something involves more than just being able to just call the words correctly. Being able to use what you have gained to create something else is a better measure of learning. Gail Lovely shows how various technology tools can be used to make all of these things possible.

This presentation ends with a statement that I think summarizes it very well: "Reading is STILL a cornerstone. Books are NOT dead . . .don't make reading deadly!"

Books Are Not Dead By Gail Lovely

View more presentations from glovely.

NCTIES 2010 - eInstruction's New CPS Software Upgrade

eInstruction has come out with new a version of thier software for the CPS. Several things are great about this upgrade. First and foremost is the fact that from these versions on you will be able to upgrade the software instead of having to remove previous versions before installing the new. The other huge feature of CPS 6.51.0002 is that this one version can run all generations of their remotes. This includes the 1st generation IR clickers (the blue remotes with the white buttons and the white remotes with the blue buttons), the 2nd generation RF clickers (they have the display screen but no texting capabilities) and the Pulse RF (texting capability) clickers. What's even better is that you can run multiple USB devices at the same time. I tested it out by running a set of IR clickers with the 2nd generation RF clickers and they worked flawlessly together. I was able to answer questions using both sets of remotes at the same time. Then I tested the IR with the Pulse and they worked flawlessly together. You can also run all three sets together. This is news that I had been waiting to hear from eInstruction for some time.

Here is a list of the new features in this version of CPS:
•vClicker™ Mobile Edition integration
•eI Community integration
•Cornerstone Education Suite integration
•CPS™ Pulse compatibility
•Centralized receiver settings to Device Manager
•Allow use of multiple USB receivers
•Teachers will now be able to see numeric and verbal responses on the Mobi KWIK screen.
•New additions to the Engage Bar for verbal questions, enhanced button placement for ease of use.
•Change some reports to allow new selectable sort fields, and single report per page output.
•New question types available in regrade screen
•Added new question type Multiple Choice question/answer option up to letter J (MC9 and MC10).
•Added new question type Multiple Choice Multiple Correct (MC2 – MC10)
•Now allows for the creation of a Short Answer type that can be engaged in all teaching modes, allowing up to 20 characters
•Added Short Answer question types that are now visible to teachers in all scoring and gradebook views.
•Added Answer Series question type that allows the ordering or sequencing of 2 - 10 answers from the CPS question author tool (AS2 – AS10).
•Engage Answer Series question types in Standard Mode, Teacher Led Mode, Student Paced Mode, and Student Practice Mode
•Add ability to view data for new questions types in reports
•Add new question types to import/export for lessons or database, as well as in all reports.
•Addition ExamView option for using Multiple Response questions
•Added an option for the Teacher to choose to automatically Power-off RF Response Pads (Clickers) joined to that Channel upon program exit to and within range.
•Added Homework mode support for Pulse clickers
•New "Essay" question type supports text entries of up to 140 characters when using a Pulse receiver and Pulse clickers
•Compatible with both Windows 7 and 64 bit processors

NCTIES 2010 New Version of CPS

NCTIES 2010: SMARTBoard 10.6

During this years 2010 NCTIES conference I had the opportunity to sit in on the SMART 10.6 update session. There are lots of new updates for this version as well as a couple of things that will need a little bit of discussion.

So what is the deal with the new software. From what I saw in the workshop the new version 10.6 is a combination of the SMART Math and standard SMART 10.5 software. Now we all know that the SMART Math software has a cost to it, even though there is a dual load capability per license it is still pretty costly in this time of economic turmoil. The new SMART v 10.6 will give you a lot of features of Math version without the cost. The new version offers you an "appetizer" in that it allows you full access to SMART Math tools for ONLY 30 days. The nice thing is that after that 30 days not all of the tools go away, you get to keep a few things that are actually some very nice tools to use.


After you load the software you will notice that there is an additional tool bar which shows up below the standard tool bar but can be hidden if needed.

Measurement Tools: The Icon with the Compass and Protractor
You have access to a new Protractor, Compass, Ruler. These tools are different from the original ones from the Gallery. They are more intuitive and practical.
Ruler - Trace along the edge, toggle between metric and empirical, numbers stay justified regardless of position and it shows the angle degrees.
Protractor - Similar to original except that you have a Green bar that can be adjusted to show the angle, trace along the edge, you can eject the angle onto the Notebook page and numbers stay justified when rotating.
Compass - Similar in design to original except new one offers easier adjustments of angle than original, ink matches pen colors and can create both arcs and circles.

There is an addition to the Lines Tool in that you can now create perfect curved lines. On the Shapes Tool you now have additional perfect shapes in a circle and square as well as all triangular shapes.

There are also some great resource options that are available.
SMART Exchange Integration - now there is a direct link to the website from the Gallery Tab
Training Materials - directly from the SMART Tech website.
Online Training - provided in sessions through out the year to help you out.
Training Video - Let's you know what is new in Version 10.
Learning Management System - Where you can sign up for and participate in online training.
Google Search - SMART inspired that filters automatically down to 25 resources.
Educator Google Search - Created by an Educator to filter down to 125 lesson resources.

Notes from the NCTIES 2010 Raleigh Conference

About Writing
After working with AP for over a year I was finally able to attend one of here workshops. During her workshop she provided information on how to use technology as a part of the writing process. For informative resources about the writing process be sure to visit her website: http://writingacrossthecurriculum.pbworks.com/

About Reading
Another interesting workshop was presented by Gail Lovely who assured us that books continue to be a vital part of our learning experience. Reading remains a fundamental element of the learning experience and may be enhanced by the use of technology. To find out more about the resources visit her website at
http://lovelyatncties.yolasite.com/

Favorite website (from the conference): www.tinychat.com

Volunteerism:
I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Special Interest Group table for one hour. Here conference attendees were able to sign up to participate in a special interest group of their choice after the conference ends.

In order to learn more the conference visit the conference website: http://2010ncties.pbworks.com/

More Online Resources to Encourage Classroom Writing...

Simply put... it is my mission to offer up any online resources pertaining to classroom writing that I think are just great!

Create Media (Newspaper, Brochure, etc.) -
http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title=

Create a Flip Book -
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/flipbook/

Writing Activities -
http://lesson-plans-materials.suite101.com/article.cfm/creative_writing_in_the_classroom

Writing Worksheets -
http://www.schoolexpress.com/fws/cat.php?id=2257

Lesson Plan Idea -
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/classroom-writing-owner-manual-862.html

Graphic Organizers -
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/
http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/
http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/graphic_organizers.htm

Journal Ideas -
http://thewritesource.com/writing_topics/
http://classroom-activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_in_a_journal
http://42explore.com/journl.htm

Higher Ed -
http://www.writingclassroom.com/

Overall… great writing website –
http://www.everybodywrites.org.uk/

More Than Wordles

Wordle has been one of my favorite tools for a while. I like the variety of things that I can do with it. I came across a wiki page today that presented even more ideas: MoreThanWordles. This page by Jen Wagner (twitter @jenwagner) is a collection of resources (and just neat things) that can be done with word clouds whether they are created using the Wordle program or not. I really like the jigsaw puzzle image that is over a wordle so pieces can be removed one at a time. The presentation on adding graphics that can be found on that wiki gives me even more ideas for ways a teacher (or really anybody) can use Wordle or word clouds.

Jem also does the daily GuessTheWordle daily challenge where a wordle is posted and students have to figure out what the words all have in common. You can read more about this challenge as well as find examples and answers from the past on the GuessTheWordle Wiki.

Here are some other great resources related to word clouds and Wordle:

• Ways to Use Wordle in Your Classroom
• Using Wordle for Comparision (example uses innauguration speeches)
• 43 Interesting Ways (and tips) for Using Wordle in the Classroom
• Word Cloud Resources, Tips, and Tools (provides some options for making word clouds besides Wordle)

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Edited to add later:

• Jen Wagner left a comment on this post on my blog. Here is part of her response:
  As soon as I can get the puzzle to work in PP I will upload it. Right now -- it is 13 different images -- with just the removal of a puzzle piece in each image.
  But -- grins -- I have a plan. :)
  Jen
• Here is what she later sent me on twitter:
  I got the Puzzle to work and uploaded a zip file with the images and the PP file. http://jlwagner.pbworks.com/MoreThanWordles
  On the powerpoint -- the background image has to be the wordle -- apply to all -- and it should work just fine. :) ENJOY