i-Create

“Ultimately it's the process of having original ideas, but there are several steps. The first step is imagination, the capacity that we all have to see something in the mind's eye. Creativity is then using that imagination to solve problems -- call it applied imagination. Then innovation is putting that creativity into practice as applied creativity" (Robinson, 2006 cited in Scanlan, 2006 )

Creativity requires whole-brain thinking; right-brain imagination, artistry and intuition, plus left-brain logic and planning. (Naiman, 2006)

Creativity improves pupils' self-esteem, motivation and achievement

Pupils who are encouraged to think creatively and independently become:

• more interested in discovering things for themselves

• more open to new ideas

• keen to work with others to explore ideas

• willing to work beyond lesson time when pursuing an idea or vision.

As a result, their pace of learning, levels of achievement and self-esteem increase.

Creativity prepares pupils for life

(QCDA, 2010)






The world is in the grips of a technological revolution. In fact one might refer to it as an explosion, due to its rapid expansion. It was not so long ago that people feared for loss of jobs with its introduction. George Orwell in his novel, ‘1984’published in 1949, termed the phrase ‘Big Brother’. Paradoxically in the year 1982, Time magazine exonerated the computer, by naming it ‘Machine of the Year’, replacing its annual feature, ‘Man of the Year’. The passionate inventors and devotees now form the echelon of the ‘Rich List’. The technology has come a long way in development, since it first burst out the garage doors, of David Packard and Bill Hewlett’s California residence. The year was 1939. Their first model the HP 200A Audio Oscillator was used by Walt Disney in his 1940 movie ‘Fantasia’. Technology and creativity were linked at the onset of computer technology.

Computer – generated graphics formed 30 minutes of Disney’s film ‘Tron’ released in 1982. The plot featured computers and animation created by 111, Abel, Magi and Digital Effects. Later in 1984 William Gibson published his Science Fiction book, ‘Neuromancer’. In this novel he coined the term ‘cyberspace’. He referred to it as:


"A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding..." (p. 51).

The ‘Horizon’ Report 2010 identifies and describes six new key trends that are likely to become ‘main stream’ in the future. These technologies are mobile computing, open content, augmented reality (the blending of virtual data - information, rich media and even live action – with what we see in the real world, for the purpose of enhancing what we perceive with our senses), virtual - books, gesture based computing such as the interactive screens recently released and virtual data analyses. These six trends are all shifting towards personal creativity. They are making it possible for people to communicate access and store information, research and be educated on a local or global basis. Many of these technologies contain touch sensors. Computer mediated communication (CMC) has come a long way from its humble origins in a garage.


Educators are asking themselves how they can rise to the challenge of using these rapidly developing technologies effectively as learning tools. The focus appears to be centering on developing more autonomous learning, or to what J. Stephenson, (2001) terms the South East Quadrant, where tasks are open ended, strategic and learner managed. J. McKenzie, (2001) research identifies ‘andragogy’ (the adult learning mode), as opposed to pedagogy (instructor directed learning), as the most effective teaching style. She states that school cultures should shift towards, ‘a personal journey of growth and discovery that engages the learner. One learns by doing and exploring . . . by trying, by failing, by changing and adapting strategies and by overcoming the obstacles after many trials’.

All of the personal creative technologies identified and explored on this blog are aimed at journeying along the continuum of rapidly emerging technologies. They have been road tested and deemed to be user friendly. Thought has been given to the layout to make it enticing. ENJOY!


REFERENCES:


McKenzie, J. (2001). How Teachers Learn Technology Best FNO.ORG From Now On The Educational Technology Journal Vol 10/No6/ March.

Naiman, L. (2006) Creativity at work. Retrieved on Aparil, 2010 from http://www.creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/whatis.htm

Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (2010) National Curriculum http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/learning-across-the-curriculum/creativity/whyiscreativitysoimportant/index.aspx  

Scanlan, J (2006) Reading, Writing, and Creativity. Business Week: Growing Artistic Talent . Retrieved on April, 2010 from
http://www.businessweek.com/print/innovate/content/feb2006/id20060223_167340.htm

Stephenson, J. (2001).Teaching and learning online: pedagogies for new technologies, London: Kogan Page.

The NEW MEDIA CONSORTIUM and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (2010).The 2010 Horizon Report, California: The New Media Consortium.

Timeline of Computer History Retrieved May 15 2010, from http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?year=1939