Tag: creative thinking

3-12, Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, Interactive White Board, Motivation, Problem Solving, Student Products, Teaching Tools, Websites

Drawminos

Terri Eichholz

Drawminos is a website that allows you to choose from some “Favorites”, allowing you to drop a ball, and to see the shape created by the toppled dominoes.  The part that I think will engage many students, though, is the “Create” part, in which you can design your own shape to be revealed once the ball is rolled.  It takes some planning and patience to arrange the dominoes how you would like in order to achieve your final design.  Once done, though, you can save your design online, and receive a URL for its specific location.  This could be a great way to introduce a topic, or to have students integrate their learning, their creativity, and their understanding of Physics!

Creative Thinking, Education, Parenting, Teaching Tools

Is There a Bias Against Creativity?

Terri Eichholz
photo credit: tsevis via photopin cc

The fascinating CNN article, “Is There Bias Against Creativity?” should be read by every person that can impact a child’s learning.  It is an affirmation of the importance of creative thinkers and problem solvers in our current world, yet points to the ways that many of us discourage this type of thinking in others and in ourselves.  This article, by Amanda Enayati, gives some reasons for this bias as well as some important ways to remove it based on her interviews with a neuroscientist and notable some notable designers.  It explains why the life of Steve Jobs really was such a unique success story.  One of the more interesting quotes in the story is: “Technology is an amazing empowerment and a huge disablement,” says Laura Richardson, principal designer at frog design. “We are losing our capacity for resilience.”  I highly encourage you to read this article, and pass it along to others so we can try to work on dismantling this bias.

Art, Creative Thinking, Education, K-5, Multiple Intelligences, Student Products, Teaching Tools

Easter Creative Thinking Packet

Terri Eichholz
photo credit: Bibi via photopin cc

I have added an Easter Creative Thinking Packet to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  It is now available for $1.00.  It includes brainstorming ideas, as well as printable worksheets for each of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. creative thinking tools created by Bob Eberle.  My gifted students in 1st-5th enjoy these S.C.A.M.P.E.R. packets, as the activities give them the chance to stretch their imaginations.  We are in the home stretch right now for the school year, and thinking outside the Easter basket could lessen some of the stress!

Art, Creative Thinking, K-12, Student Products

Doodle 4 Google

Terri Eichholz

The Doodle 4 Google contest is up and running, and I love the theme for this year.  It’s, “If I could travel in time, I’d visit…”  It’s open to all K-12 students in U.S. schools, and there are some really amazing prizes, including a Google Chromebook.  If you know a student who is an aspiring artist, be sure to have him or her submit an entry by March 23rd.  To inspire your students, you might want to head over to this link, where some art students created some Art History Google pieces.

Art, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Education, Games, K-12, Motivation, Student Products

The Synergy Challenge

Terri Eichholz

Although I have not participated in these Synergy challenges before, the e-mail from them in my mailbox the other day intrigued me.  I think that students would be excited by the Winter Challenge, which is to design and produce a game. The deadline is April 1, 2012.  There is no entry fee.  See the website for the rules and a great rubric that you might want to download even if you aren’t planning to enter the contest!

3-12, Creative Thinking, Education, Independent Study, Menus, Motivation, Student Products, Teaching Tools, Websites

200 Ways to Show What You Know

Terri Eichholz

200 Ways to Show What You Know, brought to you by John Davitt from www.davittlearning.net, is a simple tool for generating ideas for products.  In other words, it gives suggestions for different ways to “show what you know.”  This allows the student to see that there are other options for projects besides Powerpoint presentations and papers.  If you, as the teacher, don’t feel comfortable in giving your students quite that much freedom (particularly since they may not be familiar with or at the maturity level to complete some of them), you could use the generator yourself, and narrow their choices down to a few that appeal to you for assessment possibilities.  Then, it might be easier for you to create accompanying rubrics with your expectations.