Creativity Tools

Time flies when you are having fun! It is time for me to post my reflections on creativity tools, yet I feel like I've just begun to scratch the surface on the abundance of tools available to teachers and students.



Creativity Tools

If you are wondering where the comparison for  is, well you are looking at it in the above chart. Canva is a graphic-design creator. It is an iPad app and allows the creation of many charts, graphs, posters, and Venn diagrams. I like that it is easy to select a template and add your own text. At this point, I like the app more for myself. It is useful in organizing my thoughts and creating visually pleasing data. I love it when information is bulleted and easy to read. This would be a great tool for high-school students and I would definitely suggest it as a Digital Learning Coach.  

Flip Grid

Flip Grid supports student learning and good teaching. 

Using the example in the chart under student use for Flip Grid, the content goal 5.4(H) represent and solve problems related to perimeter and/or area. is to show how they worked through the following math problem:

Different partner groups are given choices A, B, C and D and they must justify their answer as either correct or incorrect.
The best pedagogical approach would be collaborative learning. Students who work together learn more and retain more.  Collaborative pedagogy traces its philosophical roots to the social constructivist philosophy of Richard Rorty.  Partners working together to discuss, plan, and solve. Then partners discussing and asking questions of other partners. Finally, sharing their results with the rest of the class. Flip Grid ( technology affordance) supports this pedagogical approach by allowing the final results to be shared via video format with the entire class. Students can then comment on the different videos reflecting on the ways everyone went about solving the problem. They can see who thought like they did and who had a different approach that also worked.

Flip Grid student response example

An additional way that Flip Grid could be used is as a response to reading. In the content of Science, students can be assigned partners and an article on any topic. Students can upload their thinking to a scaffolding strategy used for reading non-fiction text. The video response to the article showing their discussion and questioning in order to slow down and develop understanding. Other students can then comment and learn how everyone developed understanding.

Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies by Kylene Beers and Bob Probst

Science reading can sometimes be difficult to understand. The Vygotsky theory of cognitive development states that students will learn more when they receive guidance from someone with more skills in the subject they’re learning than they would if they were tackling the subject on their own. The above "Three Questions" scaffold will help the student solve any comprehension problems. It helps them to slow down and pay more attention to the non-fiction text. This is a questioning strategy that can help them clear up any confusion they will experience in a more difficult text.  Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky developed the ZPD and the Vygotsky theory of cognitive development, while Jerome Bruner developed scaffolding psychology several decades later. This pedagogical approach to reading science non-fiction text along with the integrated technology affords students opportunities to own their thinking and learning.

Knowledge and use of Creativity Tools
As a teacher and educational technology leader, it is important to know about several creativity tools.  Having several tools to select from to show their learning will keep students interacting with all content. Students can get bored of just using Flip Grid in the same way for all content after a while.  Providing several choices will encourage engagement. Using creativity tools helps empower learners. They are able to create their own meaning and show their learning in different ways. I personally don't care for iMovie 
. I have used it several times and find that there are several other apps to tell a story digitally. There is still value in this app for my up and coming students. Using their epistemic curiosity they can make meaning of any content area. Students are so unique in their approach to learning that they constantly teach me new ways of creating. Just this year, students showed me a new feature to add voice to this app. I am so glad I let them experiment with something I thought was "older" technology. I can now see, this old gem can continue to empower students. Plus, the kids love the final product and when it is relevant to them, the content gets learned that much better.

"Folio Thinking"

Reflection on Portfolios
In 2010 I walked into my very first teaching interview. I was nervous but felt confident about what I brought to the table. I was leaving corporate America and joining the educational world as a bilingual educator no less. I had high scores from my teacher prep and certification tests. I sat in a room with other interviewees. I was competing with recent college graduates and they held in their hands: binders. Physical portfolios of their teaching projects and experiences. I held nothing in mine. In my interview, I answered questions about my capabilities as an educator and I was judged on how I answered those questions. I tried to tell them what I knew from my teacher prep classes and my Army experiences but I just didn't have the evidence of that learning with any type of artifacts.

A Portfolio: More Relevant and Meaningful to my Professional Goals

I would have preferred in 2010 having a physical portfolio, as it would have shown the process I had gone through to get to that interview. "Lifewide" experiences that encompassed several countries, languages, and passion for education.

Fast forward to present day as a learner pursuing a graduate degree.

I would hands-down select an electronic portfolio. 

The best tool for me
The digital portfolio that I have selected to use is created in Weebly.
Here is my link:    America Rainey's Digital Portfolio
I found Weebly to have a large variety of themes and templates that were very easy to use.  I quickly created a portfolio skeleton that I will continue to update. It was easy to maneuver and even used the uploaded picture to select a color palette that was coordinated. It had several images included in the theme selected without any effort expended on my part to put it all together.  The tabs included will make it easy to set up for my journey through the masters program. I playtested a Wiki at PBworks.com. It was difficult to establish for a portfolio but I think I found a great way for our 5th-grade team to keep team agendas. A couple of websites I tried were Google Sites and Wix. I am still on the fence about Wix since it seems to also be very easy to use.  I will continue to play with it, but for now, my decision is Weebly for my eportfolio.

The best tool for my students
I also played with Google Sites. It was also, very easy to use. However, I prefer it for my students. The main reason for this is it has fewer bells and whistles! Have you ever seen a 5th grader try to commit to a color or background?  I have and for this main reason, Google Sites is a better technology affordance for them. I love google sites for the minimal technical knowledge needed to set up and update.  It affords students complete control over their learning. They will choose artifacts and reflect upon them. This pedagogical approach is in line with constructivism. I can see them doing a peer review with each other and collaborating. 5th graders tend to be hard on themselves when finding ways they have grown but very optimistic when it comes to their BFF's.

Support Learning
Students who have created a google sites portfolio (Technology) may choose a Science artifact (Content)from each of the four reporting categories: Matter, Force and Motion, Earth Science, or Ecosystems to upload and reflect on their learning.  Peers can additionally review each other's uploaded artifacts and reflect on the one that impacts their learning the most. This is the constructivist approach to learning. In this way learning is social and they are making meaning out of their peer's artifact. In this (pedagogical approach) to learning they are taking their prior knowledge (knowledge of their own artifact) and experience in creating it and reflecting on what more they have learned on the topic.

With digital portfolios, my students and I will never be left just answering someone's questions about our learning, but instead be in charge of what WE want them to know about our journey, our passion, and experiences.

Playtesting Technology: Blogs

What is a Blog? A collection of ruminations and personal opinions compiled on a public website. Referred to also as weblog, blog or e-journal. A blog can have several purposes and be a highly subjective medium. The reason being that it is created by one person and sometimes a group with a common goal (the math or science department). The posts are often personal reflections that are shared publicly with the intent to get readers to comment and start a meaningful discourse.  They are informative and can identify your mantra. It can show how easily you may fit into an establishment's culture- akin to a resume.

Similarities among Blogs I playtested several platforms: Blogger, Wix, Weebly, Edublog, and KidBlog. These are free and some open source forums. The blogs have the following common features: themes can be selected easily and applied, the author can select and name a topic to post about, the author can enable visitors to comment, and the author can easily moderate and tag any material to be published to other social media. (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,etc.).

What are Glogs and Vlogs There are Glogs which look like a digital posterboard.

Carbohydrates Glog by 5j2014msconneally.wordpress.com

and vlogs which are essentially the same as a blog but in video format. Just google some popular YouTubers and you will see a great example of a vlog and vlogging.

Differences They differ from discussion boards in that boards allow for multiple voices to be seen in a thread.  Participation is not deemed equal in a blog, hence this is where I can reflect on the affordance of a blog for learning. I am a person that needs some time to think and contemplate. A blog provides me the opportunity to give my perspective and gives me time to interpret deeply the topic at hand without having to fight to get a word in edgewise or feel like the great thought I just had should have come 10 minutes ago. As an author of a blog or as a person that comments on one I feel of greater value to the conversation and topic at hand. Although I may participate in a discussion board, I always feel pressed for the next thing to say and some of my comments may not always make sense in a threaded debate.

Blogs in Science can support students just like me. Moreover, 2nd language learners can greatly benefit and improve their writing and speaking skills. A personal blog post on content taught in science could greatly increase an EL's proficiency level in writing and speaking.  I find that these are the descriptors that offer the biggest challenge to improve yearly. Student work that I might design using a blog would be the following:  Science lesson on a guiding question such as:

1. What is observed when the path of light is changed? (either reflection or refraction)

After a scaffolded lesson on vocabulary for reflection and refraction, the students can participate in a hands-on lab lesson where they observe and identify reflection and refraction. In a group of 4, they can discuss a preplanned High-level question stem such as: How does refraction compare/contrast with reflection? This is the analyze level of Blooms. They would then evaluate by preparing a Flipgrid video. This would justify their learning. The students are thinking, discussing and the genius of adding the affordance of a blog is that the students are then writing their own thoughts to this question. Creating by authoring their own learning. Students can read and comment on classmates blog posts by creating their own High-Level Question with stems. 

TPACK model The content standard,(5.6(C) demonstrate that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or travels through one medium to another and demonstrate that light can be reflected such as the use of mirrors or other shiny surfaces and refracted such as the appearance of the object when observed through water) Pedagogy(Constructivism, Scaffolded, Collaborative ), technology  (FlipGrid video, Blogging) support learning and when done often can increase TELPAS level descriptors in writing and speaking.  A necessary accomplishment for English Language Learners. Not to mention academic vocabulary retention since they are repeatedly writing, thinking, discussing and reading about those specific vocabulary terms.  Despite the obstacle of technology maybe lagging or not being available at times.  A personalized blog account that they can be the authors and dictators to can be a direct motivator to write and write some more. 

Affordances of Blogger



The students at my school all have Gmail accounts and creating Blogger accounts would be accomplished easily. Additionally, they would enjoy the themes provided and if started the first week of school they would truly see blogging as a digitized journal for their perspectives and thoughts. This affordance would intrigue even the most skeptical writer because they would be able to see they all have a voice and a platform to be heard. I find that it has a great organization as well. It is easy to post to and I can see being a co-author on it with the rest of the Science Department on my campus connecting all of our 5th-grade students incidentally growing our learning community. The feasibility of keeping all things Google would be a teachers dream since there would be a great support through our technology department.  

Affordances of Wix websites 



 It has a counter to track visits to your blog and this could be a motivator to write insightful material. It is easy to customize the look and header. Adding any type of personal logos, renaming tabs and updating the cover photos are something a 10-year-old (5th grader) or adult (teacher)  can handle with ease. So many color themes, the possibilities??  Additionally, you can connect your twitter handle and create a feed.  I could see a professional development affordance by this being used as a reflective tool and inviting other educators to share those thoughts with you. Adding pages and features is simple. I found myself catching on quickly to the customization of it. 

Affordances of Kidblog



I have had experience with Kidblog. I have a teacher account set up for a previous year's class. The affordance of this blog was student engagement and clarified thinking. Specifically,  I used it as a choice in a menu to complete evidence of their learning. Kid-friendly themes (cats, color extreme).  I could also see students using it as their digital data folder, with their smart goals every 6 weeks. Keeping up with physical data folders would be a thing of the past and digitized updates would be so fast and easy.



Affordances of Weebly

Using Weebly as a class blog would be to allow students to practice digital citizenship.  It is easy as an educator to moderate and students could practice interacting online in the proper way. Students could even give the teacher feedback. Sort of taking the place of the physical suggestion box in the old classroom. Allowing them an opportunity to build character by being a solution creator and not just a complainer. Class blogs would be safe places to have concerns and be heard and work together as a team to find solutions. 

Affordances of Edublog

The Edublog accounts seemed very versatile and easy to use. Moreover, it seemed like monitoring this particular blog from the educator side would be relatively easy. An affordance highly needed in a demanding teacher schedule.