The #2PencilChat is a weekly conversation about educational technology. As we enter a more student-centered age, let's talk about using all the tools in our toolboxes to be innovative and dynamic teachers.
Hey Jo! I'm excited! I'm officially on summer break, so I'm hoping these education chats help keep me in the loop and up-to-date on education stuff! #2pencilchat
I would like to do some sort of exchange where I end up in a perpetual state of fall and spring. I can also abide the warmer parts of winter and the cooler parts of summer. #2PencilChat
A1: I have seen a lot of my Ss flourish with open ended time. Sometimes, they roll with it without me instructing. I have had several turn in random projects (GOOD projects) on their own accord! #2PencilChat
A1: One benefit of doing so is student engagement and evolvement of their problem solving skills. They can surprise you with their creativity! #2PencilChat
Oh my gosh, right? It's always so great when you hear a parent say, "She jumps out of bed to go to school in the morning! That never happened before." #2PencilChat
A1: Students often provide a lens into their interests and otherwise unrealized potential when provided creative time. Some discover new ways to entertain, educate, and transform the mundane into the imaginatively inspired. #2PencilChat
A1.2: Also helps them express their learning in a way that multiple choice will never do. Discovery is a great teacher!! I discover new things each day as a BT that will help me be better each year...I hope anyway. :) #2PencilChat
A1. It allows for a personalised approaches for kids to shine in their own way. When student choice is involved; engagement levels increase! #2PencilChat
in first grade, I find their sweet little minds think of ideas I never would have come up with. As adults, we put limits on ourselves without even realizing it. I love that their creativity has no inhibitions or bounds! #2pencilchat
A1b: Most of the student work I have kept for years was the result of their opportunity to express their creativity. They accomplished more than I could have imagined. #2PencilChat
Drives me nuts sometimes though....some Ss refuse or don't know how to create. Fear of failure? Uncertain how to be? Some don't want to take the time to do something creative. #2PencilChat
Yep, some of 'em have already had all the fun squeezed out of them by well meaning - and wrong - adults. Time to slowly untrain them! Baby steps! #2PencilChat
A1) Creativity is a most valuable skill, helps learners prepare to enter the global economy, as professionals, theyโll have to innovate on the go, think of better ways to solve problems, create time & money saving solutions #2pencilchat
Q2 best part of my job is working with 162 schools - I am constantly photographing ideas from classrooms in our system. Want inspiration? Go straight to the source: real classrooms! #2PencilChat
#2PencilChat Open ended means no pressure, no time limit to stifle creativity. The more freedom students have to explore, design and tinker- the more innovative and purposeful their time will be spent. They will lean in and become active participants in their learning.
Creativity provides opportunity for perspective to be revealed; those lacking clear perspective or w/ limited perspective may struggle to create; those with diverse perspectives can reveal them more readily when provided โcreative time.โ #2PencilChat
Skating over the surface, musicians, artists, movie makers, writers, and society's good natured weirdos all give me ideas worth stealing, I never know where it will come from, so I have to take a lot in.
#2PencilChat
Q2 I am super lucky to work with 8 other first grade teachers in my school- we have a large first grade team. Many of them are seasoned in creative activities and fuel new ideas for topics where I'm feeling stuck on ideas. #2pencilchat
A1: Love seeing their creative works that blow me away and they choose how they want to share a little part of themselves. Creativity is a life long skill that must be nurtured and grown. #2PencilChat
#2PencilChat My 8 year old- he is uninhibited and unencumbered by rules- he plays and through play I see his creativity come to life. This inspires me to play more often. I learn new strategies to build and have fun.
A1 it fosters creativity, I teach middle school and by then most have had it sucked out of them, and desperately need to reconnect with it. I find it takes about half the school year before all of them start to use that time for creation #2PencilChat
A2: I do get inspired by others and tweak their ideas to meet the needs of my Ss. My beautiful brain can look at an object from the dollar store and come up with an activity to do with my Ss in about 5 minutes. In those moments I just want to kiss my brain๐. #2PencilChat
A2 #2pencilchat I appreciate the opportunity to watch my students use the makerspace in my classroom and truly toss the box- break it down and reinvent the box. Seeing them delve into science inspires me to step out if they way & let them choose how they want to learn.
A2: I tend to look for the ideas before the people. The beauty of Twitter to set these before me so readily is great, but sometimes overwhelming. I could name a few and then realize twenty more. #2PencilChat
A2 I donโt really have certain people, I kinda just see whatโs happening in the world around me and take what inspires me and build off that. #2PencilChat
A2 Frequently, some of my favorite ideas for school come from very non-school places. Surprising juxtapositions help us make some of the biggest jumps. #2PencilChat
A3 Drawing, photography, vegan cooking, painting, writing, playing my ukulele badly, these are all things I like to do to stretch creatively. #2PencilChat
A3: I have been learning to tie flies (for flyfishing) making music/soundscapes/vlogs/learning web design. Hoping to have some of these transfer over into the classroom a little at a time. #2PencilChat
A1: Creativity is an amazing exercise in critical thinking. Patterns of color, design, measurement, all play into an ultimate #2PencilChat educ experience.
#2pencilchat A3a Iโm enthralled by the idea of #storycubes#storyspheres#thinglink + immersive learning experiences. I like playing with drones & 360 cameras to capture interesting scenes to make stories of
A3: I used to knit on occasion, but now I tend to invest most of my creative side in what I do at school (perhaps because I am rarely not at school). I love creating Snow Day videos with @TinaFrancis3 (creatively). #2PencilChat
#2PencilChat I love to color and paint. This is my major relaxation side project. My main projects are writing my blog and keeping up on moderating my chats. But honestly in the summer my focus is on PD that I have the opportunity to partake in.
#2pencilchat A3b Consider this clip.. https://t.co/UMmDegv8yM .. what might a geology, history (there were mines all over that mountain) teacher & students do with it? Gotta work out kinks (shaky 360 cam for 1 thing) first tho..
A3: I indulge in doing DIY projects. I like to make lanyards with beautiful beads for my colleagues and myself. I like to paint or write. Basically I am a jack of all trades but master of none! #2PencilChat
A3: I love looking at and reading about art, design, fashion! My original major was fashion design so I gravitate toward anything that gets my creative juices flowing! #2PencilChat
A4: I think the best way to think of creative ideas is to go out in the world and do things. If you think about it too much it will not come to you. #2pencilchat
Me too. I am like Doug in Up- squirrel, I just met you but I love you- I love trying new things and I skip around a lot cause I find many things fascinating and interesting
A4 for me itโs out in nature or during rain (which we never get in SB). I take what I pull from when Iโm outside and bring it inside to develope that thread of creativity. When I get โstuckโ I chose a new location to explore, and lately also driving #2Pencilchat
A4: Big tables, plenty of tape/construction paper/paperclips and throw a little tech in the mix. I have several boys who are constantly building "devices for projectiles" and I try to encourage them to take that engineering and creativity into other projects #2PencilChat
A4: Surrounded by others with great ideas and the freedom to exchange ideas and engage synergy without fear of failureโI like a variety of music options and an abundance of resources and space. #2PencilChat
A3: Bullet Journaling has led me to indulge in hand lettering, water colour painting, sketch noting, doodling, zentangling.. you name it! So many creative projects from one outlet! Also, I spend more time being out in nature with my camera, capturing moments. #2PencilChat
#2Pencilchat I have two optimal locations for different reasons-a quiet spot: empty park or beach even my bedroom-this is when I meditate & clarity & focus brings inspiration AND a bustling, boisterous classroom-I see & hear potential and opportunity as my students collaborate
A4 when I'm traveling - obviously - though I do enjoy planning for parteeeys - making props, designing themes. My kids had the best b'day parties growing up #2PencilChat
A4.2: Taking a problem and creating a solution or possible solutions. Getting them to actually think their creativity can be practical. Not just for the sake of being productive. Again...learning a lot this year and hoping to develop that culture next year! #2PencilChat
A4. I sit in a quiet space, in my comfortable chair where I can look out at the Gulf of Mexico. I did learn something interesting about creative thoughts lately - when stuck, get up, go do something else, clear your mind and go back to it. #2Pencilchat
I'm generally the same, but I bought some Steven Universe building sets (they're MacFarlane, not Lego), and I've really enjoyed putting them together.
#2PencilChat
In reply to
@nathan_stevens, @ChouinardJahant, @valerietilton
#2pencilchat A4a I feel at my most creative in two situations..
1. Desperately seeking relief (from a tough problem)
2. Serendipitously browsing Twitter
A4: A mix... In groups if I need more ideas, alone if I know exactly what I need/want to do, Hobby Lobby if I want to get lost in my ideas. #2pencilchat
A4:As far as the ideas for activities for my Ss are concerned, they usually to me as I'm planning for the week and going through standards and resources I have to implement. Ideas for my personal writing blogs + poems mostly come to me when I'm outdoors by the lake.#2PencilChat
A4 I'm more creative about ideas and thoughts when I can talk, and there's someone there to listen. Not so much even equally, just someone to be there to hear me talk. It's a selfish process. #2PencilChat
#2pencilchat A4b Interestingly the result, if there is one, of a creative moment doesnโt necessarily have to be something practical. Like when @christycate shared #Plotagon.. it helps me express self in a creative way
A1: You have the opportunity to truly โseeโ who they are as a learner. They get to showcase their strengths. Students are more engaged when they have a say in what they do and how they present the knowledge to others. Ss learn to be innovative risk takers. #2PencilChat
A4) Im able to think better alone, on a mountain, hiking a trail, watching a sunset... but then I would need to discuss my ideas & thoughts w/others, get their perspective, join forces #2pencilchat
My boys too. Itโs funny how we ended up that way. I have the smallest collection by far. But am slowly building mine up. I have a bunch in my makerspace in my classroom too. #2PencilChat
In reply to
@MagicPantsJones, @nathan_stevens, @valerietilton
A2: My colleagues, my #teachertribe, my #twittertribe. I love to be inspired by what others are doing, I hope I provide inspiration for others as well. #2PencilChat
A5 Everyday creativity keeps those muscles ready, and makes you better for your students and your craft as a teacher. You become a more open thinker. #2PencilChat
It helps reinforce who we are as people away from our occupations, we have to stay connected to that all year to stay fresh and balanced, plus it helps the kids see that we are real people that are relatable and that geek out on things we are passionate about #2Pencilchat
A5: Stress reliever (so happier person in general) and I get my best ideas for other projects/activites when I'm creating... or walking through Hobby Lobby. #2pencilchat
Unexpected surprises, teachers learning from students, students collaborating and learning from each other, an atmosphere that promotes friendship building-these are things that have happened in my #makerspace this year #2PencilChat
#2PencilChat I truly believe that the more we connect with our inner child- the more we let it become a full fledged member of our entourage- the better we are as educators because we can see the world more as our students do- with revel and awe
A5: When I used to write poetry creatively, this helped me not only to improve my own writing, but to teach it and to consider a variety of perspectives when doing so. #2PencilChat
A5: When you create something using your imagination+ creativity, it brings a lot of satisfaction and joy. When you are in that state of mind, you bring that personality into your teaching& create conditions for your Ss that help them be creative and happy learners. #2PencilChat
A5: Great q! I think I crave the creative process! Itโs one of my favorite things to do! It makes me a better teacher and instructional coach when I pay attention to myself for a while. #2PencilChat Disconnect to reconnect!
A5: It grounds me & it's a great stress reliever so that I can get creative with Ss & Ts. To nurture and experience it for our own creativity for Ss to flourish themselves. Role modelling the importance of creativity through our own practices. #2PencilChat
A4: sometimes quiet, other times meditation or soothing music. Aromatherapy is always nice. Comfortable seating options. Cup of coffee warms me up too. #2PencilChat
