Virtual Reality For Real Creativity

Virtual reality is one of the most powerful tools an educator could use in the classroom. Quite literally, it brings new and exciting learning through a whole new 3D world. Specifically, I see Virtual reality be used for history, for example for a dig and site study (ACDSEH002, ACDSEH003, ACDSEH004).

Can you image students seeing with their own eyes for the first time, the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome?! Or to stand in the tomb of the Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, a living and immortal god, he that protects Egypt and subdues foreign lands…

Case studies have already documented VR as engaging, visual and historical (Squire and Jenkins, 2003; Roussou, 2000). It is the most wonderful creative and educational tool (Abulrub, Attridge & Williams, 2011; Craft, 2010; Middleton, 2005); to bring history alive like never before. Students will quite literally see “wonderful things” (what Howard Carter said when he first saw inside Tutankhamen’s tomb). For example,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBuijx_iZtQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9zWmURQcyc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRgdT2m51Bc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0EVnOqvguQ

 

Unsurprisingly, VR’s uses go beyond history, as VR is engaging and improves learning outcomes (Hew & Cheung, 2010, 42), suited to many different resources such as Google Earth and Expedition. There is Aura for scanning, Quiver for colouring, and Coding vr with Blocky and CoSpaces. Namely, CoSoaces has the advantage because Scratch is several years old whereas Co Spaces is a year old and tailored for education. For Science there is InCell VR. For numeracy, there is the Commonwealth bank’s financial literacy VR and app experience. For literacy, these engaging 3D afforces can be used In every subject, e.g. English for a newspaper, or to read the book first, building Digital storytelling and competences as well – for example, view the world and game I created, at:

VR fulfils critical ICT capabilities’, and use, integral to the NSW Syllabus, for student’s thinking, learning, and creative skills – in a proven-engaging manner (Alsawaier, 2018; Reading, 2007; Bricken, 1991; MCEETYA, 2004, p.9). Such historical skills are critical, interactive, decision making, evaluation and perspective-taking thinking skills that all students need (Schrier, 2005, 11; Squire & Barab, 2004; Paxton, 1999; Hoge, 2003; Barton, 1997; Butts & Gagnon, 1988). Moreover, VR makes the historical site, location or museum dramatically more “accessible and attractive” to students (Roussou, 2000, 2; Thomas and Mintz, 1998; Roussou and Efraimoglou, 1999).VR has been cited as beneficial for ESL (visuals are not constrained by language) and even students with disabilities (Cromby et al., 1995). The best thing is the simple new affordability and accessibility. Critically, VR does need teacher direction but more importantly student reflection and consolidation (Roussou, 2000, 6), to consolidate and assess learning.

Consequently, according to Roussou, (2000) the educational use of VR in history is a future: “innovative… compelling…the provider of strong tools for learning” (1).

 

For more educational Virtual Reality, see also:

https://sraeblog219354078.wordpress.com/virtual-reality-module/

 

 

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Refrences

Abulrub, A. H. G., Attridge, A. N., & Williams, M. A. (2011). Virtual reality in engineering education: The future of creative learning. In Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 2011 IEEE (pp. 751-757). IEEE.

Alsawaier, R. S. (2018). The effect of gamification on motivation and engagement. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 35(1), 56-79.

Barton, K. C. (1997). History–It Can Be Elementary: An Overview of Elementary Students’ Understanding of History. Social Education, 61(1), 13-16.

Butts, F. R. and Gagnon, P. (1988) The Morality of Democratic Citizenship: Goals for Civic Education in the Republic’s Third Century. Calabasas, Ca: Center for Civic Education.

Bricken, M. (1991). Virtual Reality Learning Environments: Potentials and Challenges. Computer Graphics 25(3), 178-184.

Craft, A. (2010). Creativity and Education Futures: Learning in a Digital Age. Trentham Books Ltd. Westview House 734 London Road, Oakhill, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 5NP, UK.

Cromby, J., Standen, P., Brown, D. (1995). Using Virtual Environments in Special Education. VR in the Schools 1(3), 1-4.

Hew, K. F. and Cheung, W. S. (2010), Use of three‐dimensional (3‐D) immersive virtual worlds in K‐12 and higher education settings: A review of the research. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41: 33-55. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00900.x

Hoge, J. (2003) Teaching History for Citizenship in the Elementary School. ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education. Bloomington, In: ERIC Digest.

MCEETYA: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2004). Content strategy: Learning in an online world. Carlton South, Australia: MCEETYA.

Middleton, H. (2005). Creative thinking, values and design and technology education. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 15(1), 61-71.

Paxton, R. J. (1999) A Deafening Silence: History Textbooks and the Students Who Read Them, Review of Educational Research. 69(3): 315-339.

Reading, C. (2007). Recognising and measuring engagement in ICT-rich learning. SiMERR National Centre, University of New England.

Roussou, M. (2000). Immersive interactive virtual reality and informal education. In Proceedings of User Interfaces for All: Interactive Learning Environments for Children (pp. 1-9).

Roussou, M. and Efraimoglou, D. (1999). High-end Interactive Media in the Museum. In Computer Graphics, ACM SIGGRAPH 1999, 59-62.

Schrier, K. L. (2005). Revolutionizing history education: Using augmented reality games to teach histories (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies).

Squire, K. (2011). Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age. Technology, Education–Connections (the TEC Series). Teachers College Press. 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027.

Squire, K., & Barab, S. (2004). Replaying history: Engaging urban underserved students in learning world history through computer simulation games. In Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Learning sciences (pp. 505-512). International Society of the Learning Sciences. http://labweb.education.wisc.edu/room130/PDFs/squire01.pdf

Squire, K., & Jenkins, H. (2003). Harnessing the power of games in education. Insight, 3(1), 5-33.

Thomas, S., Mintz, A. (1998). The Virtual and the Real: Media in the Museum, American Association of Museums.

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/see-ancient-world-through-virtual-reality-180962237/

https://www.google.com/search?q=virtual+realty&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6u9Omn7TbAhVIxrwKHXbyD9YQ_AUICigB

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=xCoSW_SmA8WY8wWToa7oCQ&q=virtual+reality+history&oq=virtual+realty+hi&gs_l=img.1.0.0i10i24k1.113652.117223.0.119881.3.3.0.0.0.0.542.1125.2-1j1j0j1.3.0….0…1c.1.64.img..0.3.1122…0i10i30k1j0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.nYAdMGSIAsQ

Giphy

https://giphy.com/gifs/tech-virtual-reality-htc-vive-4BHzWQxx8fCpO/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/nutsandbolts-viceland-nuts-bolts-l0K1STVI5NyhGvbSU/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/gif-art-mmciii-geographical-indeterminate-fantasies-26BRxENao2jAzSe08/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/vr-9EAzNeKppQXnO/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/vr-63CnnWWELhmbm/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/vr-M6Ov2sE4H0Y3C/media

Electrical Learning through Circuts of Creativity in Constructivism & The Maker Movement

 

The use of constructivism and the maker in education directly spreads a “mindset” of “creative innovation and thinking” (Peppler and Bender, 2013, 22), for the creation of “beneficial learning environments” (Martin, 2015, 1).

Under the maker movement teachers and students can fulfil the NSW Syllabus’s crucial and critical ICT competencies. Take for example your class is working within History, under the syllabus outcomes: HT4-8 and HT4-10, over about four lessons, conducting a viral or archaeological historical site study, or that of a societies geographical features. (Students describe the physical features of the ancient society and how they influenced the civilisation that developed there (ACDSEH002, ACDSEH003, ACDSEH004)) (https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/hsie/history-k10/outcomes/ )

Therein, multiple different technologies can be used to achieve their learning goals, giving students important choice, control and mastery over their own learning. For example, students download or print the archaeological site – after viewing 360° on google earth or google expeditions, with a computer, iPhone or VR search. Then, using 3D printing, such as Tinker, they would recreate or make the whole or sections of this site as viewed from the air. Important and significant historical sections could be programmed to respond to technology, for example, Aura. This scannable information becomes a living and virtual presentation that their classmates can view, once they have mastered the constructivism and maker powered ICT and learning, skills they need to do so.

Like a Jigsaw reminiscent activity, in accountable groups, students could code and program, and achieve mastery and control, over the drone with an attachable camera to command it to fly to determined locations within the classroom, or the outside and physicals natural environment of the school. A teacher could even foster literacy with a map and directional reading and geographical knowledge by providing a perimeter of latitudes and longitude within which the students have to seek the objective of their leaning. Once the groups of students have collectively and collaboratively (utilising 21^st century skills such a computational thinking, group work, peer work and social and professional collaboration) discovered the land, site or object – the goal of their self-directed learning – their instructed drone can hover, can and take photos of that 3D printed site or school geographical object which would give them other student groups information of their historical site in the form of a presentation.

Here, reflection is crucial, and learning can be combined and consolidated into real-time group work and a whole class platform such as google docs, within google classroom, where the learning is collaboratively shared, made, and constructed from the ground and technology up, into new minds – and thus, into a new and creative world, brimming with all the possibilities of a 21^st century future.

Refrences

Martin, Lee (2015) “The Promise of the Maker Movement for Education,” Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER): Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 4.
https://doi.org/10.7771/2157-9288.1099

Peppler, K., & Bender, S. (2013). Maker Movement Spreads Innovation One Project at a Time. Phi Delta Kappan Magazine, 95(3), 22-27.

https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/hsie/history-k10/outcomes/

Giphy: Search Construction, the maker movement, archaeology
https://giphy.com/gifs/play-war-children-3o7TKzhPqGvUDm3pba/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/art-timelapse-architecture-3o6fJbwm4XOnO4BIMo/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/movement-MUZZXwQGd1u48/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/warnerarchive-warner-archive-doc-savage-3o6Zto3GLAbK27C0co/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/duke-archaeology-archeology-5beKIhOG6P11kGM7KD/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/nowthisnews-germany-nowthis-sauropod-srtO6PVxH3BG8/media

https://giphy.com/gifs/tech-virtual-reality-htc-vive-4BHzWQxx8fCpO/media

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends,

Stay updated and get excited because two more posts on Digital Creativity and Learning will be coming by the 11th of June!

– Sharon.

The Robots Are Coming!

Robotics can be used to think of the future and prepare learners for the future likely to be one, or one of the ones they face. We cannot reconcile them to a jobless future: but we can prepare them, to teach them, and to help them learn, to live alongside these machines in a new reality none of us can truly forsee.

As recently as 2007, Chambers, Carbonaro, Rex and Grove conducted a case study examining Robotics in the middle school, and discovered many positive correlations. Robotics encouraged particular, complex, communicative, collaborative and problem-solving skills; which in turn prompted deeper student learning by the need for reflection (Fischer & Immordino-Yang, 2002; Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989; Bonk and Cunningham, 1998, 26; Barker and Arsonage, 2006). Moreover, it was found that even teacher institutional and observational practices improved and became more effective for the processes of research and understanding.

 

The pedagogical implementation issues and program challenges are many, robots may be expensive for schools to procure, and the programming of them is not always logical. Conversely to Chambers et al (2007) positive constructionist perspective review; Barker & Ansorge (2006) declare there is no evidence for the inclusion of robotics in the classroom. (p.1842) Even Chambers et al (2007) agree the use of robots requires much patience from students and their teacher, and a great deal of teacher introduction and grounding of the topic. Robotics needs to be contextualised and grounded in subject content knowledge, which may be difficult to do in all subjects. Robotics does seem to lend itself well to science, maths, technology and programming uses, particularly.

That being said, Robotics could be useful for skills building within the disciplines of Secondary History and English. As Chambers et al (2007) declare, these essential skills can be built by the teacher later and be used to foster deeper learning. This use in skills development is especially suited to Chambers et al (2007) “the middle years” (56), so Australian Curriculum Stage 3-5 learners.

For example, the process and patience required to build and program a robot could be linked to English literacy, poetry, and the writing process. For History, the robotic technology skills needed could be linked to the historical investigation process of source analysis and archaeologists on a site, of the human manual building process. In English this is the slow process of building up vocabulary and writing skills, the process of experimentation until one gets the programming right, the poem complete, the story told, the meaning across, the code computed. For History, this is investigative, where students find out, and make work and to craft something practical form the material. The inquiry process and methodology could be linked to that of archaeologists on a site; or the human skill, the manual and hands-on process needed for the whole of history to be creative and build houses and all other things needed by the self and by hand and with the materials at hand.

 

Hence, Robotics opens up a word of practical and necessary skills to be built upon and applied within a creative classroom and world.

References:

Barker, B., & Ansorge, J. (2006, October). The effectiveness of robotics in the classroom. In E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 1842-1848). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Bonk, C. J., & Cunningham, D. J. (1998). Chapter 2: Searching for learner-centered, constructivist, and sociocultural components of collaborative educational learning tools. In C. J. Bonk & K. S. King (Eds.), Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse (pp. 25-50). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32–42.

Chambers, J. M., Carbonaro, M., Rex, M., & Grove, S. (2007). Scaffolding knowledge construction through robotic technology: A middle school case study. Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, 6, 55-70.

Fischer, K. W., & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2002). Cognitive development and education: From dynamic general structure to specific learning and teaching. Retrieved April 16, 2006, from Harvard Graduate School of Education, Spencer Foundation Web site: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ddl/articlesCopy/SpencerPaperFinalFigs0302.pdf

Google Images: Robots

https://www.google.com/search?q=robots&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi02_3nz8XaAhXBVLwKHe4jA-EQ_AUICigB&biw=1094&bih=547

Giphy :

https://giphy.com ; https://giphy.com/search/robots ; robots

 

https://giphy.com/gifs/robotics-cyberpunk-cyber-4tgnXOY0UxzF

giphy search: robots in the classroom

 

 

 

 

 

Gaming for Education!

 

Gaming within the classroom is a digital frontier with many possibilities, entering into the creative learning environment with a literacy almost all students can speak – this weeks example is Kodu (https://www.kodugamelab.com/).

Kodu has may educational uses (Soy, 2013; Stolee and Fristoe, 2011; Fowler, 2012; Caci, Chiazzese, D’Amic0, 2013), for example for student engagement as a storytelling medium (Barrett, 2006; Mellon, 1999); and particularly for learning programming (Fowler and Cusack, 2011; Fowler, Fristce, MacLauren, 2012).

Especially, It has special applications in History in particular, take for example Stage 4/5.

The game format can be used to explore an ancient landscape, world and time, like nothing else. The limitations, of course, is that this interface requires extensive extra time in lesson and teacher time and preparation. It may be distracting to student learning, and to the purpose and outcomes of the unit; with students taking more or less time than expected to complete. Nevertheless, it is what Weinstein & Underwood (1985) term “active learning processes” (230).

Moreover, The teacher can craft (take example from the photos and loop videos of the game I created) and create the gaming interface into a safe, controlled, contained and customisable environment, with assured content. The interactive interface of the game brings the ancient past into a present and interactive future, intimately connecting to students “life words” (Miller, 2007, 79).

 

For example, if students were learning about Medieval History, Europe and the Crusades. The teacher could build the landscape of Jerusalem, the positions of key characters and historical or student researched quotes in comment boxes on the European/ invading side and the Muslim side, hence allowing for perspectives. The routes and movments of the army and individuals could be plotted in terms of historical cause and effect. Items that are sources of inquiry and historical primary sources could be found by the students to help them piece together a construction of history using sources, individuals and accounts. There is power here where choices could be made to alter or see how History is shaped by the victors, or by one perspective- or even just how easily a ‘truth’ can change by the evidence presented, the choice made, the source discovered, the quote read, the name that echoes through the ages. Students could program their own historical characters of choice into the game and battle.
Neither does Kodu stand alone:

Similarly, Shock Wave Flash is one example of an interactive gaming technology that I have used in my own classrooms, in history and English, to great and engaging effect.
Minecraft is a common and well-used gaming tool within the classroom, for example.

 

Thus, Gaming can be used in any subject (Killii, 2005; Gong et al, 2010), but I see its powers in history- an easier technological transition into a field where the established and popular technology of Minecraft has already stood for many years.

Refrences

Miller, S. M. (2007). English teacher learning for new times: Digital video composing as multimodal literacy practice. English Education, 40, 61-83.

Weinstein, C. E., & Underwood, V.L. (1985). Learning strategies: the ‘how’ of learning. In J. W. Segal, (Eds.). Thinking and learning skills (Volume 1, 241-258). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum..Google Scholar

 

Giphy.com

 https://giphy.com/gifs/minecraft-pkshuOzWpo9LG

https://giphy.com/gifs/minecraft-c8gwYVLVrJxBu

https://giphy.com/gifs/technology-data-transfer-optical-fiber-l41YvpiA9uMWw5AMU

Google Images: Kodu Game Lab

Coding Into The Future

Coding is the process of programming or directing instructions to computers which the computer then uses to complete tasks (Perry, 2015, 1); taking as our main examples Blocky and Hour of Code.

Coding has beneficial skills for a future in the modern world and in the digital age. It encourages deep problem-solving skills, and persistence, and patience. Although situated in the 80’s, Pea and Kurland (1984) even go so far as to propose that coding may have increased benefits for “cognitive effects, general higher mental functions and directly influence the quality of education” (137). Imagine the limited skills and abilities of computers then, imagine what more, and what more benefits, they are capable of exerting now! Furthermore, on Page 158 they go on to cite numerous studies evidencing codings benefits within the classroom, including metathinking, problem-solving skills and even social-interactional skills.

Moreover, there is a certain power and self-esteem attached to the successful use and control of a computer; or what code.org describes as “the computer sciences” (https://code.org/about).

Perhaps beneficially, coding is often presented to a younger audience in the format of a game, take for example: Blocky.

By connecting to the student’s word,

as for example

with angry birds (https://studio.code.org/hoc/1) ,

Frozen/ Anna and Elsa (http://studio.code.org/s/frozen/stage/1/puzzle/1)

and Blocky Maze (https://blockly-games.appspot.com/maze?lang=en) , startingly resembling Google Maps-

this Modern emerging technology becomes all the more powerful and relevant.

The program quickly becomes engaging by inviting a persistence to achieve and a determination for success in the learner. Conversely, on some students, this hardship in solving the map and breaking the code may quickly result in rejection and refusal, as these students refrain from fulfilling their perhaps tentative self-efficacies and Pygmalion and self-fulfilling prophecies by quitting, and disengaging before they fail. The repetitive nature, also may seem mundane to some users, while the point may be lost on others. This is not an inclusive use of programming and computer technologies; as they can be complex, visually and spatially confusing, difficult to maneuver, click and hold the mouse, and find the solution to a problem that seems to defy orders. Instructions may be hard to follow, the map to understand, and the program to decipher. This may lead to frustration, problem behaviour and distraction and game distraction by in some students. Angry Birds may be considered outdated; Elsa too easy and childish, and Google Maps strange and devoid of graphics.

Nevertheless, Computer Codings uses and potential in the classroom is only down to the imagination; actively applying life skills in every subject, and for a compter-filled future.

References

Perry, C. (2015). Coding in schools. dera.ioe.ac.uk ; http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/27369/1/3715.pdf

Pea, R. D., & Kurland, D. M. (1984). On the cognitive effects of learning computer programming. New ideas in psychology, 2(2), 137-168.

Frozen: http://studio.code.org/s/frozen/stage/1/puzzle/1

Angry Birds: https://studio.code.org/hoc/1

https://giphy.com/gifs/angry-birds-xg5ZLKsji35y8/

Blocky Maze/ Google Maps: https://blockly-games.appspot.com/maze?lang=en

https://code.org/about

https://giphy.com

https://giphy.com/gifs/batman-arkham-footage-QHE5gWI0QjqF2/

https://giphy.com/gifs/glitch-art-3uwclrlVzE6dO/

Google Images

: blocky coding, hour of code, coding, computer coding

Design Based Learning and 3D Printing

 

 

3D PRINTING FOR THE FUTURE

3D printing is, like the ocean, the new final frontier. 3D printing is my chosen focus for this week as creativity just streams free with this powerful tool for learning and visualisation; which “opens up novel opportunities that have never before been feasible for creative production and prototypes” (Canesca, Fonda, & Zennaro, 2013)

Everyone becomes an artist, and the artist a sculptor. The mysteries of science, the wonders of history, the skull of Hamlet, the beauty of art and the glory of the mind itself – a students mind – can be translated from words to a real and feeling life. It is one thing to draw, and to dare to create, yet it is an entirely different matter to see that creation forged in the fires of a filament that melts and twists and turns and reels, and thus, draws the power of imagination, into the light of reality.

In class and in the library, I created these, using 3D Pen and Printer:

Conversely, the filament used in printing is expensive, as with the printers themselves – a serious issue for funding in schools. The filament is heated to around 185-205 degrees celcus– a very dangerous temperature, with a high possibility of burns with improper, inexperienced and unsupervised use.

It can scratch, and snap back into the eyes or onto the skin, especially with the use of the pens. Some artworks or processes of experimentation can be messy, and fingers can get caught or burnt in the machines. As the technology is still new, there may be health risks, such as inhaling the strong smell of the heated plastics, that are as yet unforeseen. Moreover, reckless Plastic use is not encouraging the environmentally aware schools, students and citizens we are trying to teach.

Creativity is fostered by the design elements of the programs. Where Sketchup was used before now a large selection of programs can be utilised in the world of 3D printing. In the past students may have engaged in technical drawings, woodwork, metalwork and artworks – and now they can bring those designs off the paper of the past and into the filament of reality where beneficial new futures beckon and await (Trust & Maloy, 2017; Campbell, Williams, Ivanova, and Garrett, 2011).

There is a power in the visualisation, and actualisation, of the objects of the mind. The technology has functionality, as now designs can be tested and experiments proved. It is a learning process in itself – as it is one thing to wildly imagine designs, but that they may actually stand, work and be functional is another thing. Printing provides the place for experimentation, the arena of the future (Campbell, Williams, Ivanova, and Garrett 2011).

In short, 3D Printing is the future, like nothing else.

References:

Canesca, E., Fonda, C., & Zennaro, M. (Eds.). (2013). Low-cost 3D printing for science, education & sustainable development. Trieste, Italy: The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics. [Google Scholar], p. 13).

Campbell, T., Williams, C., Ivanova, O., & Garrett, B.(2011). Could 3D printing change the world? Retrieved fromhttp://www.cbpp.uaa.alaska.edu/afef/Additive%20MFG%20.pdf [Google Scholar])

Trust, T., & Maloy, R. W. (2017). Why 3D Print? The 21st-Century Skills Students Develop While Engaging in 3D Printing Projects. Computers in the Schools, 34(4), 253-266.

Giphy:

Google Images:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=3d+printer&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHzMTFmf3ZAhWBu5QKHV-8Ai8Q_AUICigB&biw=1094&bih=547#imgrc=EiOtFMZ6NxtPVM:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=3d+printer&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHzMTFmf3ZAhWBu5QKHV-8Ai8Q_AUICigB&biw=1094&bih=547#imgrc=3e_hfeiTF7TCtM:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=3d+printer&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHzMTFmf3ZAhWBu5QKHV-8Ai8Q_AUICigB&biw=1094&bih=547#imgrc=OamIL34lOeL3QM:

Welcome to my Digital Creativty and Learning Blog

A classroom utilising the power of emergent technologies is essential for a future filled with: “A greater need than ever to increase the level of education for the general population… provide highly educated technical workers.” (Gale, 2000, 8)

Animoto, for example, is a cloud-based video creation service, founded in August 2006 by Jason Hsiao, Brad Jefferson, Steve Clifton and Tom Clifton. Animoto produces video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows. It is unique, extremely visually powerful, and creative within itself due to its patented Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology.

Animoto is fun for students to use and experiment with, is creatively extending, and is deeply visually engaging, as it looks and acts like no other presentation media, and is hence so compelling.

Here is an example excerpt from my own Year 12 Work:

As seen, it gives exciting choice and agency to students, and successful completion could contribute skill development (in ICT and creativity – Thomas and Berk (1981). This is also linked to a sense of pride, self-efficacy and accomplishment for students, especially as both ICT use and creativity itself become an increasing personally and economically useful and valued, 21st-century skill (Craft, 2002; Jeffrey and Craft, 2001; Loveless, 2007).

Conversely, Animoto does have limitations, problematic in many school specific situations.  Crucially, Animoto is a cancellable paid-per month subscription. Beneficially for creativity, there is much choice within the program. However, unless upgrading, a user still has to conform to a short video production, and can only use and select from some of the provided templates and material, or their own media which is limited by the programs size restrictions. A major limitation for inclusive practice is that the final video is often very fast, even distracting, in its display and use of material, and is not suited to large amounts of textual information, or a slow factual presentation; nor thus completely accessible for students with learning and sight difficulties and disabilities to access. Moreover, Internet/ cloud connection, some material to place into the program, and a login is required, which is another issue for connectivity and privacy.

Nevertheless, Animoto encourages creativity in educational settings and classroom presentations because the visual dynamics, choices and textual interactions of the program are so different than other more common modes, such as PowerPoint. It is especially useful for creativity in transferring written and spoken knowledge into the visual; and in the choosing of visuals, text and medium and their order, such as how to best communicate a purpose effectively (Zhou and Purushothaman, 2018). Moreover, Animoto can allow a student to creatively articulate domain knowledge, in new ways and to greater social understandings (Baer, 1991; Lubart & Sternberg, 1995).

Hence, Animoto is an emergent technology with real potential in the classroom, and for any subject, for students to actively experiment, understand and present a wide range of materials into new forms, ICT active and shared domain knowledge, with greater depth and scope and visually and multimodally articulated engaging understandings suitable for increased understanding and creativity on every level. Thus, Animoto’s creative application and experimentation example with classroom ICT is crucial for our 21st-century future.

 

References:

Baer, J. (1991). Generality of creativity across performance domains. Creativity Research Journal, 4(1), 23-39.

Craft, A. (2003). The limits to creativity in education: Dilemmas for the educator. British journal of educational studies, 51(2), 113-127. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8527.t01-1-00229/full

Gale, T. (2000). Rethinking social justice in schools: how will we recognize it when we see it?. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4(3), 253-269.

Jeffrey, R., & Craft, A. (2001). The universalization of creativity. oro.open.ac.uk

Thomas, N. G., & Berk, L. E. (1981). Effects of school environments on the development of young children’s creativity. Child Development, 1153-1162.

Loveless, A. (2007). Preparing to teach with ICT: subject knowledge, Didaktik and improvisation. The Curriculum Journal, 18(4), 509-522.

Lubart, T. I., & Sternberg, R. J. (1995). An investment approach to creativity: Theory and data. The creative cognition approach, 269-302.

Zhou, C., & Purushothaman, A. (2018). Developing Creativity and Learning Design by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Developing Contexts. In M. Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Fourth Edition (pp. 4178-4188). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2255-3.ch362

https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/developing-creativity-and-learning-design-by-information-and-communication-technology-ict-in-developing-contexts/184125

https://animoto.com

https://animoto.com/k/video-slideshow?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=uk-general-animoto-brand-con-t1&utm_term=animoto-exact&utm_content=brand&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzPjx9ZTX2QIVgZW9Ch1SnQajEAAYASAAEgJkDvD_BwE&ef_id=Wf1tsAAAAHwpV3xO:20180306072346:s

https://animoto.com/k/video-slideshow?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4I7I3bXr2QIVC5W9Ch2uEgTZEAAYASAAEgIgGPD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=uk-general-animoto-brand-con-t1-(rlsa)&utm_term=animot-bmm&utm_content=brand&ef_id=Wf1tsAAAAHwpV3xO:20180314084257:s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animoto

Giphy:

https://giphy.com/gifs/animation-animated-gif-xTiTnxpQ3ghPiB2Hp6/

Animoto video exerpts property of Sharon Rae, 2013.

Featured Image: https://trailermatics.com

Animoto Screenshot and Google Images: Screenshot of Animoto video editor. Source (WP:NFCC#4). Animoto press kit, https://animoto.com/press

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Welcome to my blog on emergent technologies in education, as they relate to creativity- week by week.