10 minus 1 awesome ways to App Smash Adobe Spark and Flipgrid

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so how many words is a video? About 1 billion hours worth, or so says the latest Techcrunch survey of Youtube usage. Video is dominating the way in which we consume content and create it too. Today, nearly all social platforms have embraced the creator side of things, encouraging users to create content that rich with video, images, and text. In comes Adobe Spark Video, a simple and elegant video creation platform that lets your message shine while supporting it with incredible transitions, icons, and background music. The process is simple, and my 15 minute crash course tutorial can get you up and running in no time.

When it comes to giving students a safe, productive place to share their videos, there’s no better network than Flipgrid. Flipgrid is a platform that allows you to be part of a conversation by creating or uploading videos, and engaging with others in the group. Teachers and students can start “rooms” around topics and assignments and everyone can contribute in a safe, secure way without the distractions and risks of mainstream social media networks.

Both platforms keep your students work private and secure, while giving them freedom to create incredible video content to start engaging conversations. Below are a handful of creative ideas to use Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid to help your students think outside the box in how they communicate and create.   

 

Adobe Spark x Flipgrid Mash Up Ideas

 

Project Pitch

When engaging in projects, we generally require students to run their topic by us. What if we had students create videos using Adobe Spark Video to pitch their project for the class to review and reflect on? Reflection is usually a conclusionary process so why not start with it? Here is a great example of a project pitch using Adobe Spark and Flipgrid – https://admin.flipgrid.com/manage/discovery/1167&

 

Global Collaboration

Many times we look to find ways for our students to use technology to learn and grow. What about us, the teachers? Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid are a great way to connect with colleagues around the world to discuss topics of interests such as the English classroom or a STEM related theme. A quick topic starter? What are you working on? Why does it inspire you? What are the challenges you need to overcome?

 

Giving Students A Voice With Video

Not every student is comfortable being in front of the camera. Adobe Spark Video gives them the space to work on those verbal communication skills without being on camera, and take part in class discussion.

 

Meet your teachers

Imagine you get an email with a flip code that introduces you to all your teachers for the coming year? Using Adobe Spark Video teachers can create a powerful video with photos, video footage, and icons collaged together over a narrative all about you.

 

My School Year Goals

Students can create videos in Adobe Spark highlighting which areas they hope to grow in their learning, new skills or abilities they hope to develop, or anything else they want to share surrounding their academic growth. After watching the videos and engaging with them in flipgrid, students can then create a second round of videos how they plan to help their peers achieve one or more of their goals. Another approach with this project ideas is to have a second round at the end of the year when students can reflect on how successful they were at achieving their own goals, as well as supporting their peers.

 

Charged With A Chapter

Almost everytime I introduce Adobe Spark Video to middle and high school students, I get a “Spark Notes” comment. In this activity students are challenged to create a videos using Adobe Spark that captures the essence of a chapter or section of reading. Uploading it to Flipgrid gives students the space to learn from each other, validate the quality of peer work, and contribute to the conversation.

 

Get in Character

When reading a novel students can be assigned a character to evaluate and share insights by creating a video narrative around the characters action and behaviors. As the unit progress students can respond to other students characters to create a backstory in flipgrid by using the “name” field to stay in character and the “title” field to add context

 

Media and Marketing     

In this activity students are assigned the task of using Adobe Spark to create a video that best markets a topic, item, or term. The challenge involves students developing their verbal and visual communication skills as well as understanding of audience. Peer voting will establish which videos were best at engaging, informing, and convincing the audience around the video’s topic.

 

Video Based Test Prep

Using Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid students can each curate a study aid to help prepare for an upcoming test. It can also be used as a formative assessment project as well.

 

Between Instagram and Snapchat, users, many of them our students are creating 3.5 billion pieces of video content and stories each day on these respective platform. Using video as a medium to communicate is a familiar platform for creation, collaboration, and conversation. It is  a powerful way to boost engagement and support student voice. Combined, Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid are a powerful recipe to tap into student creativity, give them a feeling of empowerment and voice, and let them take charge of how they express their learning.

 

Here are some great Flipgrid x Adobe Spark Mashups!

https://flipgrid.com/singasong
https://flipgrid.com/positivenoise
http://flipgrid.com/robots
https://flipgrid.com/code
https://flipgrid.com/aquarium
https://flipgrid.com/sharks
https://flipgrid.com/musiccareer
https://flipgrid.com/whatif
https://flipgrid.com/globalvoice

Using The “Bad Idea Factory” To Help Build Creative Courage

Years ago I heard about the “Bad Idea Factory” at a conference. I wish I remember who or where but it was around 2014. Like any buzzword I try to plumb the depths of Google to find the creator of these awesome actives. The best I could do is find a 2012 article by Kevin Brookhouser tilted, 20% Project: Bad Idea Factory. In the article he shares that came up with the term Bad Idea Factory after attending a workshop with Ewen McIntosh at NoTosh. He links to his site, but the link is broken. I reached out to Ewen on Twitter to get more information:

@ewanmcintosh Trying to track down some of the creators and influencers of the “Bad Idea Factory” activity. Any leads? 😀

— Rabbi Michael Cohen (@TheTechRabbi) July 19, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

I picked it up from @tseelig in her first book Things I wish I’d learned when I was 20.

— Ewan McIntosh (@ewanmcintosh) July 20, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Chapter 3: Bikini or Die… And, please stay tuned. I’m working on a 10 year anniversary edition of the book, with lots of new material. 🙂

— Tina Seelig (@tseelig) July 20, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

I have used the Bad Idea Factory activity many times in various classes ranging from 1st grade to 12th. The results are always a blend of entertaining and meaningful experiences because the activity helps everyone involved, break down our bias around our own creative abilities and how we evaluate “good ideas”. 

A great introduction for any class to the activity is a video compilation of Good Idea, Bad Idea segments from one of my all time favorite cartoon shows, Animaniacs. The meaning (IMO) of the segments is not just to provide viewers with comedy and entertainment, but to challenge them to actually think. Rare for a cartoon, but Animaniacs was ahead of its times. 

The Process 

The process of the activity is simple and straight forward.

1. Students (or Teachers) have X amount of minutes to come up with a list of AS MANY “bad ideas” as possible. In the past I have set a minimum limit around 20 for older students, 5th grade and up. Younger students tend to be excited with the idea that we are challenging them to use their minds and the freedom to show how much they know.

2. Any and all ideas should be documented on whiteboard, posters, or butcher paper so they can be present later. 

3. Guidelines and Good Judgement should precede the activity. Encourage students to come up with their own list of guidelines of what “bad ideas” are not appropriate. In the past my class guidelines have included: No violence, prejudice or disrespect to any person or people in any way shape or form.  For older students you might need to remind them that ideas should be safe and not sexual in nature. Yes you might get a laugh for a moment but then we can move on to the activity. 

4. Once the ideas are created students can then analyze their ideas. The following guided questions (or create your own!) might help spark curiosity and conversation:

1. How might this “bad idea” be turned into a “good idea”?

2. Is this idea practical or within your ability to implement? 

5. Next is the process of Synthesis. Challenge the students to synthesize their list and find ways that some ideas might combine with others again, using guided questions (or create your own!)

1. What does each or some of your ideas have in common?

2. How might we borrow something from one idea and add it to another?

6. After this process they should be able to cut their list down to 2-3 ideas. After this the students will present their “best bad idea” to the class which depending on the class size could take over an hour. I limit talks to between 1-2 minutes. No less and no more. 

Now what?

Some teachers take this activity to the next level and use it for students to help find a topic for a 20% time project. I think the project in of itself has even greater worth as a way to build creative confidence and courage. 

What is your experience with the Bad Idea Factory? Let me know in the comments! 

 

Creativity Is About Combining The Unexpected, Not Just Drawing It

I share during many talks that creativity is a mindset not an art set. The elephant in the room is once you buy into the mantra, what steps can you take to act on the mindset? There are so many cool ways to build up our creative abilities. What I am striving to do with all my work on the Educated By Design project, is to discover ways in which creative exercises can compliment development of fundamental literacies and competencies to make our students and ourselves more capable of doing great work.

For those who have yet to see the work from Stephen McMennamy, you are in for a treat. His ability to look at the world around him and find creative connections in seemingly divergent of objects is uncanny. 

I have followed him on Instagram for close to a year now and at one point a few months ago, I realized that his creative process could be translated into not just a powerful art project, but an incredible experience in strengthening diveragent and creative thinking abilities. With his work as inspiration I opened up Adobe Photoshop, but soon realized that this needed to be something scalable beyond Photoshop users. So with the famous Geico line in my head, “So Easy a Caveman Can Do It”, I set in my mind that it needs to be, 

“So Easy a 1st Grader Can Do It.”

With this line as my inspiration, I opened up Adobe Spark to see how quickly and easily I could create something like Stephen, and here you have it folks.

My gumball-trolly, suitcase-beetle, and typewriter-laptop. 

The experience made me realize that to really understand our creative selves and creative potential, we need small concrete moments of eye opening experiences. We need to dispel the myth that creativity is defined as drawing, painting, or music composition. Most importantly, we need to realize that creativity can be unlocked by looking beyond the functional fixedness of the world, and find ways to capture and communicate what we see in new ways. 

Combo Photo Tutorial 

 

Combine Photo Challenge

Inspired by Stephen McMennamy

Application: Adobe Spark Post

Grade Level: K through 12

Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

*Teacher Note: You are encouraged to not show project examples. The challenge is meant to not just create, but to drive meaningful discussion and reflective writing. Each element from creation, discussion, to reflection, will help students document their growth around divergent thinking and creativity.

1. 3 minutes: Try to write down a list of as many objects as you can.
2. 10 minutes: Brainstorm the features of each object on your list
   1. Up to you if you share examples. ie: wheels, cord, rectangle, hole, switch, color, etc.
   2. Choose 6 objects that you will combine to create 3 new creations.
3. 20 minutes: Using Adobe Spark:
   1. Search for two images that represent the chosen objects.
   2. Line them up either vertical or horizontal. The goal is symmetry and to line up the edges of both objects. 
   3. Move the border bars and zoom in on each photograph to line up the object as seamlessly as possible. 
4. 20 minutes: Share student work with guided discussion around the process and product. 
   1. Example Questions
      1. How did you discover that the two objects connected?
      2. What was harder, coming up with the list of objects or finding ways to combine them?
      3. How many different ways did you try to combine the object before deciding on the final combination?
      4. What did combining “object x” and “object y” tell us about how we look at objects around us?
      5. What are some examples of objects that have been combined that changed the world?
         1. ie: iPhone, lightbulb, Mobile home, Hovercraft. 

This activity is something that can be completed in a short amount of time but yield powerful results. Beyond mastery of awesome tech tools like Adobe Spark and the power of imagery and design, this activity give students an opportunity to create a product that stimulates conversation and awareness around the divergent thinking and creative processes. 

Beyond a divergent thinking exercise, this method of using Adobe Spark Post to create Combo Photos can be a great way to engage in a number of content areas. 

Math

View fullsize

View fullsize

#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1531768240781_77369 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1531768240781_77369 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

The combo photo process can move beyond elementary level symmatry (check out the literature review on the importance of understanding symmetry at an early age here) and move into high school geometry by putting a visual face to a sometimes abstract analysis of triangular space. 

Humanities

The photo above of the laptop typewriter is a great example of how you can use the combo photo process to create images that compare and contrast literature and history. 

These are just a few additional content connected ideas beyond this valuable experience in developing stronger divergent thinking skills. 

It also shows our students and ourselves that creativity is about combining the unexpected, not just drawing it. 

Five Ways Multimedia Can Help Teens Tell Their S.T.O.R.Y.

I’ve been working on developing a framework for teaching more effective storytelling.  Storytelling is not just for kids books or a fun hobby. It is a method of communicating ideas in a way that is so concise and crystal clear that your audience immerses themselves in the ideas shared and Ken to an extent visualize them.  I would say that this is probably one of the most critical skills for the next 50 years. 

Read more on my S.T.O.R.Y. Framework on Edsurge.com

 

Why Empathy Just Might Be The Most Important Skill You Teach This Year

This is a follow up to a previous blog post on Empathy, and why it’s the buzzword I hope never goes out of fashion. 

Empathy Applied

While I advocate for more empathy in the classroom, I want it  to be the start of any problem solving process involving others. With that said, it cannot come at the expense of success. It also doesn’t need to followed through via the Design Thinking or any other model. Simply put, being empathetic is a good thing across the board. Regardless of approach, if applying empathy comes at the expense of research and common sense, then the process is flawed from the beginning. Putting all resources into empathy and trying to then develop a solution that isn’t sustainable or flawed helps no one. Empathy is only as effective as the effort and ideation putting into developing a high-quality solution.

Years ago I took a Design Thinking MOOC from Stanford. They introduced the course by sharing a story of a think tank sent to help drought ridden African communities develop a more effective way to collect and maintain their water reservoirs during the summer months. Their solution, a light weight plastic storage container that could be buried was completely rejected by the community. This was a teachable moment for the group’s use of empathy, or lack there of.

They learned, and all who watch understand that products and solutions, even the highest quality ones will receive very different responses from people and communities based on their culture, lifestyle, and past experiences. As an educator, how many of us can relate this story to moments in our classrooms over the years? How many times have we, or other education professionals design high quality learning experiences that were altogether rejected by their intended users, the students, because they did not consider the students needs, desires, and passions? No one consciously tries to remove empathy from the problem solving equation, but many times our own experiences and expertise can blind us from effectively helping those we are striving to best support. Empathy can actually allow you to be more success not just in ideating, but along the entire design process of a learning experience. By understanding that empathy can and should evolve during the problem solving process, we can empower ourselves to be more flexible and agile as we support student success.

I want to highlight the power of empathy by sharing a personal story. As a Director of Education Technology, and now a consultant and trainer, I have the opportunity to deliver a fairly significant amount of workshops and other professional development experiences. In designing workshops, I realized that although my approach, design, and delivery were always well received, I was designing my work for them. I knew that there must be a better way to support those attending my workshops who were either looking to grow, or forced to grow. While reflecting on this, I realized that a simple pre-workshop survey gave me the space to get to know participants, their passions, and understanding their vision for their professional growth on a more personal (and hopefully more effective) level. I was right! But hy do I do this? With no complaints and generally stellar feedback, why would I shift my approach in delivering training? Better yet, why would I make more work for myself? What if I needed to significantly redesign already amazing workshops and sessions? I did it because, I believe in helping people. I did it because I believe that my skills and ability can help others develop their own skills and abilities. I want to teach people how to fish, not give them fish. Especially if they want tuna, and I am coming with halibut. This means as a facilitiator of professional development, if you come into a school, introduce to them what is cutting edge, and show them how to transform the teaching and learning in their classroom you should consider asking them what they think at the start, not the end. Where is the empathy in that? The end is their thoughts on you. The start is their thoughts on what will be best for them.

This realization strengthened my core mission as a trainer and facilitator. It gave me a new found determination to empower educators to feel confident and capable of utilizing technology in their classroom in a meaningful and sustainable way. Notice that “my expertise” or “cutting edge tech” are not part of the mission. As a trainer, workshops must be developed with a sense of empathy and compassion for faculty and the realities they face in the classroom.

If you do not have a pulse on what it truly means to be in the “trenches” of a classroom, you should not be instructing education professionals on how to hone their craft.

To be effective in the professional development space, you must understand their needs, the school culture, the challenges they face with access to resources, support, and above all time and expectations. Now stop for a moment. Are a manager, administrator, or director? Do the individuals that you lead believe that you strive to support them with that level of empathy? Remember, regardless of who you are supporting or servicing, the client whether student, teacher or parent are kings because it is that feeling that will make them an active participant who will fulfill their role in the success of the institution or organization. 

In 2014, I wanted to help a 3rd-grade class learn a little bit about empathy. Working alongside a colleague we designed a project where students would do research on a specific topic, then digitally publish their work. Their published work would then be used as a resource for the rest of their class to learn from. The question the students needed to answer first, was what medium allowed them to learn their best? Through their own discovery process they came to the conclusion that some students like video and photos, while others liked sound, and everyone seemed to enjoy the ability to navigate and interact with a information on their own. During the entire process from brainstorm to product design,  students focused on how their learning and technology could facilitate learning for their peers. This no innovation of mine, but the way it which I packaged the experience for the students was something special. Imagine how this type of scenario could play out in your class. Begin by askin students how they learn best. Ask them what engages them. The end result was a nice moment where students learned about themselves, but even more learned about others as they tried to discover the answer to the following question:

“How do you think others learn best, and how could you help them learn?”

With the “I like” and the “works for me” out the window, students struggled to proceed. That is the moment you want to have. Empathy needs to enter into the creative process when people are stuck and surrounded by unknowns. This is where learning gets awesome. In the end, they solved it, mastered it, and engaged their peers. Everyone was so immersed in the learning that recess was passed up by over half the class. These are the moments we want and the moments like these begin with one word – Empathy. 

Be Empathically Aware

As I said before, empathy doesn’t magically end during the design process, but there needs to be a point where you are ready to move on and try to develop the product or solution further. So what are ways to know that empathy is in the equation? A few questions below might stimulate an answer:

 

• What is the culture of the individuals involved?

• What are their values and what values have they been taught?

• What are their struggles as a group and as individuals?

• What resources do they have available?

• What is their history of embracing change?

• What levels of collaboration and social connectedness exist in the group?

Empathy might seem simple to actualize at forest, but many times we confuse empathy with understanding or awareness of someone’s behavior or challenge. You might feel you are empathizing with the person but are in fact empathizing with the struggle itself. As a designer, I struggled with this regularly as I needed to help clients and their client base as well. To support someone, service them, design for them, or teach them, you have to know them intimately. For many, this is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Remember, before you can truly define or attempted to ideate a solution to the problem for someone else, you need to be aware of the angle they are coming from. In truth it takes a bit of humility to put your expertise and experience aside for a moment to figure out how to best help someone in need. So I leave you with the question:

 

Why We Can’t Fail Forward If We Don’t Know Where We Are Headed.

This article is a follow up to “Why Education Needs To Understand That Failure Is A Procccess, Not A Destination“. 

Reflection Is A Work In Progress

We leave almost zero time for reflection in education today. Outside of a student sitting and wondering why they didn’t get at least a 90% on the big test, how much time is allotted for reflection? The challenge we face is that reflection is not a “measurable” data set when you compare to data hungry areas of growth like reading and math literacy. So how can you measure reflection? While a student summary on the experience might be a good method to assess understanding, it will do little to evaluate their ability to take this failed experience and do something more significant because of it. Even worse there are schools of thought in education that still view reflection as a soft skill. Something that should be secondary to other areas of learning and development. Meanwhile career sites like Monster.com are publishing articles about how critical those skills are. Adaptablity? When do they teaching that in school? In business, startups, and entrepreneurship in general, failure takes on an nearly tangible form. Is your business failing? What do you do? Do you close shop? Do you weather the storm? Do you pause, review, and strategize how to relaunch? How are these questions fathomed? Are they part of the MBA script? The game of school? Author and Brand Ambassador Guy Kawasaki jokes about his MBA that he’s “come to believe that an MBA is a hinderance to entrepreneurship, but I do have one from UCLA.” The key ingredient found in many successful people, is how they reflect on failure with the expectation that they are going to do something about it. It isn’t enough to just be a bold risk-taking failure embracer. You can risk and fail in the same thing over and over again, and make little process or growth while still “embracing failure”. Failure is not a means to an end, it is part of sitting down and looking at not just what went wrong but how to make it right. It’s uncomfortable, embarrassing, and even scary for many of us, including me. That is because failure isn’t the treasure, it’s the key.

If you value the key and know what it can unlock, it gives you the power to seek out the treasure and empower you to win. Failure is the key that can unlock the treasure of the greatest possible you.

So how do we reflect? First you need to believe that the first or second attempt isn’t your best. If you are ready to do your best the first time every time, get ready to live a pretty mediocre existence. Find me one champion in any field that would disagree with that. Now lets be clear, no one should plan to fail. Nor are we saying that failure is appropriate for all experiences. As a father, I struggle with standing on the side and watching my kids do things that they might fail at or struggle with. Still as much as it hurts, I know they will be strong and better with the struggle then if I do it for them.

On that note, I want to share a personal story of the failure, and how the value I place in short term loss in the spirit of long term success. As a connected educator and a life long learner, I am always striving to hone my educational craft and connect with amazing educators who I can learn from. One amazing space that allows for that is ISTE. I have attended ISTE since 2012 and have gained so much from the personal connections and sessions. I have also been rejected to present multiple times, include this year. I have to admit, this year I was crushed. I have been on a roll, as I try to build up credibility and interest in my work, and was certain that my ISTE session would be selected. So what did I do with the failure? I had to solve the puzzle. While I didn’t understand why or what made my session proposals weak, I knew that it was solvable if I took the time to move past the feeling of failure, and shift to the focus of how to achieve a greater success. So when the Ignite session opened up, a slot that I technically had even LESS chance of being accepted to present, I jumped at it. Because failure challenges me to figure out why my approach didn’t work, and whose approach did, so I could analyze it, and figure out what I need to do next time. Now if my initial session was accepted would I have submitted an Ignite! Talk? I can’t say for sure. What I do know, is that for me this example of how to turn a short term failure into a long term success is why I value failure’s role in my life. This mindset was not something I learned in school, but it is teachable. I learned it from podcasts, blogs, youtube channels, and books from people that get it, succeed, and win constantly. Whether its business, sports, or even the medical field, there is a way to build confidence to not even flinch at the emotional drain of failure and persevere to achieve that win. Because of that I had a chance to share my thoughts on creativity to over 500 educators. That Ignite! Talk was one of the greatest moments of my professional career. 

So why is failure missing from the list of foundational literacies in education? Don’t blame the founders of modern education. They were looking to create a mass education method that would run itself similar to a factory assembly line. Risk isn’t safe, secure, or pre-plan(able). You can’t assess risk because it’s something that is part of the soul and the mind of a person, a drive that lets someone make a decision whether its worth it to win, lose it all, or figure out how to win later. 

 Planning Failure As A Teachable Moment

I understand that in the classroom we need to be realistic. There is curriculum to cover, standards to be taught, and all of this needs to be assessed. We are still evaluated based on the success of these requirements through standardized tests and teacher reviews. Where do these big ideas that require risk and result in meaningful failure happen? First of all, lets be clear. In school, where time is limited, the risk needs to be framed in open ended learning experience that might fail, need to be redone and relaunched. Risk cannot be involved in whether or not students will learn how to read, or master their multiplication table

 

Embracing Failure Does Not Mean Failing Your Math Final or Biology Class

Students need to learn how to manage failure too. When we speak of embracing failure, we are not and should not refer to failure because of lack of planning, effort, or call for support. Failure is part of big ideas. It means that you need to embrace the unknown and understand that risk is required. We aren’t talking about learning 2+2. We are talking about understanding how to face challenges where x+y=z and all three are truly unknown.

 If At First You Don’t Succeed, Figure Out What’s Wrong!

As someone who entered into education from the business space, I have a certain sensitivity to how education is currently glorifying startup and business culture. So much so that I am writing a sort of investigative report on startup culture to give education a different lens to look through. With that said, I think there is much that we can learn from the startup space. Take AirBnb for example. They launched three times before they became the household name of home sharing and travel accommodations. Imagine if the second time they closed shop? What if they shifted the direction of their company? So how did they do it? An article from GrowthHackers put it bluntly as “pure unadulterated hustle in the face of initial resistance”. Failure is only as good as your confidence in yourself, your team, your work, and your mission. I can’t be anymore clear that the failure I am talking about is not on linear problems with defined answers. It’s the complex and nonlinear challenges that our student will without question face the day after graduating college. Whether its founding a startup or learning how to manage monthly expenses, the intention and reflect that is involved with learning from failure, can serve all our students. 

 

Call To Action!

In education, embracing failure needs to be rooted in the drive to teach others how to overcome their encounter(s) with failure. Remember, we are not talking about a problem with a clear answer! Failure in that respect might just be poor planning, lack of effort, or carelessness. While those are also great learning experiences, the failure is something that might happen two, three, or even eight times in different capacities because the big idea is there and you and those around you are hungry to achieve success beyond a fill in the blank bubbled letter learning outcome.

 

Learn How To Creative Interactive Diagrams In Google Slides In Less Than 5 Minutes

I love taking Google Apps to the next level. Here is a short video to get you up and running for the start of the school year. Learn to create interactive diagrams, maps, or photos in Google Slides that will engage students and inspire them to create their own! 

5 Reasons Why Educators Who Look Outside Of Education For Inspiration and Innovation Can Thrive

In graduate school, I was introduced to some amazing innovators of education. Their approaches to education were so radical, so progressive that in some cases like Piaget and Vygotsky, their work would not gain mainstream popularity till decades later. These constructivist movement educators were who I gravitated to, and their work has significantly influenced my educational practice.

• Dewey – Early 1900’s
• Piaget – Mid 1900’s
• Vygotsky – Early 1900’s
• Montessori – Early 1900’s

Something bothered me these amazing individuals bothered me. Their constructivist learning theory to me was the definifition of forward thinking but it was to put it bluntly, old. I don’t mean old like when an 8 year old thinks you’re old, I mean like its 2017, and these pioneer approaches to education were trending in the early to mid 1900’s. Education today is still tapping into a century old model and the work of the innovators is just shy of year 60. Education needs new innovators in education. Are they on Twitter? Are they blogging? Will we look 20 years from now and see some of the education conference keynote speakers were part of the new education revolution? Education today needs new fuel to power innovation in the classroom and I believe some of that fuel lies outside the pale of the institute of education.

As a designer and entrepreneur turned educator, I cannot help but tap outside of Education. This way, I can take innovation and bring it inside of the classrooms I partner with. So where does an educator go? Google of course, but how do you filter and find the great resources that can inspire you and your students? So here are 5 amazing resources that can inspire you as a teacher, a leader, a mentor, and an advocate for learners.

 

1. Simon Sinek

This man is amazing. His TED Talk has been viewed 33 million times, and for good reason. His insight into what makes a great leader is not just for admin, although I hope that you are comfortable sharing this video with your administrator. Imagine if school culture made everyone feel safe when they looked to their leaders and superiors for support.

2. Gary Vaynerchuk 

Another amazing innovator for the books. Gary is a forward thinking entreprenuer that lives 10 years in the future. He has a pulse on trends in technology, business, and beyond. His podcast The Gary Vee Audio Experience is a regular listen for me, but the disclaimer is that he curses like a sailor. While this works for sharing with adults, its not someone I can recommend to high school students looking for guidance and inspiration.  

3. Kathy Caprino

Kathy is an amazing writer. Her insights into careers and personal growth are clear, concise, and concrete, which are my three favorite C’s. Her article here is proof that she sees the big picture that many of us miss during the day to day. Since school SHOULD be about building relationships and developing interpersonal communication skills, Kathy’s work should be a pre-req. for everyone. 

4. Sarah Lewis

Sarah Lewis is an Art Historian. That makes her awesome in my book right off the bat (cough:: Art School ::cough). She gives an amazing insight into embracing the “near win” which lines up quite nicely with my thoughts and conversations around how we view failure in education. Check out her TED Talk here.

5. Google

When we think of Google in education, we might think of Search or G Suite (Google Apps) for Education. Don’t forget that are one of the most innovative companies on the planet and possible in history as well. Between Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet (Google’s parent company), these companies grace the list of top 10 wealthiest companies. Their uniqueness is that they are all valued based on ideas rather than products. Think about that while you’re reading this article. 

 

So where is your source of inspiration, imagination, and innovation in education? In the early 1900’s a group of educators looked to make education mainstream, which at the time it certainly wasn’t. They saw the world differently and drew from the outside of education to influence the inside. How are we doing this? How are we looking to educational practitioners, researchers, and experts, while still keeping an open mind that the next inspiration might lie beyond the pay of pedagogy and curriculum journals?  

Let me know in the comments. 

 

 

Why Education Needs To Understand That Failure Is A Process Not A Destination

There is a movement in education that promotes and even glorifies failure. Graphics proclaiming that we should fail forward, fail ofen, and of course view F.A.I.L as a First Attempt In Learning. I too am I proponent of failure, and believe that is has been a key ingredient not just in my own success, but for so many successful people I look to for inspiration and guidance. Recently Tim Ferris, a famous entreprenuer and author of “The 4 hour work week”, reflected on 200 episodes of his podcast. He shared that upon reflecting on those episodes he realized that the ability to not just embrace failure, but learn from it was the common thread with so many of his guests. Check out that episode here. This episode, and a number of podcast episodes produced by Gary Vaynerchuk talk about more than just embracing failure, but what you do the moments after you fail. In education, we have introduced failure to the learning process, and even in small circles began to present failure as a positive experience. The question is what are we doing after that?

How are we teaching students to reflect on their failures, identify mistakes, and actually achieve a greater success in act or product than the first attempt?

How are we teaching kids to be reflective on their actions, decisions, and behaviors? How are we giving them the tools to do something with failure?

 

Without Reflection, Failure Is Guaranteed

Failure isn’t a destination, it’s a process. No one actually wants to fail. Yet failure is inevitable if you are doing something worth doing, something outside of your comfort zone, something amazing. It will happen if you are pushing yourself, and if you have the right mindset, you can learn wonders from experiences that have been deemed a “total fail”. What is required is reflection, and without it, I find it to be potentially devastating to promote failure in a learning environment that is still dominated by standardization and predetermined outcomes.

A friend of mine, a graduate of a top 10 university told me that the first time out of college that he failed completely shattered him. He had mastered school, sailing through with nothing short of a 3.8 GPA, high SAT score, and a truck load of extra curricular activities. Yet in the real world where life is not pre defined with a four letter choices, it can be an absolute shock to not get an “A”.

Our educational system has become so hyper obsessed with proficiency as the gold standard, that no matter how experimental the learning becomes, or how valuable failure is seen, it is still an isolated experience. Even those experiences, where failure is “built in”, it sometimes feel so planned out that it is as if we are looking for students to become proficient in failure. When you shift the discussion and analysis of failure to outside of education, failure is not an experience, a first attempt, it is part of the process of reaching long term success. In the short term it is easy to create safe experiences with clearly defined outcomes, such as fill in the blank or the answer as D, but challenges that require non linear thinking and complex problem solving cannot be nurtured and developed in the land of multiple choice.

In the world of business, especially in Startup culture, failing is not an intended outcome, it’s almost a way of life. It is the result of taking risks and going beyond what is viewed as possible and achievable, but it must be do No worksheet, quiz, or cookie cutter group project is possible here because the end goal is something bigger than that, its inception complex, multi faceted, and difficult to define. As a result of this level of challenge it is not just failing, it is F.A.I.L.U.R.E. because that first attempt will lead to subsequent attempts Unless Reflection Exists. 

Now I assume that if you have read thus far, you are open to embracing failure. It is another thing altogether to act on it and risk providing such learning experience. Especially when at the end of the day school is still is dominated by a letter grade, and anything below a C (aka average) is considered as if it is an F. School has defined average, but has created a culture where the standard is above average and excellent, levels achieved by mastering the art of memorization and test taking. This proficiency based approach does not assess mastery, growth, or anything big picture. It is a simple snapshot of what can be regurgitated right now through memorization, and what to say and when to say it. In the real world, this level of performance will get you very little, and at the advancement rate of technology, the jobs that do require such skills may just be obsolete by 2020.

When I ask friends and collages, like the one earlier who went through the system, gamed it, and finished on top, they feel uncomfortable with failure. Has our education system created a false reality? Has it made us unable to fail in a world where failure is inevitable? My own school experience conditioned me to believe that my failures represented who I was. My lack of success in engaging with the standardized method of learning defined me. Einstein famously said that,

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will life its whole life believing that it is stupid”.

Where was this quote when I was 8, 15, or 19?

For education to truly understand failure, its role in greater gains and success, we must look outside of education. We need to look at businesses, tech companies, and entrepreneurs that don’t take the uncharted road, but the road that didnt exist yet. Through that lens, we can equip students with the confidence and awareness to anaylize and achieve more through failure. It allows a conversation to develop around the idea that challenge and complex experiences can and may result in failure, because a more significant outcome is possible. This is what makes failure an ingredient for success. Like most things in life, nothing significant is achieved on the first try. True innovation, and the creative capacities required to achieve it require failure to be part of an effective and thoughtful process, a stepping stone towards success. It is in this realm that failure can give support space that allows your inspiration and imagination to thrive and result in creative ways to solve problems. What failure is not in any capacity is an excuse for poor time management, disorganization, or lack of effort and determination. That is why embracing failure can be a danger zone and it is up to us as educators and mentors to help our students learn the difference. 

Innovation Is Not A First Try Experience

Nothing of true value is accomplished on the first try. This holds true to most of life’s experiences from learning to walk, tying your own shoe, riding a bicycle, to launching a startup, rising the ranks of corporate America, or inventing the next life changing product. The problem lies in between these two phases of life where we are expected to spend 12-14 years getting it right on the first try. And if you don’t? You fail, and not the good kind we are talking about here. The problem is that it is a performance failure, not a growth failure. There is no space to reflect, redo, and revolutionize the failed process. Then we leave the fantasy world of perfect scores and extra credit. It is here that students fear failure, and avoid it at all costs, unless its a video game of course, then failing is great because you can always save the game, die 300 times, and keep at it. Even as an artist and designer this first try perfection mentality was been ingrained in me. It has taken years to purge myself of this falacy, and I believe I am better off for it.  So what is it about this first try mentality, and why is it nearly impossible to innovative on the first try? For school to truly embrace failure it needs to instill in students to never give up, but learn from their mistakes. Challenges that requires risk and multiple attempts can be proud experiences for learners, but they need to be thoughtful. We can’t be like the coyote who foolishly chases the roadrunner without reflecting and analyzing the flaw in his plans.

Remember, the reason innovation cannot happen on the first try is because innovation is not an act it is a process. True innovation requires you to develop a solution or product that creates value for others. The best solutions need to be reviewed, revised, and reflected upon with the expectation that the first iteration may fail, and most certainly not be the best. Now try to fit that approach into our current educational system. Imagine if learning in our schools started with a teacher saying “I don’t know…” or “I wonder…”. Instead teachers are forced to engage in scripted out indoctrinated experiences where the biggest fear for a teacher is being exposed as anything but a master expert of classroom content. While a complete overhaul of our educational system might not be possible via your classroom, there is room for you to introduce and nurture the concept of failure as a form of the ideation, implement, reflection, relaunching of learning. Whether or not you consider Edison as the sole inventor of the lightbulb, to understand what true innovation looks like you must understand that

Edison was not trying to invent the lightbulb. He was trying to invent the ability for the world to see in the dark.

It is that end goal of positively impacting those around us that fueled him to fail thousands times as he worked towards creating a safe and sustainable light source. The failure, the understanding that first does not mean best, and the willingness to review, redo, and even throw it out to start a new, will not just result in better production from students, it will embolden and empower them. Sort of like that game they are willing to play a level 300 times just to prove they can win.

In education, the embracing of failure has a long way to go. For it to really become part of school culture and influence change, educators, and more importantly administrators need to see the value of failure. If failure is still overshadowed by test scores, then education will continue on with its 20th century model. One where failure is a novelty, a classroom light in a sea of educational darkness. It doesn’t have to be that way. For now we need to keep on pushing the boundaries of what education should really look like to help today’s kids. We need to keep on fighting the good fight. 

Why Functional Fixedness And The Fear Of The Unknown Are The Greatest Obstacles Of Creativity.

This is the second post in a series known as “Educated By Design”. It focuses on my journey as a designer and technologist turned educator. 

In my last post I discussed creativity as a mindset, not a talent.

Excerpt from previous post:

“When we understand that creativity is a way of thinking that blends our imagination with the world around us, then true innovation can exist. It doesn’t need to be at the level where light bulbs are invented. Innovation can be scaled for a 1st grader. That scale might not be groundbreaking or revolutionary for a 9th grader, but it is important for us to know that value is subjective when analyzing the creative process for different ages.”

So if we are open to shifting our thinking, what is the next step? It lies in a famous quote from Steve Jobs who said “creativity is connecting things”. The ability to connect things lies in how we look at the relationship between people, places, and ideas. It’s in how we overcome one of the greatest obstacles to creativity – Functional Fixedness. 

What is Functional Fixedness? I learned about Functional Fixedness at the crossroads of my Masters program and reading Daniel Pink’s drive. It was a pretty powerful moment to see two different takes on some good ‘ol Gestalt Psychology. In 1945, Dr. Karl Duncker defined functional fixedness as being a “mental block against using an object in a new way that is required to solve a problem.”[1] It is with this definition that he created a rather interesting problem demonstrating Functional Fixedness. It also happens to be an all time favorite for those that attend some of my creative workshops. Sorry, spoiler alert. 

So what is it about the problem that is so powerful? I have seen this problem solved in less than 5 minutes, while others still struggle well after half an hour. What the problem helps us understand is the mental barrier preventing us for looking for novel and unconventional solutions to the problems we face using the resources we have at our disposal. Resources that might not seem valuable or useful in a traditional sense. How we overcome this functional fixedness is by engaging in diverse experiences and with individuals with diverse backgrounds.

Before becoming a professional educator (I have always consider myself a teacher), I was by trade a designer, artist, marketer, and businessman. It was those experiences that I believe shaped my thinking and approaches to education. Now, I am not telling teachers to get a second job. I do however wonder why teaching programs do not give students experiences outside of teacher colleges to learn from and consume from a diverse group of experts, fields, and methods. (It was one of the things I wish my Masters in Education contained. A seminar on entrepreneurship or project management. My experiences outside of education, have shown me how valuable it is to diversify who and where you learn from. Everyone reading this should consider diversifying their resources and connections when looking to hone their educational craft. The true first step of developing a creative mindset is to find “creative” people in various industries to learn from. Not creativity as an idea, but creativity as a manifestation of success via non traditional or unexpected means. Creativity requires diversity to thrive. By tapping into talented and creative people in other industries, we can use those outlooks and abilities to impact our classrooms. 

Here is one of my shortlists of those that have influenced me, inspired me to shift my thinking, and helped me succeed. They are all talented, creative, resilient, and most importantly, patient. These individuals are leaders in core areas that I feel are critical for learning about what a creative mindset looks like and how to think in new ways. They have books, podcasts, recorded keynotes, and other mediums to consume their awesome inspiration. 

Entrepreneurship

Gary Vaynerchuk – is a serial entrepreneur, media marketing master, author, and social media extraordinar. He also curses like a sailor which makes it slightly awkward for a Rabbi to endorse him. At the end of the day his message of “anyone can make it if they are patient, stick with it, and put in SERIOUS work. 

Design

John Maeda – is a designer, technologist, and influencers in the education and business spaces. He is the former president of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), professor at the MIT Media Lab, and consultant of Start Ups. He has mastered the way in which design and creative thinking can influence those looking to grow and to succeed.

Innovation

Dr. Tina Seelig – is the head of Stanford’s Technology Ventures Program, and an author of many titles including “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20”. This book changed my life forever and I looked to her many times for advice as I question why I am writing this book and who would ever want to read it. 

Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson – is an author and international speaker on education in the arts to government, institutions, and beyond. His 2006 TED talk on how schools kill creativity has been the single biggest influence on me as an educator and my work on helping schools create a culture of creativity. 

So were open to shifting our thinking. We have resources to not just inspires us but to learn from. Now, we have to overcome the second hardest part to becoming more creative and that’s that it is not going to work the first time, or the second, or the tenth. We must be patient, reflective, and go all in on the long term and not let the short term tell us that it isn’t worth it and that we are fine with the way it is. Its about failing not due to lack of effort, but failing because its worth it, and we believe in ourselves and the process at hand. Its about being reflective and learning why we are failing by reflecting on it.  

In education today if something does not work perfectly, or perform the first time we attribute it to some failure, assign it a letter grade and move on. To develop a creative mindset, that kaleidoscope of creativity, we need to be prepared to take risks and know that failure is the springboard for even greater success. Developing the capacity to be creative will require you to embrace the unknown as well and seek out others so journey with you. Whether your students, your colleagues, or a courageous leader at your school, we need to embrace risk and failure to achieve beyond but not in lieu of academic excellence. That is where innovation that promotes love and meaning in learning lies.

Summary

When asked what creativity is, we inevitably associate it with an actionable process, a talent, such as art, music, cooking, rather than the mindset that can actualize those talents and so much more. It’s not even our own fault. Look up creativity in the dictionary, and you will find a definition focused on original ideas, and artistic work. Who am I to argue with Webster, but this is my book, so I can tell you that they have it all wrong. Creativity is a mindset, a thought process, a method of analyzing the world around you. Its an experience that goes beyond making something from nothing, and instead about making something into something more.

 

---

[1] Duncker, K. (1945). “On problem solving”. Psychological Monographs, 58:5 (Whole No. 270).