Journal 9

Mader, J;Smith, B (August 2009). Science + technology = creativity (and Ffun!). Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=August_No_1_2&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4363&ContentID=23906&DirectListComboInd=D

This article was about helping students incorporate technology to attain creativity in fields often thought of as uncreative-- science and math. He writes that in the beginning, the teacher should teach and integrate the technological tools (like PowerPoint or sound/video editing) in the course of the lesson; in this way students learn the lesson content and the computer skills at the same time. After the students have acquired the technological tools, the teacher should then make the assignments intentionally vague in terms of format, allowing students to have the freedom to be creative in the final outcome. He gives an example of a science project where the students had to describe a wave; while most presentations were in PowerPoint, one group created a music video instead. This creativity of one group led to a transformation in the way that the class thought about creating a project and they all strove more creativity in the following assignments.


Is this something I would like to do in my own class?

I think this was a wonderful way to integrate creativity, technology and the coursework and I will definitely want to implement this idea in my classroom. He gave such concrete examples as well as a link to more suggestions, that I think it won't be hard to do at all.

Would I recommend this article?
Out of all the articles we read, I thought this was the best one and I would recommend it to other educators. I liked it because it was a 'nuts and bolts" type of article--it supplied specific information and examples to help you implement his suggestions.