Creativity Tools

Creativity Tools and Their Importance

Creativity tools are mediums that allow users to create or produce work that is both digital and shareable.  Creativity tools are important for educators to know about and use with students because they have the ability to create knowledge that didn't exist before by synthesizing information and bringing engagement and meaning to learning experiences. Creativity is necessary for innovation and has quickly become an in-demand job skill and will continue to be one in the future. Using creativity tools with students will ensure we are equipping students with the skills they need to develop a creative mindset. Online creativity tools are superior to other tools due to their tendency to motivate students to learn, light up their brain as they use higher order thinking skills, and spurs= emotional development through resilience as they go through trial and error in completing their projects. Scratch, Pixton, and Buncee are three creativity tools I've explored.

Scratch

Scratch is a coding community for children and a coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games, and animations. I like how Scratch gives students the ability to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively with others as they learn how to code to create art, games, interactive stories, and other projects. It offers starter projects that students can use to learn the basics of coding, or students can jump right in with a blank project and learn as they explore through trial and error. Coding cards with sequential steps and educator guides are provided for projects that can easily be implemented in the classroom. Due to its explorative nature, it is fairly challenging to figure out. Scratch purposefully did this so students could develop their understanding through problem solving what did and didn't work. I could see this becoming very frustrational for my students to understand and think there could be more guidance provided without sacrificing on their explorative learning model. I can also see this tool being very time consuming to use in class without a stand alone coding time. Time is a huge commodity for teachers. Therefore, I do not think the benefits of this tool justify the amount of time it requires and would most likely not use it personally or with my students.

Pixton

Pixton is a comic creation website for classrooms where teachers and students can create and share comic strips. It is very user friendly and uses self-directed learning tutorials to teach students how to create projects in minutes. Students and teachers can share their work using a link which fosters more collaboration and makes it possible for teachers to make templates tailored to whatever project or content matter is addressed. The website offers a free version that allows users to make avatars and class photos but not much else. Teachers can subscribe monthly or pay a yearly membership fee to gain access to much more content including word bubbles, special effects, backgrounds, templates, character facial expressions, and much more. With the paid content, students can easily get lost or overwhelmed by the amount of choices and possibilities which can result in lost instruction time. I could also see students getting too concerned about the artistic component of their comic where the writing and dialogue suffers. I think this tool is highly engaging for students and I like the shareability aspect. I would consider using this personally and for my students if it was completely free. If I did decide to purchase it, I would have to be sure to teach clear guidelines about how much time can be spent exploring the artistic content.

Buncee

Buncee for Education is a platform where teachers and students create and share multimedia presentation boards by adding Buncees, or slides. The website provides tools that can be embedded or shared by email, social media, QR code or URL. It is much simpler then other popular multimedia presentation sites and therefore much easier for students to use. Students can create projects that include drawings, animations, videos, emojis, stickers, and lots more. Students can add images from the extensive library and search online for pictures, videos, and music. My favorite feature is the Buncee idea lab where 2,000 plus templates have been shared to be used by teachers to instantly start using Buncee in the classroom. Buncee has a freemium model where a lot of features are free but some, such as organizing a class, recording audio, and adding more than 3 slides to a project, require purchasing a Buncee Plus plan that start at $20 a year. An example class of 25 students would cost $80 a year which seems pricey to me when teachers already have tight purse strings. Buncee does offer plans for school districts that would make using the premium version of it much more feasible and affordable. With so many options for content, it would be essential to provide students with tutorials on design effectiveness to avoid an overpowered presentation. It will also be important to set clear expectations for students to avoid projects that continue to linger on due to a student spending too much time exploring and not enough time creating. I definitely could see using Buncee in the classroom for my students and myself, although I would start off with the free plan and only upgrade if there was a legitimate learning need for it.

Affordances of Buncee

Out of the three, Buncee is by far the creativity tool I can most see myself implementing in my classroom. One of the affordances this tool offers is the many add-ons that students could use in their presentation. Text, animation, video, recording, stickers, lists, drawings, quizzes, QR codes, and even more are all options students can explore using with their presentation, thus ensuring that each student's work will be unique and different from others. The plethora of creativity options students can use encourages work ownership and engagement at a deeper level and allows the user to customize their presentation to their particular interests and purposes. It provides an authentic medium for student reflection on their learning which provides invaluable information for both student and educator. Another affordance of Buncee is its idea factory. Buncee's idea factory provides tips, tutorials, and templates to help administrators, teachers, and students discover innovative ways to learn. Ideas are searchable by topic areas and give descriptive ways to extend the learning beyond the classroom. This added feature frees up time for the user and allows them to get started with Buncee in minutes to enhance parent engagement, build a school brand, or support project-based or blended learning activities.

Using Buncee in the Classroom (TPACK Model)

Buncee can be used for so many projects in the classroom in virtually any content area. One idea I would use Buncee for is a biographical research project where students would choose to research someone who is important to them.  I did a similar project when I taught 4th grade ELAR. This activity would cover the following content standards:

• ELAR TEK 4.13 Inquiry and research: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student engages in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes

• Technology Application TEK 4.4: Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The student researches and evaluates projects using digital tools and resources

The pedagogical approach falls in line with the constructivist theory where learners construct their learning through being involved and an active participant in what they are studying. Students will need to read texts and explore other informational sources to learn about their chosen person. Students will then have to reflect on what they learned. determine what should be shared in their presentation, and how it should be shared by making design and layout decisions. Buncee affords the learner a vast library of options and choices that can be used to share students' evidence of learning in an effective, appealing, and meaningful way that fosters and encourages further student ownership of their work and learning journey fulfilling the ultimate goal of constructivist learning theory.

Another idea I would use Buncee for in my classroom is for student-led conferences. The learning objective for this task would be to encourage students to take responsibility and ownership of their learning by involving them in goal setting and the assessment process. This objective would be long-term and ongoing. This idea is backed up pedagogically by the humanism learning theory where the focus is on producing an environment that is conducive to self-actualization where the learner's needs are met and they are free to set their own goals, with the support of the teacher, in light of their self reflection of their performance and growth. The affordances of Buncee supports the humanism approach to learning by maximizing on student engagement with the massive amount of personalization options provided from backgrounds, animation, media uploads, variety of formats for artifacts, and much more. Students also have to make decisions in choosing which artifacts to use to demonstrate their skills and learning ability and how to best do that. Buncee gives students the ability to tailor their presentation to their individual needs and provides a medium that gives students choice in format, layout, and design they feel best works for their vision and message. The shareability feature of Buncee also makes it easy for students to share their work with other family members, teachers, and coaches, and it makes it a working document with a longer shelf life as it can be added to and share with future teachers and advisors, in essence creating an ePortfolio for the student.