Create & Motivate

Create & motivate 07.03.06 Using technology to encourage creativity in class educationguardian.co.uk/appleeducation Produced by the Guardian in association with Apple PHOTOGRAPH ANDREW FOX PHOTOGRAPH 2 Create & motivate What is creativity? Inside Introduction Stephen Heppell 4 Digital trends From podcasting to internet telephony, digital music to Wanted: creative politicians making movies for online broadcasts... the latest developments in creative ICT the breadth and diversity of children’s creativity with the annual DfES 6 Primary best practice supported “Be Very Afraid" event. This Literacy is perhaps the subject where creativity works best with year it included a kinetic “garden” of young children, but science, optic rods, representing a student’s music and citizenship come a communications with friends and family, close second... and a primary school adventure spanning mobile texting, books and websites. CHRISTPHER JONES Apple did some really useful Creativity is tough to define, but every pioneering work in the early 90s where it teacher knows it when they see it. In the paired schoolchildren with cinema icons 1950s we sought conformingly uniform like Ken Russell and music stars like ANNA GORDON children, for the conformingly uniform Bryan Adams. The results were stunning jobs of late industrial Britain. Any and, since then, it has supported a 10 Secondary best practice creativity was strictly extra-curricular. regular showcase for creativity a the When schools use creativity But as the mundane tasks have moved annual ICT in education show, Bett, and across the curriculum, students overseas, or become tasks for robots, much teacher development. take note. So what technology creativity has replaced conformity. With software tools like iStop Motion works best in the classroom? Schools have noticed. Children are or FrameThief on the Macintosh or 12 What kit do I need? designing the robots! Anasazi Stop Motion Animator, TePee There’s an amazing amount of Type “creativity” into Google and you Animator or MonkeyJam on the PC, the software out there that can help find an unsurprising 90m or so hits. fun of animation is accessible too. schools be truly creative. About a third mention schools. Almost To see a group of 12 or more children, Teachers are spoilt for choice every policy paper from progressive (and each animating their own Plasticine progressing) countries around the world character or object on a complex stage in 14 Training and resources How can teachers get the mentions creativity in learning. Some, line with their storyboard, is to witness training to use ICT creatively — like Japan, have whole policy documents the power of creativity to engage and and keep up with their pupils? dedicated to it. So, how many mentions delight. And the end products are eye- does the word get in the “Higher swivellingly complex to watch. You can Standards, Better Schools for All” White see why Apple is majoring on its iLife Paper? “Standard” is mentioned 144 studio, to make easy movie, photo, DVD, times, “fail” appears 53 times. Rather music and website integration. surprisingly, the words “creativity” and And with the whole Building Schools “creative” are not mentioned at all, for the Future agenda challenging our probably uniquely for an education ideas about what creative schools might policy paper in the 21st century. be like, there is no better way to hear the But where the White Paper has failed learners’ authentic voice than to arm spectacularly to notice creativity, our them with the wonderful (and cheap) ANDREW FOX teachers, students and parents are cross platform “SketchUp” 3D archi- embracing it, armed with some very tectural tool — used by professional useful new tools. All around the UK architects too — to let them model and schools are seeing remarkable levels of then “fly through” their own view of engagement and effort resulting from a future schools. quite specific focus on creative activity. So schools are innovating, the tools are Now that computer-connected cameras affordable, professional and easy to use, are so affordable, a mass of really and the children are terrifyingly imaginative video is pouring from our confident and ingenious. Creativity schools — and has been for some years. matters. Maybe the next White Paper, The BBC has a TV programme, Blast!, due soon on further education, will dedicated to video work by children for notice. But don’t hold your breath. children. In Blackpool they fill a huge seaside cinema with primary children, Professor Stephen Heppell is chief Editors Richard Doughty, Julie Nightingale Design Gavin Brammall Picture editor Tracey who show each other their short movies executive officer of the global learning Tomlin Production Jenny Box. A Guardian Plus product (contact Jonathan Viner 020-7713 on the big screen before voting for their research and policy consultancy, 4448). Produced by Guardian Creative. All editorial is independent of the sponsor. favourites. Each year Bafta celebrates Heppell.net Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 3 Thinking simple is the answer New technology enables children to learn in different and innovative ways. But it’s vital that teachers are given the freedom to let creativity flourish, says Julie Nightingale key factor in what many teachers feel is a more enlightened approach to learning is the po- litical shift away from the rigid A prescription of numeracy and literacy strategies to allow teachers more freedom in how they interpret the curriculum. At the same time, the technology available to support creativity in both teaching and learning is proliferating. Digital cameras, DV, sound and film- editing packages and even mobile phones enable children to learn in different and innovative ways. “People are beginning to have confidence in creative activities rather than sticking rigidly to the QCA schemes of work," says Alan Rodgers, primary representative at the education technology advisers organisation, Naace. “Plus, the digital media now becoming available are a very pow- erful and potent form of ICT." “The creativity path is a much better option for a lot of the pupils," adds Mark Rogers, managing director Apple UK, Ireland and Nordic regions. “Which doesn’t mean that only certain types of pupils should have access to creative activities in the curriculum. It actually means a different way of doing things for everyone." Djanogly City Academy, where students choreograph dances to mobile phone ringtones Fabio de Paola What does it mean for teachers? If no one has yet figured out a way to measure the activities that use your existing technology. dent or who can help with technical difficulties." impact of creative teaching and learning on a child’s Ewan McIntosh, an adviser on languages and It also makes sense to capitalise on children's rate of improvement, teachers in droves can attest technology for the national centre for languages familiarity with the media. At Poulton Lancelyn to its motivational power. Studying history by in Scotland, suggests starting up a class blog primary school, pupils used a Big Brother-style shooting a DV documentary on the war featuring where students can sum up each day’s lesson approach for their digital video project about Fair footage of Churchill, downloaded from the Pathe “All they need is an internet connection some- Trade goods, which the pupils researched, filmed news website, producing a podcast of your own mu- where — it might be that the students write their and edited themselves. “We began by discussing sic, or playing a computer game to develop your cre- blog entry on their home computers which are what made a good film and settled on a Big ative writing skills are tasks that captivate children often better than the ones in school." Brother-style reality approach, something they by making them active participants. Students’ own mobile phones or iPods can be had all seen and felt comfortable with," says Gill Teachers who have used digital video or com- pressed into action. “To improve speaking skills, Jones, the headteacher. puter games in class point to their ability to en- teachers might opt for some simple MP3 record- And at Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham, gage reluctant writers, boys in particular. ing," McIntosh says. “This can be done on an MP3 mobile phones have been called into action in Children are also motivated by the authentic- recorder on the class computer using the internal dance classes. Students compose their own ring- ity of a task such as filming a school rugby match mic or a £10 mic from PC World. Students’ mobile tones then combine them into a single piece of and adding their own commentary, says Guy phones could be used to video classroom perfor- music and create a dance for it. Shearer, head of Northamptonshire LEA’s Learn- mances or experiments. These can then be trans- ing Discovery Centre. “It’s not complex to set up ferred to the computer and uploaded on to a blog." Don’t overlook the fundamentals and it means children have an end product to play A good way to start is to study other teachers “Have your learning outcomes in mind before you to their parents." It also means they get feedback in action, says Richard Jones, national coordina- begin," advises Alan Rodgers. “There’s quite a lot from a real audience, one which can be expanded tor for music and the performing arts for of work involved in filming, for example. For to other pupils, or further, if the work is pub- the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. every minute of production of film, it takes two lished on a website. “Observe colleagues who are confident in a hours or more to produce because there’s the edit- The skills that creativity nurtures are also valu- range of techniques. Start small, gradually in- ing and storyboarding.

Load more