Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Advocating Creativity!

Creativity is vitally important in the lives of children AND adults.

Creativity can improve a child's self-esteem, motivation and achievement...students who are encouraged to think creatively and independently become interested in discovering things for themselves, they are more open to new ideas, and are ready and willing to work with others and explore new ideas.

Creativity prepares our students for the future; for life.

Creativity enriches the lives of children.

Encouraging creativity in young children is a PROCESS. Teachers have to open their own minds and allow, accept, and turn over their control to the children themselves.

Once again, my TE 401 class has provided me with a wonderful example of a technique that fosters creativity through the use of digital images. Here it is...Digital Storytelling. Anyone heard of it? Has anyone created their own digital story? Well, the gist of it is this...

"Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. As with traditional storytelling, most digital stories focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view. However, as the name implies, digital stories usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips and/or music. Digital stories can vary in length, but most of the stories used in education typically last between two and ten minutes. And the topics that are used in Digital Storytelling range from personal tales to the recounting of historical events, from exploring life in one's own community to the search for life in other corners of the universe, and literally, everything in between." (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/)

If you're interested...the following link will take you to a sample Digital Story :)

A second grader's autobiography

2 comments:

  1. Hi Rachel,

    I just noticed the link to your blog under your user name on our TE 401 Social Studies Blog. This is great stuff! Do you mind if I share a link to your blog with a couple of the professors in the COE? I know that they would be really impressed.

    I like the connections you are making with digital storytelling and creativity. In our digital age, I think it is so vital that learners see themselves as "media authors." Digital storytelling is a powerful and creative way to give expression to your voice.

    Just wanted to pass along how impressed I am with your blog. Keep up the great posts!

    Sincerely,
    Erik

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  2. Oh thanks...I really appreciate that! Share it with whomever you like. I started this for class (CEP416) but i quickly realized how much I enjoy doing it:)

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