Creativity Tip: Represent Ideas Visually

by Erin Quinn

We have a cohort of teachers who meet regularly to learn and work on enhancing student creativity through a professional learning series called Making Makers.

We met in February to work on ideating solutions for a problem of practice the teachers self-identified through the process of design thinking. First, the teachers suggested potential solutions for each others' problems of practice using post it notes.

This session, we experimented with the technique of representing ideas visually. Though we used this strategy to work through a professional problem of practice, the same technique could easily be adapted to use with students.

First, we healed wounded drawers through a quick activity from our friends at Telus Spark called "So You Think You Can't Draw." The next part also comes from an activity I participated in at Telus Spark.

First, teachers selected one post it from the suggestions for solutions to their own problem of practice. Then, they used the drawing techniques from "So You Think You Can't Draw" to represent the solution visually.

Here is my own drawing for an interactive exhibit to teach how balls of different sizes can transport objects.

Next, a piece of velum paper was taped on top, and the whole drawing was passed to another participant. They were then instructed to add details through visuals and labelling.

This person added complexity to the design through different sized objects.

Another piece of velum was taped on top, and a third participant added one more layer of detail.

This person added an element of competition through a race.

This process is designed to engage in plussing another person's design to offer possibilities for refinement and improvement. Randy Nelson, former Dean of Pixar University explains the concept of plussing in the linked video. Here is a transcript of the first section of the video:

Randy Nelson: One of the things that we do at Pixar and I know some things about Pixar ... is we use improv as a mechanism of helping with collaboration. And in that, two core principles of improv have always guided us. The first is, accept every offer. So if an improv, improviser says to you, "Gee it's funny. It's raining a lot in here today." You don't go "Raining in here?" You say, "Well that's why they gave us umbrellas." It's an offer. You don't know where it's gonna go. But the guarantee you have, is that if you don't accept that offer, it goes nowhere. So you've got a sure thing on one hand, dead end, or you've got a possibility on the other. And the other principle is make your partner look good. What a great thing. So you know on a team, that anything anybody says to you, you're gonna get a chance to plus that. You're gonna get a chance to have that beyond the table. And they're gonna try and make you look good, not make you look bad. At Pixar, what we mean by plussing is this. You take a piece of work. You take something that you're working on collaboratively. And when it's given to you, you don't judge it. You don't go, "Ooh this is pretty good. Here's what I'm going to do to make it better." Or, "This isn’t so good, here is how I'm gonna fix it." You say, "Here's where I'm starting. What can I do with this? How do I plus this? How do I accept the offer and make my partner look good?"

Expressing ideas visually also helps a person refine and simplify their ideas.

collaborate | Learning Commons Furniture Suppliers

One question I often get from schools who have a bit of money put aside to transition their Library to a Learning Commons is where to buy furniture that encourages student collaboration and creativity.

Several Learning Commons staff have contributed to a collaborative Google Sheet to share recommendations of suppliers and manufacturers. Please find the sheet here. Since this is a collaborative effort, we welcome and encourage you to add your suggestions or comments there!

As a caveat, we know that a Learning Commons is absolutely much more than a change of furniture. To find out more about the shift from a Library to a Learning Commons, please have a look at the Library to Learning Commons Implementation Guide.

workshop | MakeFashion Intro to Wearable Technology

MakeFashion Introduction to Wearable Technology Workshop

when | Thurs. March 12, 2015, 4:30pm – 7:00pm

register | to attend

location | Education Centre Learning Commons

presented by | Learning Innovation, MakeFashion, and the Canadian Maker Foundation

what | “Imagine a world where your clothes regulate your body temperature, monitor your vital signs, and your necklace begins to glow when the sun goes down.” - MakeFashion

Wearable technologies are a cutting edge trend that’s on the verge of exploding. Come learn alongside the founders of the Calgary MakeFashion show, a fashion runway show highlighting the world’s best of wearable technology fashions.

This workshop is for fashion teachers, technology teachers, CTF teachers, fine arts teachers, core subject teachers, and all other curious and creative teachers in between.

You will hear about the possibilities of wearable technologies, MakeFashion, and how it may align with your task design. Then, you will have hands-on experimentation time to try it out for yourself.

questions | contact Erin Quinn or Tracy Dalton

Updated Library to Learning Commons Implementation Guide

Is your school thinking about shifting your library to a learning commons?

A learning commons gives students access to the learning resources they need, when they need them. It provides a space for innovative teaching and learning and transforms teaching and learning by allowing staff and students to co-create knowledge. A learning commons is a place where the buzz of learning can be seen and heard.

The CBE has updated its Learning Commons Implementation Guide. This guide provides information about the learning commons movement, asks guiding questions, and looks at the holistic picture of a learning commons in a school.

This guide is accessible through staff insite here.

Web 2.0 Guidelines

As teachers, we all recognize the immense potential that Web 2.0 tools provide in the classroom. Students are able to demonstrate their learning in powerful ways, whether it be through a post on KidBlog, a multimedia poster using Glogster or create an animation using Pow Toon. Web 2.0 also offer opportunities for students to collaborate and share with their classmates, from any place and any device. It was in response to the power of the these tools that the Web 2.0 Guidelines were developed. The Web 2.0 Guidelines were designed to ensure that student information and data was protected and that a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) be completed prior to using a tool with students.

The PIA process is completely focused on assessing the impact on student privacy, the pedagogical benefits of the selected tool is left to the teacher. It is also important to remember that with thousands of Web 2.0 tools out there, it is impossible to provide professional development and support for all these tools. We work to connect teachers with other teachers who may be using a similar tool, but it is important that you discuss the tool you hope to use with your Principal and School Tech to ensure you don’t have a frustrating experience. Wrapped in all of this is the importance of Digital Citizenship, all schools have a digital citizenship plan and it is always a good idea to consider how the use of this tool will fit into this larger plan.

So how do you know when a PIA is needed or not? Quite simply, whenever student data is going to be collected. If you are having students sign up for an account with their name or email address, a PIA is required. However, if you are looking to set up a class blog under your name and email address a PIA is likely not needed as no student data is being collected. The question in the second instance is usually surrounding student work and/or photos. If student work and/or photos are going to be shared, it is important that consent is received from the student’s parent or guardian before publishing.

Ultimately the PIA process is designed to allow teachers the ability to use Web 2.0 tools to design meaningful instructional tasks while also protecting student data and privacy. If you have any questions about the process or would like to discuss a specific tool, we encourage you to contact us or join our growing network at:

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Are you thinking about Maker Education or Robotics?

Professional Learning | Innovative & Learning Technology
Making Makers | Information Webinar and Professional Learning Series Who | Teachers who want to learn more about maker education and design thinking When | Webinar: Thursday, November 13, 4:30 - 5:30pm Face to Face (1st meeting): Thursday, November 20th, 4:30 - 6:30pm Where |   Webinar: online Face to Face: Future of Learning Lab, Education Centre, 1221-8 Street SW What | Maker Education is an approach to learning where kids use their hands to activate their brains to solve problems and design solutions. This webinar will: ·        Give some background and information about maker education and design thinking ·         Provide an overview on the series of professional learning events where you will experience design thinking to create a learning task for your students around the ideas of maker education and/or design thinking. ·         Details of future face to face meetings will be discussed. RSVP | Please register for these events. Webinar: Register Face to Face: Register Details for Face to Face | Eat | Light refreshments will be served. Parking | There is some free and paid 2 hour parking on the streets around the Education Centre. There is also a paid parkade under the Education Centre, accessible from 12th Avenue SW. (see map below) Robotics Roundup Who | Teachers who are using robotics in their work - core, options, or extracurricular. Teachers of all grades are welcome. When | Wednesday, November 12, 4:30 - 6:00 Where | Future of Learning Lab, Education Centre 1221 - 8 Street, SW What | Are you teaching with robotics? Do you want to connect with others who do too? The Robotics Roundup will bring together robotics teachers to share ideas and ponder questions together. This professional learning event will be structured much like an EdCamp: We will ask questions, and you can identify areas you feel comfortable speaking to, and we will work through these problems of practice together. When you leave, you will have: ·         Some questions answered ·         Some ideas for teaching with robotics ·         A network of colleagues to move forward with Bring | ·         Anything you want to share - task design, assessment tools, project ideas, your robots (if you want), resources you have found valuable. ·         Your questions Eat | Light refreshments will be served RSVP | Register    Even if you can’t make it to this event, we would love for you to e-mail elquinn@cbe.ab.ca or tadalton@cbe.ab.ca so we can connect you to the network. Parking | There is some free and paid 2 hour parking on the streets around the Education Centre. There is also a paid parkade under the Education Centre, accessible from 12th Avenue SW.

Doors Open YYC

“Over the last weekend in September, many of Calgary’s most intriguing and beloved sites get naked for Doors Open YYC. For this one weekend, buildings in all quadrants of the city open their doors – free of charge – to the public and providing special revealing tours and behind-the-scenes experiences.”

Innovation and Learning Technology will be at the Career and Technology Centre (2336 53 Avenue SW), along with some of our colleagues from the CBE. Our doors will be wide open on Saturday, September 27 from 10 - 3. 

The CTC will also be offering open tours and demonstrations. If you haven't been to the CT Centre yet, it really is a remarkable learning space. You will see student demonstrations, interact with automated engineering equipment, try your hands at welding and vehicle painting, attend live culinary demonstrations, provide the talent in the broadcast studio, and check out client services in esthetics or hair design.

ILT will be set up in the Learning Commons, with Junior Achievement, Beakerhead, and CBe-Learn, CBE Homeschooling, Campus Calgary Open Minds, and FIRST Robotics. ILT is bringing lots of maker education tools and resources, and would love to play with them with you!

Please visit this link for more information about Doors Open YYC.