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= DLC2 - MSU - Creativity and Critical Thinking =

__**Using Technology to Facilitate/Develop Creativity and Critical Thinking Skills in Students**__

As you plan for and/or reflect on your "Dream It" proposal, you need to answer the following questions:


 * How does your plan identify ways to integrate technology that will allow for your students to think more creatively and critically?
 * How does it help you assess their creative/critical thinking?

As you peruse the DLC2 wiki, it is our hope that you not only "cover" the questions stated above, but that you "uncover" facinating ideas to make you a better educator who is equipped with technologies to empower students to reach their full potential.



[|A Change in Attitude: Incorporating Technology In the Classroom Gives Curriculum a Boost]
An inspirational video from Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Mississippi in which technology is promoting creative teaching and challenging students to new levels of critical thinking!

[|Overview of Critical Thinking and Bloom's Taxonomy]
//Questions addressed in this website:// What are critical thinking and creative thinking? What's Bloom's taxonomy and how is it helpful in project planning? How are domains of learning reflected in technology-rich projects? This site gives an overview of critical thinking as it relates to Bloom's taxonomy, and lists numerous online resources on the subject.


 * You will find quality resources related to technology tools, Internet resources and utilities, and professional development resources.

[|Creative Teaching]
By Robert Morgan "Teaching creatively during the information tsunami." This award-winning website contains a lot of resources for creating a creative classroom in the information-technology age. It even contains free teacher wallpapers...bonus! :)

[|Council of Europe]
This site provides a bulleted list of important factors in using technology to stimulate creativity. It covers the following topics:
 * How does the Internet promote creativity?
 * Enhancing creative processes in learning.
 * How can we ensure that creativity is not inhibited?
 * Putting creativity to work in the classroom.
 * Activities to boost creativity in your classroom
 * Best practices

By Larry Ferlazzo
Lists 14 great online web 2.0 resources for creativity in the classroom with summary of each site. Some examples of the applications that he describes are listed below, the descriptions are in Ferlazzo's own words: [|Vi.sualize.us] “social bookmarking” site like del.iou.us, but for images [|Sketchcast]. You can “draw” on a whiteboard and record an audio explanation at the same time [|SMILE] and [|CLEAR]. They’re both from Michigan State University, and allow teachers (and students) to easily create clozes, drag-and-drop exercises, and sequencing activities. [|ESL Video]is the ninth best. It’s super-easy to take pretty much any video off-the-net and create a quiz to it.

By Larry Ferlazzo
Lists 31 best web 2.0 resources for 2008 and also links to more specific topics. Some examples of the applications that he describes are listed below, the descriptions are in Ferlazzo's own words: [|The Best Online Learning Games — 2008]; [|The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — 2008]; [|The Best Internet Sites For English Language Learners — 2008]; [|Selfcast]. It lets anyone with a webcam immediately broadcast over the web for free, and anyone (without registering) can watch and also participate via live text chat. [|My Jugaad], a new web tool that allows you to easily make slideshows of webpages and post/share links to them. [|Book Glutton], an intriguing web application that allows groups of people to read books over the Internet and “chat” and leave comments about what they’re reading. [|Fo.reca.st]. It’s a free online polling application that lets you easily add sound, images, or video to your polls/surveys;

This article discusses the six most necessary elements for instituting creativity through in the classroom. The six elements that are outlined include both technology specific details as well as personality traits the educator must exhibit. 1. Blank page software 2. Graphics tablet and pen 3.Time and freedom 4. Mission 5. Love 6. Leadership

By Peter H. Reynolds //June 2008//
This article focuses on what skills/tools educators must have in order to foster creativity within their students. The six essentials as outlined by Reynolds are: blank page software, graphics tablet and pen, time and freedom, mission, love and leadership.

By Willard R. Daggett
Discusses the cyclical nature of shifts in global superpowers and warns that the US is not prepared to maintain the level of power it is accustomed to. The transition from information-based society to bio-tech society will result in biological and nanotechnology companies emerging as the new superpowers driving our global economy. Predicts future shifts in technology such as migration from laptops to PDA's and eventually to Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT) nano-technology, that will be embedded into our watces. Such microdevices will include projected keyboards and displays to interact with the CPU. Predicts a society that uses in vivo technology, technology that is embedded directly into living organisms. Such technology would allow, for example personal medical records to be placed on a chip and embedded under the skin, so that they can be scanned upon arrival to any hospital. Finally discusses ethical complications that arrise with new technological advancements, such as some asian countries attempting to place students into careers based on their DNA sequences, something that could be considered a civil liberties violation in the USA.

===[|Classroom Strategies for Promoting Critical and Creative Comprehension]===

By David W. Boothe
This webpage shares the personal experiences of multiple teachers in multiple subject areas who has used technology in his/her classroom.Some of the questions and ideas that are explored are:
 * How language has changed, for example, if everyone chats and understands that U = You then is this abbreviated language real language?
 * Drawing cartoon representations of newspaper editorials and discussion centered around editorial opinions.
 * Blogging about novels to stimulate discussion with the //Diary of Ann Frank// as an example text.
 * Using video to promote discussion, review, and share thought processes.
 * Use video to critically analyze media messaging (why certain props, music, and images were used)

By Claudia Wallis
An interesting article that focuses on the necessary reform schools must undergo in order to adequately prepare students for their 21st century fields. This article articulates the need for students to engage frequently and extensively with technology in order to develop the critical thinking skills that will allow them to tackle problems that aren't even imagined today.

By Grace Rubinsein
This article examines a new way to assess understanding through a very unique model of simulation and research. In this model, students aren't required to remember facts, but instead must rely on their abilities to synthesize information and use technology to come to logical and justifiable conclusions. This type of assessment will better prepare studentns for the types of cognitive challenges that they will be asked to tackle in their future roles as employees.

CARET (Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology)
The CARET group has probed the question, " How can technology develop higher order thinking and problem solving?" on their website and come up with an answer in three parts. Each of the following statements will connect you to page that includes research evidence, references, and CARET selected studies. The pages are extensive and full of useful sources.


 * 1) [|Technology can enable the development of higher order thinking skills when students are taught to apply the process of problem solving and are then allowed opportunities to apply technology in development of solutio]
 * 2) [|Technology can enable the development of higher order thinking skills when students work in collaborative groups while using computers to solve problems.]
 * 3) [|Technology can enable the development of critical thinking skills when students use technology presentation and communication tools to present, publish, and share results of projects.]