Toy #3: Online Creativity Tools

Open Exploration of Online Creativity Tools:

Teachers fearlessly exploring the Web in search of new technology tools--sort of like Dora (minus the pet monkey).

Creativity tools

= 

websites or apps that allow students to synthesize information into a new product. 

They are vital to student learning because they often allow students to mix new information and prior knowledge, making learning more personalized and relevant.

In my search for online creativity tools, I explored the following sites:

Ninjaword.com :  Really fast online dictionary
Liked:  Not a creativity tool, but I struggle to get my middle and high school students to use a dictionary. Since I teach all boys, I'm thinking they'll go for anything with the word "ninja" in it. 
Disliked: I did not like that it's driven by information from Wiktionary instead of a more reputable organization like Merriam-Webster, but it'll do.

Aviary.com:  Photo editing 
Liked:  I will use it during our technology applications photo editing unit since we can't afford Photoshop and it has features like, whitening and blemish removal.  
Disliked:  I did not like that it does not allow you to free-form crop shapes, so I will also offer www.lunapic.com as a choice for my students to use.

Twiddla.com: online collaborative drawing site where you can upload images, co-browse the Internet, etc.
Liked:  That there were so many imaginable affordances for the site, like brainstorming during our design projects, editing each others work, processing information with group Venn diagrams, etc. Site was super fun to use.
Disliked:  This site has so many capabilities, it's hard to figure out practical applications for my classroom.  

• Describe how this creativity tool that you selected might fit into the TPACK model. Specifically, describe the content, pedagogical and technological aspects of some student work that uses the creativity tool you selected.
• Identify other ways that students could use the creativity tool you selected.

Best New Find:   Wikispaces

Wikispaces wins because creating a wiki is a required skill for my technology applications students.  I did a poor job previously of teaching the concept and hope to rectifiy that this school year. 

Application to the TPACK Model:

Technology--Affordances of Wikispaces

Wikispaces allows for teachers to create virtual places for students to work in groups to collaboratively create a product.  Students can make edits and additions to the space, then publish their work so that parents or others on the Internet can view it.   

Content—Considering the affordances, the Wikispaces format would match well with the following learning standards for my 7th Grade Technology Applications class:

126.15. Technology Applications, Grade 7 Addressed:
-(2)  Communication and collaboration. The student collaborates and communicates both locally and globally to reinforce and promote learning. The student is expected to:  (A)  create personal learning networks to collaborate and publish with peers, experts, or others using digital tools such as blogs, wikis, audio/video communication, or other emerging technologies;--(6)  Technology operations and concepts. The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. The student is expected to: (A)  define and use current technology terminology appropriately

Pedagogy—Since the goal is for students to internalize new technology-based vocabulary, I will ask students to add words to our wiki as we use them in class.  We could start with just the basic definitions, then add in real-life examples of the word used in context, categorize and group them and to all other sorts of word wall activities like these. The advantage is that the words are accessible to students from anyplace and can be manipulated virtually.