Caine's Arcade
A 9 year old boy builds an elaborate cardboard arcade inside his dad's used auto part store. What are the conditions that help to fuel his creativity? How is his creativity augmented by others? What does this film tell us about the importance of making and doing (both analogue and digital), of finding an audience and the relationships between young people and supportive adults in the development of creative learners?
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Making is Connecting
David Gauntlett's book 'Making is Connecting' argues that, through making things, people engage with the world and create connections with each other. Both online and offline, we see that people want to make their mark on the world, and to make connections.
Gauntlett argues that we are seeing a shift from a 'sit-back-and-be-told' culture to a 'making-and-doing culture'. People are rejecting traditional teaching and television, and making their own learning and entertainment instead. This video is a short, 4 minute summary of the book's key ideas. |
Where do good ideas come from?
Steven Johnson presents this brilliantly animated discussion about the origins of good ideas and concludes that "chance favours the connected mind."
This series of animations comes from the RSA. Check out Daniel Pink's fascinating research about what motivates us or Matthew Taylor on the 21st century enlightenment. |
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The Myths and Opportunities of Technology in the ClassroomAlan November discusses the need for learners to utilise the internet to connect with each other to solve problems. He advocates that we take another look at The Bauhaus as a template for inter-disciplinary learning. He hopes that schools have the confidence to both protect their learners and unleash their creativity, helping them to develop the skills necessary for prosperity and success in the 21st century. This is one of a series of films on a website entitled A 21st Century Education. The twelve films explore three of the most important debates in contemporary education: Technology, Student-Centred Learning and Social Justice in Education.
Fascinating stuff! |
Project-based learning at High Tech High
In this inspirational film, Larry Rosenstock, describes a vision for education that blends the head, the heart, and the hands. High Tech High embraces learning that flows from personal interests, passion for discovery and a celebration of art, technology and craftsmanship. In many ways, the school represents a 21st century version of The Bauhaus.
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Empowering Young Learners
Professor Stephen Heppell discusses his vision for 21st century learning, takes us to the 'Be Very Afraid' showcase and visits a new learning lab in a London school.
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Tim Brown on Creativity and PlayTim Brown is the CEO of IDEO the innovative design company. This talk deals with many ideas that companies can use to re-focus and push themselves to become more imaginative. Brown has some excellent ideas about how to break out of the unwritten rules that prevent us from exercising creative thinking. He describes the importance of learning through making low resolution prototypes (construction play) and being surrounded by playful materials. Role play is also significant in thinking about difficult problems that involve human interaction. Most importantly, he reminds us that "play is not anarchy. It has rules. This co-negotiation leads to productive play." The ability to move between divergent (playful) and convergent (solution focused) modes is what makes good design. It might also provide a useful model for successful learning.
He gets the audience to play during his talk, including taking the 30 circles test. You can download a pdf related to this activity by clicking the link below. 30 Circles Test handout. |
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We Think
A short video encapsulating the ideas in Charles Leadbeater's book We Think.
More people than ever can participate in culture, contributing their ideas, views, information. The web allows them not just to publish but to share and connect, to collaborate and when the conditions are right, to create, together, at scale. That is why the web is a platform for mass creativity and innovation. We Think published in March 2008 is an exploration of what that will mean for our culture, the way we work, government, science and business. |
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Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson asks how do we make change happen in education and how do we make it last?
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Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
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Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."
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Game designer David Perry says tomorrow's video games will be more than mere fun to the next generation of gamers. They'll be lush, complex, emotional experiences -- more involving and meaningful to some than real life.
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The world's organizations are changing. Networked tools are allowing groups to form and collaborate without any of the traditional friction that comes from managing the efforts of multitudes.
Clay Shirky, a noted author and educator on the social and economic effects of the web, speaks here in May 2008 about his book, "Here Comes Everybody - The Power of Organizing Without Organizations." |
A pioneer in research on play, Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults -- and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.
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