Student Creativity Tools

For this technology play I will be discussing three "creativity tools" that could be utilized in the classroom. Creativity tools give the students the power to express themselves in a nonconventional way through the use of pictures, videos, comic stips, etc. These tools can be used by students to demonstrate understanding and flex their creativity as proof of learning.

The first of the three creativity tools that I experimented with was Pixton.com . This site allows students to make virtual comic strips. The website helps students achieve this by allowing them to create an avatar (virtual cartoon of themselves or characters), use templates to create storylines, and provides the option of creating speech bubbles and embedding videos into their comic strip. It is free with limited features, but the free version is still useful and easy to use. The reason I chose this particular tool to explore is I designed a vocabulary activity for my high school Geometry students. In this activity students will make a comic strip using the unit vocabulary and create a story. Pixton will give the students a chance to show their work digitally and it will give students that are reluctant to draw an aid to create high quality work that they can be proud of. Pixton provides a "classroom" for students to submit their work online, the teacher is able to review their work, and then able to keep the best work to show as examples to other classes.

The second creativity tool that I explored was Canva.com . Canva is a website that can be used by students, teachers and professionals to create unique and professional looking presentations and videos. Canva offers templates, backgrounds, music, and images that can be used to construct a presentation. This website offers a free version, but the premium version includes a huge library of images, backgrounds, and music whereas the free version offers very few. Canva also gives teachers and students the option of presenting and recording simultaneously or presenting live. Canva offers professional printing of any presentations or slides/posters that you create. Canva is similar to Google Slides and will help students create a similar product.

The third creativity tool that I investigated was Prezi.com. This creativity tool is similar to Canva because it is another option for creating presentations. Prezi is different than Canva because it offers more interactive presentations that are visually pleasing and professional looking. There is a free version that offers many backgrounds, images, templates and the option to embed videos from outside platforms. It is very convenient to use since it connects directly to Google Drive when you are signed into Google. This website was very user friendly and I have decided that I am going to create my slideshow for open house using Prezi. In my exploration I have deemed Prezi the best platform for both students and teachers to use for creating interactive, and attention grabbing presentations. It can also used to create quizzes that provide instant feedback, or for creating/delivering lessons and instructions. Since this website allows students to connect directly to Google Drive, transferring files and images is seamless. Prezi allows for the user to show and interact with the presentation while continuing to be visible on screen. It also works seamlessly with Zoom and Google Meet, as well as several other video conferencing platforms. The affordances of this creativity tool give students the ability to create and reflect on learning, as well as become experts on content learned and then teach it to other students. Since students are able to record themselves, they will have a broader audience from whom they can receive feedback and also to whom they can answer questions regarding their video and topic.

To integrate Prezi in a lesson I would assign each student a different pythagorean theorem questions. Then each student would create a slide to add to my slideshow. Students would then view each other's work in my slide show and discuss why a problem was worked correctly or how to correct it. For a second activity using this platform I would assign each student a different quadrilateral to teach to the class. Students will create a presentation explaining the different qualities of their figures and how the pythagorean theorem and properties of parallel/perpendicular lines prove that each quality is in fact present in the given polygon. Once students have created their slideshow and proofs, the students will then record a video of themselves presenting the slide show and proof to be posted on my class YouTube channel. Using Prezi would address my learning objectives of : Students will use pythagorean theorem and properties of parallel/perpendicular lines to create a mini lesson proving that at least one quality of the polygon is true.

The second lesson idea would address the T, C, and P of TPACK. The students will use technology to address a mathematical proof that utilizes multiple topics from different units to prove a statement is true, and then teach/explain to others why the statement/quality is true. Further, this use of technology would address my use of pedagogy by requiring students to collaborate with each other to create a mathematical proof, and also to create their final product. Each student will be able to contribute their strengths to the assignment and take part in the learning. Since the students will be posting these video lessons online to my class Youtube channel, there will be an opportunity to students and teachers around the world to comment and make corrections to the students' thinking and reasoning.

I believe that these creativity tools are useful because they encourage collaboration and gives each student the power to create visual elements and presentations that are professional looking and visually attractive. This gives students that are reluctant to display their artistic abilities (or lack thereof) with others. These online creativity tools also give the student and teacher the ability to view the works online, and to view each others' work without having to stand up in front of an entire class of students. Online connectivity will encourage students to critique the work of others and to receive feedback from individuals outside of the classroom. This particular activity uses the "connectivism" learning theory which depends on discourse and collaboration between students to develop a deeper understanding of learning.

The use of creativity tools is an improvement over paper and pencil, quizzes, and instructional games as a form of assessment because these tools give students a chance to demonstrate their learning through a different format. This supports students that may be weak in one area, and allows those that are strong in the area of technology to showcase their skills. Though I do not really using Google Slides, I believe that it is important for students to learn how to use it, and is therefore important for me to learn how to use it to support their learning. The more programs they learn, the easier it will be for them to learn new software and platforms in their future academic and professional careers.