The Role of Creativity in Student EngagementLearning through Social Learning Networks

July 10, 2014

George DafoulasComputer Science Department

School of Science and Technology

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• I will start with a boring introduction (how do I perceive creativity?)

• I will continue with rather unorthodox practices (how is my creativity triggered?)

• I will conclude with hopefully some interesting cases (how do I channel my creativity?)

• The workshop– touches on curriculum design and development, – introduces creative techniques in teaching delivery,– reflects on how rich feedback supports creative formative

assessment, – provides a range of creative processes for student engagement – concludes with the role of technology in learning enhancement.

Agenda

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• Creative learning is widely understood to be characterised by:– questioning and challenging– making connections and seeing relationships– envisaging what might be– exploring ideas, keeping options open– reflecting critically on ideas, actions and outcomes

Creativity: find it, promote it (QCA/05/1596)

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2005

in

Learning: creative approaches that raise standards (No. 080266)

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)

What is creativity

Researchers define creativity as the development of ideas, products, or solutions that are perceived both as (a) unique and novel and (b) relevant and useful.

http://celestra.ca

The Creativity Portal is a key element of Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan and the

strong partnership that exists between Creative Scotland and Education Scotland.

http://http://creativityportal.org.uk

Play is the cornerstone of creative learning(Kim Thomas, Guardian Professional, Tuesday 15 October 2013)Roundtable report commissioned and controlled by the GuardianDiscussion hosted to a brief agreed with LEGO Education Funded by LEGO Education

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/oct/15/play-creative-learning-roundtable

30 ideas for promoting creativity in learningEmbrace creativity as part of learningUse emotional connectionsSee creativity in a positive lightEstablish expressive freedomAllow room for mistakesFind ways to incorporate and integrate art, music and cultureUse a collaborative creative thinking model to solve classroom problems

The Incubation Modelby E. Paul Torrance

It involves 3 stages:1. Heightening Anticipation: Make connections between the classroom

and student’s real lives.  “Create the desire to know”.2. Deepen Expectations: Engage the curriculum in new ways. 

Brainstorm and create opportunities to solve a novel problem.3. Keep it going: Continue the thinking beyond the lesson or classroom. 

Find ways to extend learning opportunities at home or even the community.

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George’s views• Everyone has a creative side…• Some can be more creative than others…• Creativity cannot be taught…• But it can be triggered…• Always seek a creativity waking up call…

My waking up call came from

Shelley and Alejandro!

So creativity can be pretty confusing…

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Creative spell – relax

• Relax and start a creative journey– Breathing exercises…– Body tension relief…– Kick starting your imagination…

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• Original idea: – Helping my students to learn outside the traditional classroom in a more relaxed

setting.

• Creativity element:– Students have the freedom to experience different learning stimuli such as slides,

voting, discussions, design sandpits, formative assessment through online quizzes, brief talks and immersive environments.

• Scenario:– Each student created an avatar, logged on to a Second Life viewer, and participated

in structured seminar sessions. Students used computers in labs and at home, followed instructions and interacted in group exercises. At the end of each session students took an online quiz using a survey monkey web page.

• Research:– Architectural impact on learning experience– Communication patterns – Learning activity patterns– Avatar movement patterns

Case:Virtual Learning Worlds

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• Feel free to ask questions about:– The DaCT Village demonstration– Pilot snapshots– Pilot short videos

Discussion:Virtual Learning Worlds

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Send a postcard to your student who failed your module and has to retake it, although he/she never missed a lecture or seminar and did everything you asked him/her to do. Write…

– Tell him/her how you feel for the poor result.– Make him/her a promise for the next term.

Creative Spell – send a postcard

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• Original idea: – Supporting my students in experiencing how it is to develop software in a realistic

setting as part of a global software development team.

• Creativity element:– Students can use a variety of tools including blogs, wikis, forums, chat, file

repositories while collaborating with students of other Universities. They must manage the different tools and perform over time zone and cultural differences.

• Scenario:– So far students have worked with five different Universities residing in US, Panama

and Turkey. Recently the pilots involved six Universities from Egypt and Palestine. Once students join a group they must follow the instructions and meet several deadlines for interim deliverables in projects that last up to three weeks.

• Research:– Coding GSD communication– Visual analytics of group communication– Learning performance against interaction styles– Cultural, professional and learning surveys

Case:Computer Supported Cooperative Learning

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• Feel free to ask questions about:– The Redmine demonstration– Pilot snapshots– Pilot visual analytics

Discussion:Computer Supported Cooperative Learning

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• Remember your early school years…• Remember your school’s supplies…• Remember your favourite teacher…• Remember something special he/she taught you…• Remember what made it so memorable…

Creative Spell - remember

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• Original idea: – Admitting the lost battle against Facebook and make it part of my teaching in

seminars as well as self paced study.

• Creativity element:– Students are able to join a Facebook page dedicated to their group project and apply

BIS theories into practice. Simultaneously each individual uses Facebook for tasks such as evaluation, peer review, reflection, feedback and formative assessment.

• Scenario:– Each student is given weekly briefs in order to perform certain deployment,

evaluation, testing and maintenance tasks of a system. Students experience the use of Facebook as a development platform both as individuals and in groups.

• Research:– Role of social networks in web marketing – Role of social networks in customer relationship management – Role of social networks in e-learning– User behaviour in social learning networks

Case:Social Learning Networks

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• Feel free to ask questions about:– Facebook pages demonstration– Survey demonstration– Visual analytics

Discussion:Social Learning Networks

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• Look• Feel• Smell• Taste

Creative Spell – use your senses

Student A Student B

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• Original idea: – Improving the employability of my students in Forensic Computing and provide a

synthesis project as part of my digital evidence module.

• Creativity element:– Students participate in a role playing scenario that involves creating an

investigation team and performing a range of tasks based on skills and knowledge gained throughout their degree. The final assessment involves external guests and this year all students presented their work at KPMG offices in Canary Wharf.

• Scenario:– Student teams investigate a crime scene, collect physical evidence by following set

procedures, analyse their collected data, produce a synthesis report and present their findings.

• Research:– User activity on social networks– GSD communication and collaboration patterns– Visual analytics of social network usage– Role of collaborative technologies in software development

Case:Technology Enhanced Learning

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• Feel free to ask questions about:– The actual investigation– The role playing scenario (sample of an actual group report)– The involvement of KPMG and EY in assessment

Discussion:Technology Enhanced Learning

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Conclusion – creativity is…

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?Questions