Creativity Contract QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Discover the Water Cycle

What is the water cycle?

Diagram of the water cycle

Fill in your own water system diagram

Description of stages and activity pages

Bill Nye the Science Guy youtube video

Lesson Plan: Where does the water come from? 

As students progress through the activities, they will  be able to define the stages of the water cycle and draw a simple diagram. Many of these links reinforce one another so that the students are presented the same information in multiple ways.

Learning and Leading article used for all QR codes
QR codes made at unitaglive.com

Creativity Contract, SmartBoard Lesson Plan

In a few years I will be an elementary school teacher. I could not be happier to begin my career of changing lives. I took EDIT 2000 to help me utilize technology in my classroom. My knowledge and skills were very limited.  I am more confident in my progress, even though I still need help... a lot of help.

I chose to develop a SmartBoard lesson plan because of its practical use in my classroom. Starting out I had no idea how to use SmartBoard at all. I knew it would be a challenge, but that is exactly why I wanted to learn how to use it.

When writing lesson plans the first step is to always check the standards. I decided to tailor my lesson plan for first grade math. Once I had a general idea of the standards, I needed to brainstorm. I perused through explanations and examples of SmartBoard's capabilities. Now that I knew some of my options, I went back to the standards to figure out what I could teach well on the SmartBoard. I had a difficult time  in the beginning, but the more I worked with it, the easier SmartBoard became. At some points it was almost overwhelming that I had so many options. I used a lot of trial and error in my developmental process. My end result is exactly what I was hoping to achieve. This was just my first run with SmartBoard, but I look forward to improving with more practice.

Mac-Smart-Tutorial by K. Valentine

Smart Board Basics

QR Code for Right From the Heart Ministries

Daily Devotionals

QR codes... I honestly had no idea what this meant until recently. I noted the jumbled up icons all over campus. Well when I figured out QR codes work by scanning the code with an iPhone, I decided to give it a try. I was not sure at first what I wanted to my QR code to do. I used to get these daily devotionals sent to me, but I stopped in college when I had a million other emails. My mom forwarded me one the other day and I thought this would be perfect to share using a QR code. I hope you will find the site interesting and helpful!

I made my QR codes from unitaglive.com

Creativity and Innovation

Addition using Base Ten Blocks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leKwLyAF4Es&feature=youtu.be

Happy Birthday Katie

This Saturday my friend turned 25. I wanted to get her something that would be meaningful, especially because I wasn't able to see her on her birthday. Katie lives in Chandler, AZ. When I was visiting her this summer we did many silly things together, like skipping and dancing in the street. We also got really into coloring. We bought the biggest box of crayons and markers Target had. Coloring books are expensive if you want to get a good one. Our favorite was the Disney Princesses, and it was worth $15. We enjoyed coloring them perfectly, weird colors, or addicting words for a funny caption. I did not have a princess book with me here, so I colored Katie what I had. She loves turkey sandwiches and pink. In Arizona we went to Yogurtland frequently. At this frozen yogurt place they had special spoons that we may or may not have taken extras of to eat cereal and yogurt at home.

Creativity (FFOE)

1.     What are the four dimensions that J.P. Guilford used to describe creativity?

Fluency (FL), flexibility (FLX), originality (O),and elaboration (E)

2.     
 With which of the four dimensions do you struggle the most? Provide details as to why/how this dimension is difficult for you.


a.     I have a tough time in general with flexibility. I tend to think very concretely and rigidly. I prefer and prepare lessons that are detailed and specific. I know my students will get so much more out of any activity if they have a say and make their own choices. The world is constantly changing and my students need to be prepared to adapt to whatever comes. Incorporating flexibility into all areas of life will be beneficial. Looking at an issue from someone else’s perspective allows information to be processed in different ways, and create “interpersonal and cross cultural bonds.”

3.     Think about all of the tools we’ve learned about in class so far. Select a tool and describe how it might help with two or more of the four dimensions of creativity.

a.     I have not used Pearltrees, but from the amount of time I have explored it, I can easily see the flexibility and elaboration. The way Pearltrees works is through collecting, joining, and connecting various information you find interesting on the web. Someone can personalize their own tree and add to it at anytime. There is collaboration amongst its users that easily share information with one another. The flow of thoughts could easily be changed and represented in a different way. Changing your pearltrees is part of the benefit of the tool. Pearltrees is designed for organization with continual information being added, and then shared. The ability to collect, organize, change, add to, and share information are endless.

4.     
 Spend 10-15 minutes exploring one of the creativity tools listed in the chart on p. 14 in the article. Make sure not to choose a tool you’ve used before. How could that tool be used to support creativity in your chosen grade/subject area?

a.     Bubbl.us (http://bubbl.us) FL FLX E

b.     From the playing around that I did on Bubbl.us, I discovered how easy it is to use and to build off of your ideas. It simply helps you brainstorm and connect one thing to anther. It makes a lot of sense visually to see your brain take one concept and expand that to something completely different. There is a lot of flexibility in the way you choose to represent your flow of thoughts. Students will be able to tailor their “Bubbl” to their specific needs and process.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Please read for the hard truth about our education system

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U