At the TCEA convention this week, I had the privilege of attending a reception put on by the good folks at Discovery Education. At the reception, we were introduced to Dr. Lodge McCammon, who is a Specialist in Curriculum and Contemporary Media at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University. Lodge shared some fantastic music videos that teacher participants at Discovery’s pre-conference workshop had presented and talked briefly about his work creating music videos for Discovery Education. His videos cover advanced science, math, and social studies topics, and they are available at Discovery Education’s Streaming video site (search Lodge McCammon). We talked briefly about his work and research (including a fascinating bit about how traditional music affects the brain versus rap music’s effect), and he was gracious enough to give me a few minutes to ask him about his thoughts on music in traditional subject areas. For more information on his work, visit his website, Iamlodge.com.
Archives for creativity
TCEA 2011 Presentation Notes
Links from my workshop at TCEA: Unleashing Creativity: Web 2.0 Tools for Creativity and Innovation
Group Discussion: http://todaysmeet.com/randy
Videos:
- Sir Ken Robinson shares a great story about discovering creativity.
- Okay Go music video utilizes a Rube Goldberg machine in an incredible way!
- Eric Whitacre creates an amazing music video through online collaboration.
- PS22 shows one of their beautiful demonstrations of the power of music in education.
Brainstorming/Collaboration
- Wallwisher –set up a wall for brainstorming, collaborating online.
- Twiddla –create free, collaborative whiteboard spaces online.
- Solvr –easy site lets users post a problem, then participants propose solutions.
- Mindmeister –easy collaborative brainstorming, graphic organizer tool.
- Thinklinkr –create/share collaborative outlines.
- Mindomo –online mind-mapping/brainstorming.
- Diagrammr –create simple diagrams for ideas by just writing sentences.
- CoSketch –collaborate through drawing; includes ability to incorporate Google Maps.
- DecideAlready –share a question/problem, propose a solution, and let participants vote on best ideas.
- Bubbl.us –collaborative mind map creation tool; easy, Flash-based interface.
- Creately –create collaborative diagrams, mind maps, flow charts, etc. with drag-and-drop interface; free version allows up to 3 collaborators and 5 diagrams.
Visual Arts
- ArtPad –easy-to-use tool for creating art online.
- Scribbler –turns simple online sketches into cool works of sketch art.
- Pixlr –great online photo editing tool, similar to Photoshop.
- Citrify –another Pixlr-like photo editor.
- BuildaMosaic –create photo mosaics using images from your computer or Facebook account.
- Photoshop –online, scaled-down version of Adobe’s powerful image editing tool.
- Queeky –create online paintings, then play back as video.
- Picassohead –create Picasso-style portraits online.
- Mugtug –really nice, easy-to-use online drawing/painting tool.
- GoAnimate4Schools –education version of a wonderful animation creation tool.
- Aviary Phoenix –photo editing site with some really nice, innovative tools. (One attendee mentioned this is part of Google Apps for education, as well!)
- Splashup –another good, free Photoshop-style photo editor.
- Fashionplaytes –site lets girls design and even order their own clothing.
- Garmz –users can contribute their own fashion designs, which, if liked by viewers, will be produced, sold, and profits shared with the creators.
- YourStudio –nice online drawing/painting tool with a variety of brushes, textures, etc.
- Pixenate –easy to use web-based photo editor; images can be saved or uploaded directly to Flickr.
- Myoats –Unique online drawing tool with a variety of features, including a mirroring effect that produces wonderful geometric designs.
Music
- Soundation –create and share music with a click-and-drag interface.
- Noteflight –write music, hear it played, and share it online.
- JamStudio –create and share music online using a variety of instruments. (One attendee shared that they were, at one time, offering free education accounts–haven’t verified, but worth checking out!)
- Kisstunes –online piano keyboard lets users create/share music; site is undergoing re-design, but worth keeping an eye on.
- Buttonbeats –online keyboard plus quite a few other music creation tools. Site is cluttered, but worth a look.
- Aviary Music Creator –create, share, and download music using click-and-drag interface.
- LoopLabs –online tool lets users mix music using a variety of tracks/effects.
- MusicFont –interesting site turns text into music.
- Ujam –social music creation and sharing site; includes song templates that can be modified into new compositions.
Engineering/Architecture/Design
- Floorplanner –create 2D and 3D floor plans online. Free version gives 1 design per account.
- Classroom Architect –design the ultimate classroom with a click-and-drag interface.
- Golem Game –lets users create animated physics simulations and designs.
- Google Sketchup –Google’s free 3D design tool (download); be sure to contact TCEA for free pro account code!
- Architect Studio 3D –site lets users design a house online; great twist is that it requires them to take into account the needs/preferences of the future resident.
- Homestyler –really easy tool for designing floor plans using a click-and-drag interface with lots of options.
Invention/Innovation Contests
- By Kids For Kids –site features variety of student competitions.
- InventAmerica –national contest for young innovators/inventors.
- Intel Science Talent Search –science innovation competition offering hundreds of thousands in scholarships.
- Exploravision –k-12 science competition from Toshiba.
- US First –invention contest sponsored by Lego.
- Edison Innovation Awards –competition honoring inventors from grades k-12.
- Life Jacket Design –annual contests offers $500 for innovative life jacket designs.
Additional Sites Recommended by Attendees
- Picnik –really nice photo editor with some great effects; integrated into Flickr, too.
- Xtranormal –one of my favorite animation tools. Attendee shared that teachers can email the site for free user points–cool!
- Phixr –simple photo editing tool with plenty of options for most users without being overwhelming.
- PhotoFunia –choose from a variety of special effects to add to photos.
Edit note: I apologize for broken/incorrect links. They should be fixed now.
(Formerly 12-Second) BISD Tech Challenge #3: Chogger
After far too lengthy a delay, here is the latest BISD Tech Challenge. Since the demise of 12second.tv, we are moving forward with the larger, all-powerful YouTube as our video host. This week will focus on Chogger, a tool that can be used at all ages and in all subjects to foster creativity through the creation of online comic strips. An example is below the video, just to get you inspired. Notice the important note in the video about cheating letting your students do the heavy lifting on this one! When you (or your delegate) have completed a comic strip, just post a link to it in the comments section. Have fun–this is about creativity, something most of us haven’t done enough of since we left kindergarten!
Click the comic strip to view larger.
