4 Fundamentals Of Lateral Thinking That Literally Everyone Should Know 1/31/14 12:46 AM

This is a community post, untouched by our editors.1. Lateral thinking is about increasing the breadth of options.

sketchplanations.comThere’s a lot of mention of lateral thinking without a whole lot of knowledge about the what and the why of it. Very often it seems that it’s just brainstorming. Here’s a short set of some of the fundamentals of lateral thinking. In this one the point really is that lateral thinking doesn’t solve things by itself, but you need both lateral and vertical thinking at different times. And they are very hard to do together because they are quite different mindsets.As I understand it, Lateral thinking is from Edward de Bono.

2. Labels are not collectors but signposts. They are not fixed.

sketchplanations.comDuring lateral thinking labels don’t have to clearly be one thing or another, they can be flexible. The phablet is a reasonable recent example of how existing terms and definitions can constrain on your thinking.3. You don’t have to be right at every step.

sketchplanations.comI love the principle behind this — that you can get to something that works without having things that are possible and would work along the way.A stickier way of saying a similar thing is:“There is nothing more dangerous than to leap a chasm in two jumps” - David Lloyd George4. Lateral thinking changes perspective just to be provocative.

sketchplanations.comDe Bono talks a lot about provocation as a means, for example, of deliberating provoking something impossible just to provide a new perspective. For example, when trying to design a car that’s better for passengers you might provoke with something like, what would a car look like that didn’t go anywhere. Of course, you probably need the car to go somewhere, but it might lead to an idea that the doors needn’t be at the side, that the roof might change height, or that you could plumb it in. It may lead nowhere. Then again, it may lead to something new and interesting in the next step

Hating left brain – right brain generalisations 1/31/14 12:46 AM

Posted on October 19, 2010 by The Cross Pollinating Project NomadI believe passionately that everyone is capable of coming up with ideas and that creativity is not isolated to one side of the brain.In 2008 an article on Web MD (see below for full reference), it was reported that the bottom line for creativity was for the brain to get out of its own way and go with the flow. I cite this article as an example of evidence that proves that creativity is not isolated to one side of the brain.Six full-time professional jazz musicians had their brains scanned twice while playing a scale or a memorized jazz piece.  The first scan was when  the music was performed exactly as written and again when they were free to improvise and apply their own interpretation.

During improvisation, the brain’s dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral orbital regions were far less active — and another brain area, the medial prefrontal cortex, was more active.Don’t think that creativity is isolated to one side of the brain  – that’s actually a lame notion.

Most of us tend to tap into one side more often and the other less.  If you want to change this you can teach yourself lateral thinking skills so that you move more effortlessly between the two sides of the brain. 

But back to those jazz musicians. During improvisation the brain regions that were quiet were involved in consciously monitoring, evaluating, and correcting behaviors. You could say that these are the skills that allow you to make decisions about aesthetics – i.e questions the quality of the creative pursuit or product.In contrast, the medial prefrontal cortex allows self-expression, in this case in the form of jazz improvisation, according to the study. Expression is where you want to break free and communicate your own unique message, thoughts and ideas. This is the part of creativity where you don’t want to conform but where you feel the need to express yourself in an uninhibited spontaneous manner.From this we can conclude that creativity isn’t just about self-expression. The brain’s sensory regions were more active during improvisation. There is no single creative area of the brain – it is all connected. This means that we can ALL learn to be more creative through practice. The study enforces that there is a strong and consistent pattern of activity throughout the brain that enables creativity.If you would like to see the full article written by Miranda Hitti at WebMD Health News entitled ‘Your Brain on Creativity, To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, Your Inner Critic Must Hush’ go here.

Port Forwarding the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router for D-Link DCS-932L 1/31/14 12:46 AM

Port Forwarding the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router for D-Link DCS-932L

What is Port Forwarding?If you don't know what Port Forwarding is yet, you might want to start by reading our What is Port Forwarding guide.View TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Screenshots from our DatabaseYou might also be interested in our huge collection of Router Screenshots where you can see every page of every router that we know of.Before Forwarding a Port Setup a Static IP AddressTo setup port forwarding on the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router your computer needs to have a static IP address. You should complete one of the following steps first:

Either try our free program that will setup a static IP address for you called PF Setup Static IP.

Or follow our Static IP Address guide to setup a static IP address.

Now that you have setup a Static IP Address on your computer, please enter the IP address that you assigned to your computer here:192.168.0.20 Don't Skip This Step!

Login to the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 RouterNow we need to know your routers IP address. You can find it a variety of ways.How To Find Your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router IP AddressIt's ok if you don't know your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router's internal IP address. You can find it by doing one of the following:

Either find your router IP address using this guide: How To Find Your Routers IP Address

Or you can use our Free Software to find your router IP address. PF Static IP Address and PF Router Detector are both free software applications that will help you find your router IP address.Login To The TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Using Your Web Browser

Open a web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Enter the internal IP address of your router in the address bar of your browser.

In the picture above the address bar has http://www.google.com in it. Just replace all of that with the internal IP address of your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router. By default the IP address should be set to 192.168.1.1.

You should see a box prompting you for your username and password. Enter your username and password now.The Default TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Username is: adminThe Default TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Password is: admin

Click the Ok button to log in to your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router.

Default Usernames and Passwords for other TP-Link Routers

Please visit our Default TP-Link Router Passwords page if the username and password shown below did not work for you.If you can't login to your router because you forgot your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router username and password, use our How to Reset a Router Password guide to set your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router back to its factory settings.

How to Port Forward D-Link DCS-932L on the TP-Link TL-WDR4300

Having trouble forwarding ports on the TP-Link TL-WDR4300?If you are having trouble with this guide, then perhaps PFConfig may be your solution. PFConfig is a software tool that will automatically forward ports for your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router to save you time and hassle.TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Port Forwarding ScreenshotsNow that you are logged in to your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router you should see the following:

Click the Forwarding link near the left of the page.You should now see a new menu. In this new menu, click Virtual Servers.

Click the Add New button near the center of the page.

Forward Ports 80 on the TP-Link TL-WDR4300We will list a series of lines here that will show you exactly how to forward the ports you need to forward. D-Link DCS-932L requires you to forward the 80 ports. Go ahead and enter the settings shown above into the Add or Modify a Virtual Server Entry menu and then click Save.Service Port: 80IP Address: 192.168.0.20Protocol: ALLStatus: Enabled

And that is it! You are done!

Test if Your Ports are OpenNow that you have forwarded ports for D-Link DCS-932L on the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 you should test to see if your ports are forwarded correctly.To test if your port has been properly forwarded, you can use our Open Port Check tool. Our Open Port Check tool is the only online port checking tool with Guaranteed Results.TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Screenshot DatabaseDidn't find the screenshot you were looking for? Check our our TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Screenshots. We have the Internets largest collection of Router Screenshots.

Praxis makes perfect 1/31/14 12:46 AM

Praxis is not as commonly referred to in the educational field as it should be. It is a poorly understood concept, and not particularly well researched either. And yet praxis is (or should be) at the very heart of what we do, and who we aspire to be, as educators. What is praxis? My explanation is that praxis is at the nexus - the overlap - between theory and practice. It's the sweet spot of education in action. Praxis is the essence of what happens when theory is applied to practice, and can be simplified in this Venn diagram. But there is a lot more to understand about praxis.

My colleague Oliver Quinlan wrote a very thoughtful post about praxis. He argued that the theoretical models we learn, and the skills we acquire as teachers, are inextricably entwined. They influence each other, and in effect, become a part of who you are, your identity as an educator. He writes:

"...your theoretical framework influences your practice, but your experience in the classroom also continues to shape your framework; the two are not separate."

Others have also written eloquently about praxis. The Brazilian educator and theorist Paulo Freire for example, defined the gaining of praxis as a means to emerge from oppression and ignorance:

"One of the gravest obstacles to the achievement of liberation is that oppressive reality absorbs those within it and thereby acts to submerge human beings' consciousness. Functionally, oppression is domesticating. To no longer be prey to its force, one must emerge from it and turn upon it. This can be done only by means of the praxis: reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it." (Freire, 1970: 33).

Freire is concerned with liberty from oppression. This oppression takes on the form of ignorance as much as it does chains, or prison bars, or walls of a ghetto. He is saying that praxis gives us the awareness, or consciousness of where we are. A realisation of the predicament we are in. It is an awakening to the reality, and a call for action to do something about it. Knowing, and then doing something based on that knowledge, is a powerful response. But it's not as simple as that. Consider the following passage:

"We can now see the full quality of praxis. It is not simply action based on reflection. It is action which embodies certain qualities. These include a commitment to human well being and the search for truth, and respect for others. It is the action of people who are free, who are able to act for themselves. Moreover, praxis is always risky. It requires that a person 'makes a wise and prudent practical judgement about how to act in this situation' (Carr and Kemmis 1986: 190)."

Theory without action is just theory. Hot air. Action without theory can be just as hollow. How can you justify your actions and decisions in the classroom, if you have no theory to support you? The best equipped teachers are those who are best informed. The best way to use theory is to test it out in practice. The most effective teachers are those who not only innovate in their practice, but also know how to justify their actions through the application of appropriate theory. Praxis is the contextualisation of theory within action. It can, and should pervade every aspect of our professional practice and identity as an educator. It's time to stop thinking about theory and practice as separate concepts. It's time teachers began to meld the two together, so that thinking and action - theory and practice - combine to enable us to create, develop and maintain the best possible learning environments for our students. That's how important praxis is.

ReferencesCarr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986) Becoming Critical. Education, knowledge and action research, Lewes: Falmer Press.Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin Books.