1. The Role of Creativity in Student Engagement Learning through Social Learning Networks July 10, 2014 George Dafoulas Computer Science Department School of Science and Technology

2. 2 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 3. 3 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 Scotlands 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 Guardian Discussion 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 learning Embrace creativity as part of learning Use emotional connections See creativity in a positive light Establish expressive freedom Allow room for mistakes Find ways to incorporate and integrate art, music and culture Use a collaborative creative thinking model to solve classroom problems The Incubation Model by E. Paul Torrance It involves 3 stages: 1. Heightening Anticipation: Make connections between the classroom and students 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. 4. 4 Georges 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 5. 5 Creative spell relax Relax and start a creative journey Breathing exercises Body tension relief Kick starting your imagination 6. 6 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 7. 7 Feel free to ask questions about: The DaCT Village demonstration Pilot snapshots Pilot short videos Discussion: Virtual Learning Worlds 8. 8 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 9. 9 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 10. 10 Feel free to ask questions about: The Redmine demonstration Pilot snapshots Pilot visual analytics Discussion: Computer Supported Cooperative Learning 0 50 100 150 Group Posts per Day 458 459 460 461 148 501 60 172 Total Posts per Group 458 459 460 461 0 100 200 300 bzu0005 cu0006 hu0005 iug0007 hu0009 iug0011 cu0010 hu0012 iug0014 aqu0019 cu0012 hu0015 iug0018 458 459 460 461 Total Posts Total Posts 11. 11 Remember your early school years Remember your schools supplies Remember your favourite teacher Remember something special he/she taught you Remember what made it so memorable Creative Spell - remember 12. 12 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 13. 13 Feel free to ask questions about: Facebook pages demonstration Survey demonstration Visual analytics Discussion: Social Learning Networks 14. 14 Look Feel Smell Taste Creative Spell use your senses Student A Student B 15. 15 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 16. 16 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 17. 17 Conclusion creativity is 18. 18 ? Questions