creativity Archives | Shake Up Learning

Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom: How Night Zookeeper Sparks Students’ Imagination

Kasey Bell — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 14:21:59 +0000

The post Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom: How Night Zookeeper Sparks Students’ Imagination appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

In a world where education is constantly evolving, the need for innovative tools that ignite students’ creativity and passion for learning is more important than ever.

Night Zookeeper, an interactive online platform, is revolutionizing the way teachers inspire imagination in their classrooms.

In this post, we will explore how Night Zookeeper can foster creativity in the classroom.

Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom: How @nightzookeeper Sparks Students’ Imagination

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Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom: How Night Zookeeper Sparks Students’ Imagination

What is Night Zookeeper?

Night Zookeeper is an educational online program for children aged 6 to 12+ (Grades 1 to 6) that uses gamified learning to help them develop reading and writing skills.

It offers a full language arts curriculum while transforming “boring school work” into fun and engaging games, challenges, interactive lessons, and collaborative projects – children often don’t even realize they’re working!

Night Zookeeper also provides a safe space for all children, including awesome community and blog pages which they’re free to explore and use to further improve their reading and writing skills.

A team of highly qualified tutors reviews all content shared within the program.

Are you ready to make reading and writing fantastically fun for your students?

At its core, Night Zookeeper is designed to make learning fun and engaging. The platform revolves around a captivating world where students create and interact with magical animals, embark on quests, and engage in creative writing challenges. It’s this blend of storytelling and interactive gameplay that captures the imagination of young minds, making them excited about learning.

One of the most significant ways Night Zookeeper sparks creativity is through its focus on creative writing. Students are encouraged to write stories, poems, and reports about their unique magical animals. This not only helps improve their writing skills but also allows them to express themselves in a safe, imaginative environment. As they create their narratives, they learn the power of language and storytelling, skills vital in all areas of education and life.

Another aspect where Night Zookeeper shines is in its ability to personalize learning. Every student’s journey is unique, with the platform adapting to their specific learning pace and style. This personalized approach ensures that students remain engaged and motivated, as tasks are neither too easy nor too challenging. It’s in this tailored learning environment that creativity flourishes – students feel confident to explore, make mistakes, and learn from them, which is essential for creative growth.

Check out Night Zookeeper’s downloadable learning resources, great for getting your child excited about reading & writing.

Night Zookeeper for Schools and Teachers

Teachers are not left behind in this creative journey. Night Zookeeper offers a suite of tools for educators to track student progress, provide personalized feedback, and integrate the platform’s resources into their lesson plans. This ease of integration means that teachers can effectively use Night Zookeeper to complement their teaching methods, making lessons more dynamic and impactful.

Help your class learn:

Vocabulary: Fun, engaging games that increase vocabulary and improve spelling
Sentences: Puzzles and challenges that develop grammar and structure skills
Writing: Inspiring prompts and story creation lessons that spark imaginations

Night Zookeeper is more than just an educational platform; it’s a catalyst for creativity in the classroom. By blending the art of storytelling with interactive and gamified learning, it provides a unique space for students to explore, imagine, and create. For teachers looking to spark imagination and foster a love for learning in their students, Night Zookeeper is a valuable resource worth exploring.

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Classroom Reading & Writing Program

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Get Students CREATING with Global Maker Challenges! – SULS0128

Kasey Bell — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 08:01:33 +0000

The post Get Students CREATING with Global Maker Challenges! – SULS0128 appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

In this episode, Kasey interviews Jaime Donally, one of the Global Maker Day organizers about the power of creating and sharing on a global level. Learn about the creation challenges and how your classroom can participate. The 4 C’s are more important than ever so you don’t want to miss this free opportunity to help students learn how to problem-solve and innovate!

Jamie and seven of her colleagues began organizing the Global Maker Day in 2016. As a day built for inspiring educators to help innovate, the day has evolved and updated in the last five years.

Get Students CREATING with Global Maker Challenges!

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What is Global Maker Day?

To be clear, the day does not require teachers to have or assemble a Maker Space. “We are all makers!” Jamie and her team want to be sure that educators don’t feel a need to purchase fancy equipment or a laundry list of materials. The day is meant to be a source of inspiration, collaboration, and sharing.

Classrooms can tune in live (or recorded) to watch each of the 30-minute presentations on October 12 from 9 AM-5 PM EST. There are several types of presentations, but each one is meant to inspire students to create for themselves.

Presenters in the past have included classrooms as they work on their own projects, teachers who share a specific idea, industries like Stanley Black & Decker, and many others. Each of the presentations will provide an open-ended challenge for students to try on their own.

Why Watch?

The goal of each presentation is to inspire students to create and then share their creations. Whether teachers choose to watch every presentation or a few, students will need their critical thinking skills to complete any of the challenges. Jamie explains that these challenges are purposefully open-ended so that students will evaluate their limitations and critically think through finding a way to make them happen. This is also why classrooms do not need any fancy technology or materials to complete challenges.

In the past, some teachers have used the day to present their own challenges to their students rather than asking them to complete the presented challenges. The heart behind this chosen day is to inspire students to create.

What to Expect?

Variety. Each presentation will be different because making is all about creativity. Jamie shares a past presentation by Joy Schwartz, whose students developed a passion project to 3D print prosthetic limbs for children in need. While this is a major undertaking, Joy’s students drove this project based on their learning in class and they wanted to inspire others to use their talents to help.

Inspiring creativity may be the heart behind Global Maker Day, but sharing those creations is what keeps this day alive. So much of the learning process in life is about learning from others. Allowing someone else’s creativity to spark new creative ideas for others.

The range of challenges can be as simple as cooking recipes or as advanced as digitally created AR/VR projects. However, it’s never necessary for students to have the same equipment or materials to complete any challenge. Students can think through what is available to them to overcome the challenge presented. Jamie suggests teachers pull out any materials in the classroom you have on hand and bring your junk drawers that day.

There is still a need for more presenters at this time, so if you are hearing about this for the first time and have something to contribute be sure to connect with the team.

How to Share?

With today’s technology, there are a gazillion different ways for students to share their creations. To honor student safety over the Internet it’s important that teachers do the sharing. Sharing may be as simple as a shared drive for the class or teachers can share across social media outlets using the hashtag #GlobalMakerDay.

However, students are putting their creations out into the world it’s important for them to recognize their work is for an authentic audience. This means it’s just as important to view the different creations. Taking the time to have students see other finished challenge products extends those critical thinking skills.

How to Get Involved

If you would like to participate or even learn more visit the Global Maker Day website. There, teachers can register for the day as a participant. This is a free opportunity and it’s important to register so all updates and important information are emailed to you. The first email will be a welcome letter with frequently asked questions answered. The website is also a great place to view past presentations.

Mark your calendars, and join Global Maker Day on October 12, 2021!

Jaime Donally is a passionate technology enthusiast. She began her career as a math teacher and later moved into Instructional Technology. Her desire to build relationships has brought about opportunities to collaborate with students and educators around the world. She provides staff development and training on immersive technology as an edtech consultant.

Her latest adventures include the launch of Global Maker Day and the #ARVRinEDU community, events, and presentations. She works as an author and speaker to provide the practical use of augmented and virtual reality in the classroom.

About Jaime Donally

Twitter: @jaimedonally + @GlobalMaker

Websites: ARVRinEDU.com + GlobalMakerDay.com

Bio: Jaime Donally is a passionate technology enthusiast. She began her career as a math teacher and later moved into Instructional Technology. Her desire to build relationships has brought about opportunities to collaborate with students and educators around the world. She provides staff development and training on immersive technology as an edtech consultant.

Her latest adventures include the launch of Global Maker Day and the #ARVRinEDU community, events, and presentations. She works as an author and speaker to provide the practical use of augmented and virtual reality in the classroom.

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Back to School with the 4 C’s [Aligned Activities]- SULS0123

Kasey Bell — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:03:28 +0000

The post Back to School with the 4 C’s [Aligned Activities]- SULS0123 appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

The 4 C’s are foundational skills that students need to thrive in the 21st Century.

How are you ensuring your students are tapping into the 4 C’s this school year?

In this episode, Kasey shares learning activities that align with the 4 C’s, as well as tips to help you build these skills throughout the school year.

Be sure to listen to the podcast episode! Kasey will walk you through the activities and how to apply the 4 C’s!

#BacktoSchool with the 4 C’s (Aligned Activities)

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Back to School with the 4 C’s [Aligned Activities]

Back to School is the perfect time to begin planning with the 4 C’s!

As you plan your lessons this school year, think about the 4 C’s and how you can implement them on a regular basis.

Are there C’s that you implement frequently? Are there some that you rarely implement?

At the heart of the Dynamic Learning Model are the four Cs: creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.

Foundational for learning transformation, the four Cs help prepare students for the future.

I often refer to the 4 C’s as the “Superfoods of Learning.”

Every time I walk into a classroom and see something amazing, at least one of the four Cs are present, if not more. Every Dynamic Learning Experience should include at least one of the four Cs.

This is something I share more extensively in my books, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning from Static to Dynamic, and Blended Learning with Google: Your Guide to Dynamic Teaching and Learning.

What Are the 4 C’s?

For our purposes, we will define these skills as the following:

Creativity: The use of imagination and original ideas to solve problems and create (Examples: Cultivate creativity and innovation with projects that require students to design original solutions, invent something new to solve a problem, or integrate art and design, with room to fail.)

Communication: The ability to effectively and clearly communicate for a variety of audiences and using a variety of tools and mediums (Examples: Give students opportunities to interact with adult experts, authors, and real-world audiences. Let them experience speaking and presenting.)

Collaboration: Learning and working in groups or teams, locally or globally, to achieve a goal (Examples: Ensure that there is purpose to the collaboration and not just group work. Form partners and teams strategically, with assigned leadership roles, include team-building exercises, and establish collaboration guidelines and shared decision-making.)

Critical Thinking: The ability to conceptualize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information for the purpose of deeper understand- ing, problem-solving, and guiding action (Examples: Create learning experiences, such as mock trials or debates, scientific investigations, interpreting events in history or literature, or design challenges.)

Related: The 4 C’s Choice Board

The 4 C’s Aligned Activities

The table below is merely a starting place.

Obviously, activities can be tweaked to include other C’s, but these are the basics that usually coincide with these types of activities. (Listen to the episode, and I will explain each one!)

Move BEYOND traditional assignments, expectations, and OLD rubrics.

For instance, communication goes far beyond presentation skills, in fact, you will see that communication has the most checkmarks in the chart below because it is required for almost everything that we do. How that gets translated in the classroom is up to you.

On the other hand, collaboration could be added to many of the activities below. However, I encourage you to not look at collaboration as an add-on.

Going back to episode 120 with Vicki Heupel, collaboration is much more than just putting students in pairs or groups. It needs a purpose, and often a deeper learning expectation to make it meaningful. Think of assignments that are much more challenging solo.

There is a lot of overlap in the C’s. Collaboration requires communication, and often time creativity and critical thinking also go hand in hand. It depends on your implementation.

* This is just a general place to start. Be sure to listen to episode 124 of the Shake Up Learning Show for a breakdown of skills, and variables to reach more C’s. Created by Kasey Bell, ShakeUpLearning.com

What will you try this school year? What would you add to this table?

The Back to School Conference (FREE)

Looking for more Back to School ideas to prepare for the “new normal”?

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Facilitate the Messy: Cultivate Creativity in the Classroom

Kasey Bell — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 02:20:00 +0000

The post Facilitate the Messy: Cultivate Creativity in the Classroom appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

Messy Learning

Most teachers like structure, and with good reason. Structure in the classroom is necessary, especially for a lot of learners. But overly structured classes can stifle creativity. Students adapt to the structure and expect to be given the formula for every activity. I found this was especially true for my advanced students. These students had learned the play the game of school, much like I had, and they wanted to know which path would lead to an ‘A,’ and that was all that mattered. So when faced more authentic learning experiences that not only required students to think outside of the box but to throw it out altogether and get messy with their learning, these typically advanced students floundered. In fact, my advanced students and even some of those designated as gifted and talented needed more hand-holding when I told them that there was more than one way to complete the assignment and demonstrate their learning.

Creativity

I fell into the “box” myself during my years of school. I knew the game of school. I knew it well, and if the teacher ventured outside of the lines, I would panic. But when we think about the future workforce, the jobs that our students will have, we come up with one giant question mark. The world is advancing so quickly that we can’t predict the trends, but we do know that the jobs that can be automated by artificial intelligence, robots, formulas, and algorithms will be. Creativity is vastly becoming one of THE most important skills of the 21st Century. In fact, Sir Ken Robinson says, “Creativity is as important as literacy.” We need students that are prepared for jobs that do not have a one-size-fits-all formula. These jobs will require not only creativity and innovation but also a willingness to embrace the messy and chaotic to solve the problem. When learning gets messy, and I’m not just talking glitter and glue here, teachers have to become facilitators of the messy. This includes noise, talking, laughing, music, debates, and all of those other things that may be judged as out of control. But the teacher can control, uh-hem, facilitate the chaos.

[Tweet “When learning gets messy, teachers have to become facilitators of the messy. #shakeuplearning”]

Get Out of the Way

A lot of times that means that teachers just need to get out of the way. You heard me. It’s easy to want to give them too much structure and too much guidance, but we have to give them room to make mistakes, to learn, and to stretch their creative legs! This requires that teachers learn how to ask better questions. This can be hard, especially when you are used to feeding students information and a problem-solving path. Try to both encourage and challenge students in your questionings. Get them to see the bigger picture, the real-world connections, the artistic connections, and to question each other. Remember that learning can happen in the messiness. Give your students opportunities to be creative at all levels!

Exemplars

Exemplars can also stifle creativity. Be very careful with examples of work. If students are told there is only one correct answer or one way to complete an activity or project, they follow the formula. But creativity isn’t formulaic. Creativity is messy! Guidance is not a bad thing, but I have discovered that no matter what the age of the student (and this includes adults) when you show them an example of a completed project, they want to replicate it. Most real-world problems do not have one correct answer.

[Tweet “Creativity isn’t formulaic. Creativity is messy! #shakeuplearning”]

Complete the Painting

I discovered a video on YouTube a few years ago that I frequently use in workshops, “Complete the Painting,” from the Rama School (embedded below). In this video, students were given directions that included a simple triangle and told to “complete the painting.” Students were told that those that completed the painting correctly would receive 1 point. Almost every student turned their triangle into the roof of a house. Nice work, but not creative.

Students were given the assignment again with slightly different directions. They were given a triangle and told to complete the painting. This time, students were NOT told that a correct answer would be rewarded with points. The more open assignment resulted in new ideas. The second paintings told stories, created robots, monsters, and traveled to foreign lands. This time, their creativity was unleashed!

When students were told there was a “right way,” to complete the painting, 80% drew a house and the average number of colors used was just two. In contrast, when students were just told to complete the painting, “they used their imagination freely!” Sorry, but too much structure can paint students into a box (pun intended). Are you willing to be a facilitator of the messy?

[Tweet “Are you willing to be a facilitator of the messy? #shakeuplearning”]

Watch the video below and see what you think?

Facilitating the messy takes practice, just like anything, on the part of the teacher and the student. The first time I gave students a little bit of creative freedom in my classroom, they thought it would be a one-and-done activity. We want our students to practice and develop their learning in the chaos of collaboration, discussion, and creation.

I know creativity is not a part of our state assessments, but the culture has to shift, and if we don’t help our students tap into these skills, we are doing them a disservice. Kids deserve so much more than test-taking skills and formalizing “correct” answers. The most innovative minds of the last 100 years were disruptive—yes, they were shaking things up! Help your students get messy with meaning and purpose. Embrace the chaos and learn with them! Kids deserve it!

[Tweet “Kids deserve so much more than test-taking skills and formalizing “correct” answers. #shakeuplearning”]

Creativity Resources

I have a Thinglink that I used during workshops to help teachers discover ideas for bringing creativity and innovation into the classroom. Read the full post here: A Thinglink and Glogster Mashup: Google, Creativity & Digital Citizenship. I’ve embedded the Thinglink below:

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