Learning and Leading

• What are the four dimensions that J.P. Guilford used to describe creativity?
• Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, Elaboration
• With which of the four dimensions do you struggle the most? Provide details as to why/how this dimension is difficult for you.
• I think that I struggle most with flexibility. I think that once I know one solution to a problem, I get overwhelmed with other perspectives.
• 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.
• I think that my project on Pinterest was very relevant to fluencey. There are so many different ideas that are being generated on Pinterest that often times people spend hours looking for projects to do because they find so many.
• 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?
• Edistorm seems like a good tool to use for the Fluency category. I think that children can use this tool easily to share ideas and brainstorm.

Saturday Night in Athens

I took this picture at the game Saturday night. I thought the sun going down behind the score board was awesome and it definitely preceded an awesome outcome to the game!

Horizon Report

This reading was especially interesting to me because it calls out society for being extremely selfish. It is true that the world is increasingly busy, but reading this article made me think about the fact that the way students balance home and school will condition them to juggle home and work life. The internet is a source of so much information, but it is also a source of even more distraction. It is so much easier and more interesting for me to get on Facebook than actually look up information for a school assignment. I have checked my Facebook three times while writing this Blog thus far. I think that without the internet, student would be at a great disadvantage, but with all of the social networking sites, procrastination becomes a way of life and thus exhibits a hurried world without enough hours in a day.

My Creative Day

Over the past few weeks at Sigma Kappa, all of the sophomore sisters have been crafting for the Big/Little reveal. I have also been crafting for my future little and on Monday, I painted her a canvas with our family's Bible verse on it. I won't post a picture of it yet, in case she decides she is going to read my blog, but I will post it after the reveal next Thursday! I can't wait to shower my little with all of her crafty gifts!

Digital Immigrant?

I see myself as a digital immigrant. I believe that while my generation was born into an age that relies heavily on technology it is still our individual decision to utilize it or not. I believe that as an instructor, technology should be used in order to capture and hold the shortening attention span of future students. I think that students in the future will be more likely to retain information when taught using technology because they are able to individually teach themselves as well as observing the teacher. 

1. Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable could be their parents.

2. “Stop” means you’re cute and “woof” means you’re stressed.

3.  LOL, OMG, SMH, ROFL and BBL will probably be in Webster’s.

4. Justin Beiber look-alikes will be performing instead of Elvis in Las Vegas.

5. Dubstep will replace pop radio.

Meaningful Learning

I think the skills most important as an educator include working creatively with others. I think that teachers, especially in lower grade levels must be able to uniquely display the lesson they are trying to teach so that the children will remember it. Along with being creative, the skill of communicating is important for instructors to have. A teacher’s lesson must be delivered clearly and in a way that an elementary aged student will understand. The last skill that I view as having the most importance as an educator, using systems thinking, makes sense to have because many times, when students under stand the many parts to the whole, they can put together the larger concepts easier. In my opinion, these three skills make for an effective teacher.

My Learning Story

I remember when I first learned how to make my bed. I was twelve years old and I am embarrassed to say that I had never made up a bed completely until that age. My mom told me that it was high time that I learned how to make a bed and since then, she leaves the folded sheets on my bed and I do it myself, quite well I might add. My mom had just washed my light pink sheets and she asked me to help her put them back on my bed. We went upstairs and I had no idea what to do. We unfolded the first sheet and I remember being amazed because I did not even know that a scrunchy sheet like that existed! My mom told me to put my corner of the sheet onto the mattress first and then she put hers on. Then we went to the foot of the bed and I had some trouble getting the sheet to fit. My mom instructed me to pick the mattress up and rest it on my knee with my foot on the bed so that I to tuck the scrunchy sheet under the corner fully. After she did the same procedure with her corner, we unfolded the straight sheet. We laid the sheet across the head of the bed first so that we knew it was straight and right where we wanted it and then we pulled it tight at the foot of the bed. The tricky part came next; we had to pick up the mattress on our knees again. My mom showed me her trick, buy copying was harder than she made it look. She folded the end of the sheet under first. Then she brought the extra sheet to the side of the bed and tucked in the remaining sheet under. Then when she dropped it, the sheet fell perfectly even with the foot of the bed. Then we tucked the excess sheet under the sides of the bed. After we successfully stuffed my pillows into the pillowcases, we threw my white comforter on top of my bed and stuffed the edges into the wooden side rails of my bed. Next came the fun part, I had three euro pillow shams with pink fringe that lined the headboard of my bed. Then we placed the bed pillows on very smoothly. After the bed pillows were two standard white shams that matched my comforter, however my mom had them monogramed with my initials in light pink. After the monogramed pillows, we had a bolster pillow with the same pink fringe. As if that wasn’t enough, my pink teddy bear, Pinky was placed right on top of the pile. I never realized how many pillows I had until I typed them all out in this list, however I love my bed and how it shows my personality. I like for the things in my life to be organized and well put together, however the items which are most important to me always come first. I never knew that learning how to make my bed could turn into a life lesson, but I love learning new things and the sense of accomplishment that follows.