Crayons are the future: New article on technology & creativity

by | Wednesday, October 24, 2012

 Over the past year or so I have moved my line of research into teacher creativity particularly focusing on ideas related to trans-disciplinary creativity and what that means for teaching and learning in the 21st century. In this effort I am joined by an awesome group of colleagues. We call ourselves the deep-play research group and include Dr. Danah Henriksen, Kristen Kereluik, Laura Terry, Chris Fahnoe and Colin Terry.

Though we have been working hard it has taken us a while to get some of our thoughts out there in the world, in published form. Well, I am glad to report that one of first pieces to come out of the deep-play group just got published. Here is the reference (and a link to the pdf).

Mishra, P., & The Deep-Play Research Group (2012). Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century: Crayons are the FutureTechTrends, 56(5), 13-16.

The paper seeks to discredit a few myths about creativity and technology and offers a two-part framework – that of TPACK and “trans-disciplinary creativity” as a way of addressing some of the challenges we face today. There is a paradox at the heart of creativity: creativity requires both deep disciplinary knowledge and also the ability to break disciplinary boundaries and transfer ideas across subject matters. To manage this paradox, we offer a framework for creative teaching and learning that is broad enough to be used across varying disciplines, yet flexible enough to work within each discipline.  “Trans-disciplinary thinking” offers just such a set of meta-level thinking skills, which respects the importance of disciplinary knowledge while allowing for novel connections between them.  This is particularly relevant in the context of educational technology, because technology also allows people develop these skills in powerful and creative ways.

A few randomly selected blog posts…

World’s cheapest car (ever)

Story in Reason Online about the Tata Nano, the cheapest car the world, or actually as the article seeks to prove, the cheapest car of all time (once you adjust for inflation). The Nano, produced by Indian company Tata, "is about 10 feet long, 5 feet wide. The...

21st century learning, TPACK and other fun stuff

I have been invited to participate in the 2014 Educational Technology Summit: Empowering Educators to Enhance Student Learning in the Digital Era. This conference is being organized by Common Sense Media, Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, & the LEAD Commission. I...

Multitasking & the learner

Multitasking & the learner

One of the myths of the new digital generation is that they are natural multi-taskers. The evidence, however, indicates that multi-tasking is detrimental to performance and success, and  though we may try delude ourselves, the fact of the matter is that, we do...

Computational Thinking paper wins Outstanding Paper

Computational Thinking paper wins Outstanding Paper

A paper co-authored with Jon Good and Aman Yadav, building on Jon's practicum study has received the Outstanding Paper Award at the SITE 2017. Complete reference, link to article and abstract given below. Good. J., Yadav. A., & Mishra, P....

Announcing the Numeroscriptor, great quote

What a wonderful quote... Already every bank of any importance probably uses calculating machines. It is not likely that the fatiguing and uncertain process of having arithmetical calculations of any sort performed in the brains of clerks will survive the improvements...

Partial to PartiallyClips

I Stumbled Upon PartiallyClips, a web-based comic strip based on clip art. The rules are simple, "No changes to the art from frame to frame ... Never use the same clip in two strips. No repeating characters." It it amazing just how well this works, despite these...

Calvin & Jobs!

This is just too good to be true! Also see here and here.

October 2: Remembering Gandhi

I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any—Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (10/2/1869 - 1/30/1948)...

Better late than never, 21st century learning

Better late than never, 21st century learning

Quest Alliance is an NGO based in Bangalore that seeks to equip young people with 21st century skills by enabling self-learning. I have known of Quest and its director, Aakash Sethi, for over a decade now. In fact I had blogged about Quest back in 2008 here, and...

0 Comments

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Repurposing: Come Back to the Crayon – learning with design - […] printer) is a tool for “living, working, teaching, and learning” (p 14). A key point in their article states…
  2. A NEW definition of creativity: Next article in series | Punya Mishra's Web - […] Crayons are the future  (Mishra) […]
  3. Of Art and algorithms: New article | Punya Mishra's Web - [...] Self-Regulation | On Being (in)Disciplined: New journal article on creativity & learning | Crayons are the future: New article…
  4. On performing one’s identity: A thought inspired by Jonathan Miller | Punya Mishra's Web - [...] It is difficult, in a world buffeted by change, to know what to hold on to. I often wonder…
  5. Square Peg, Round Hole, Good Engineering (new article on creativity & learning) | Punya Mishra's Web - [...] Self-Regulation | On Being (in)Disciplined: New journal article on creativity & learning | Crayons are the future: New article…
  6. 21st Century Learning Environments: New Journal Article | Punya Mishra's Web - [...] posts and pages: |On Being (in)Disciplined: New journal article on creativity & learning | Crayons are the future: New…
  7. Creativity can Lead to Innovation in Design and Technology - [...] Crayons are the future: New article on technology & creativity (punyamishra.com) [...]

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *