HEAR TIM BROWN TALK ABOUT PLAY AND CREATIVITY

Do you have creative confidence?

This is a great Ted Talk by David Kelly that I highly recommend.

Building creative confidence

http://blogs.hbr.org/pallotta/2013/09/does-your-innovation-come-from.html

This article really grabs me and articulates something about innovation and creativity that I believe deeply.  It reminds me of a quote I wrote down when I was in college and discovering the world of creativity.  It is from an art critic called Theodore Wolf: 

"On its deepest level, creativity is a form of love that expresses itself in the urge to clarify share with others what it holds most dear.  It is the expression of an expansive, curious, and generous spirit, eager to do what it must to activate, provoke, reveal, or release the fullest aspects of life and love in itself and in others."  

And from the HBR article: "The unspoken assumption is that our goal is to gain competitive advantage, to crush the competition, to win. But I believe that the best creativity comes from a much deeper place than the desire to win. It comes from a desire to contribute to the lives of others, either by introducing something new that improves the quality of their lives or by showing people that something thought to be impossible is in fact possible. When you change people's perceptions about what can be accomplished or achieved, you contribute to their humanity in the richest possible way. You give them hope for the future — a sense that life is not the demoralizing, unchanging drudgery day after day that the world so often teaches us that it is. When you change the way people think about possibility, it is an existential experience. It makes them feel understood."

"I write a lot about philanthropy. Philanthropy means, literally, love of humanity. You don't have to give a million dollars to charity to be a philanthropist. You simply have to actively demonstrate your love of humanity. Your empathy. If the purpose of our creativity is philanthropy — if it is love for our fellow man, an appreciation that people struggle in their lives, and a desire to somehow lessen that struggle and increase their joy, with a little more leg room or with an iPad — it will change the world. And that is the greatest competitive advantage of all."

This was in Brighton Area School's Newsletter - a little good press never hurts! Design Thinking Training: Earlier this summer, BAS teachers Jeanne Blazo, Jeri Kay Thomas, Maureen Strachen, Brenda Hurley, and Lisa Wheeler, along with Hawkin's Principal Pat Meyer attended a three-day, in-depth exploration of Design Thinking. The premise of the class was rooted in the fundamental belief that educators should be designers of their own practice and not merely implementers of programs. The course was created  for teachers and administrators who are working on authentic and engaging learning experiences while meeting the demands of the required curriculum. As part of their collaborative work, site visits were made to Google Headquarters in Ann Arbor.The course participants are excited to continue exploring the Design Thinking process within their own buildings and classroom experiences. The course was offered through the Wholemindesign Studio for Teaching and Learning and was led by Katie Robertson and BAS Kindergarten teacher Diane Tamblyn.

Hello designing friends,
This looks like a fantastic opportunity - getting to spend 2 weeks at an IDEO site is very exciting.  Let us know about your experience if you are able to go.

Very cool opportunity!

We had a fabulous time with some very special educators in our first iteration of Educators as Designers.  They made us a wonderful gift at the end of class - "322" represents our collective years of experience as educators.  Can't wait for the next iteration of the class.  

See our summer story here!

Wonderful class!!!

We had an extraordinary time in our class, Educators as Designers, last week!  Thank you to all of those who made the experience so special.  We are looking forward to planning 2.0.  Watch our website for more details.  
 

This looks like an interesting conference for those interested in teaching design. 

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6787729281/

Educators as Designers 2013 is now full.  Thanks to all who have inquired and we will let you know when the next edition of the class is scheduled to occur. 

Four spots left in our "Educators as Designers" summer course July 29, 30, and 31.  Will you be joining us?  Hope so!!

¨One way Howard Gardner defines intelligence:  

"The ability to make something or offer a service that is valued within one’s culture."

Sir Ken Robinson's definition of creativity:

"The process of having original ideas that have value.” 

What do you notice...? 

There is new research that supports the idea of movement and touch (aka wholemindesign's mobile mapping process) as a powerful way to learn.  They are calling it "embodied cognition".  Here is a link to an article describing this concept
http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2013/02/06/02bits-cognitive.h06.html. 

Hello friends,
Here is a link to a podcast I was interviewed for recently about the importance of arts integration in schools. 

http://5044.podomatic.com/entry/2013-05-06T20_41_00-07_00

An award for service in the arts was recently named in my father's honor - the Eric Oddleifson Arts and Learning Award.

The Eric Oddleifson Arts and Learning Award

This year's recipient, Aaron Dworkin sounds like a wonderful man.
about Aaron Dworkin 

Check out this 5 min video clip of a child summarizing a story using her mobile map!

A student talking through her mobile map story structure

 "Creativity is not an option, it is a necessity" - Sir Ken Robinson.  I completely agree that life is not an entirely linear experience, yet schools treat it as if it is...

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/01/sir-ken-robinson-fostering-creativity-in-education-is-not-an-option/

From my Mentor, Elliot Eisner: "What I think many of us want is not only a form of educational practice whose features,  so to speak, "design us, " but a form of educational practice that enables students learn how to design themselves.  Thus it might be said that at its best education is a process of learning how to become the architect of our own education." from "What Can Education Learn From the Arts About the Practice of Education?"

I was introduced to some new terms recently that I just love - "eduvators"and "solutionaries"  to describe innovative educators!  Pass them along!

Hello Wholemindesign friends,
We have been talking to you about our class, Educators as Designers, and are excited about the response.  We are also excited about our new space, Wholemindesign Studio for Teaching and Learning. Take a look at the course offerings tab on the site to learn more about what is happening at the Studio this summer.  Hope to see you there!

Katie and Diane