FOURTH TECH PROJECT
Pinterest
INTRODUCTION: How to pin it?
Pinterest is similar to Diigo in the way were you develop a cloud of your personal interest, except instead of a “cloud” you “pin” or bookmark interesting images, article, or websites to your personal digital bulletin board. It is a great tool for exploring and searching for inspiration.
Using Pinterest in the Classroom would be great idea for controlled searching. Instead of searching on Google and risking the chance of finding inappropriate context is highly likely. Where Pinterest in a smaller search engine/social media where content information is controlled. Pinterest has rules about appropriate content and any inappropriate site or images are reported and removed.
Another advantage to using this website is how there is an application available to iphones and ipads. Which would enable teacher to use it mobile features. It would also extend the classroom outside of school. Meaning if a student would find inspiration outside of school they could use their own personal iphone or ipads to document and collect them to share later.
STRUGGLES IN IMPLEMENTING Pinterest in the Classroom
Issues might evolve while using this inclusion of this technology in the classroom when you consider the struggle of availability of computers for your whole classroom or the speed of internet access.
Another complication I could see when using Pinterest is the availability of it. It is a newer social media website, started by a man from Des Moines, and in order to sign up you have to be invited by another user or by the website manager. I wonder if they would have a problem with classrooms full of students signing up. Also another problem is it sometimes takes a couple days to be accepted to the website. So this isn’t a technology you can sign up and use in the same day. Teachers need to allow for time to be accepted. This might be a technology you introduce your students to the first day, sign them up, and have them search with tradition methods of searching for inspiration aka: library books and art/design magazines. This can introduce the idea of convenience of the internet but also allow them to decide with method they like better. Some in the end, after trying both methods might choose the traditional method over Pinterest.
I could also see some students getting off task. Although Pinterest had a large volume of artsy inspiration, student might get distracted and off task of their original idea. Personally I try and stay away from internet art databases because I tend to lose track of time and I have found myself zoning out for hours on website similar to Pinterest, like NotCot.org, and not accomplishing what I went out to do. On task activities that can bring students back to reality once in a while might help solve problems this issue. Another plan for keeping students on task might be to have the students work collaborative answering directive questions or working on a project.
EXPECTED SKILLS by the end of the semester
-ability to navigate the website and use the search tools effectively
-exploration of fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and other methods of developing creative problem solving skills.
-knowledge of how to seek out inspiration (whether with traditional methods, Pinterest, or other web based inspiration engines).
-appropriate communication and critique skills (digital and verbal).
-Collaborative skills in brainstorming
PROMOTING BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
Pinterest incorporates many advanced levels of thinking on Bloom's pyramid. When using Pinterest, students are applying their preexisting knowledge of art forms and subject matter when analyzing posts. They are evaluating which post are most relevant to their project and deciding which approaches they like most. Pinterest also allows for students to create their own digital bulletin board which they get to choose what to share with the Pinterest community. Teacher should push students to interact or collaborate with their peers as well as critique other posts on Pinterest. The more they critically analyse themselves and their peers the more they will learn and grow as a person and an artist. Although Pinterest includes some higher thinking into it's programing, student will always achieve more with creative lesson planning. Teacher should keep trying to push the students to use these higher levels of thinking and ask directive questions that force students to think deeply about Pinterest and art.
TRADEOFFS, BIAS, and LIMITATIONS of web based technology
I like the general idea of Pinterest and how student would be able to easily search for artist and interesting approaches/technique. Yet I would be a little bit concerned with how the students are using this tool. Pinterest has a lot of interior design, baking recipes, and fashion ideas, and even though student could be using content for education purpose, I would be apprehensive that they are searching for personal enjoyment and not for the advancement of their artist skills/ process.
Although Pinterest does a great job with keep content clean and user friendly, it can be bias and juvenile with its users and their personal taste levels. Similar to Flickr, Pinterest opens its doors to everyone. Welcoming everyone to be more creative. This is a great way to get more people involved and interested in the art world, but it welcomes non-professionals into the mix. Students might get inaccurate advice and critiques. Make sure students are aware of this, and do adequate research to double check claims and/or quotes.
Also the website is welcoming and inspiring; it also is expansive and excessively large. Students might get caught up in the size of Pinterest and get a little lost or be overwhelmed with the volume of sources. Like NotCot.org, it is really intimidating when you face 1000+pages of uploaded articles. Direction is necessary to keep students sane and on track. Goals and directive themes should be placed on the students to narrow the options.
PINTEREST BASED PROJECTS
A good project for the student to work on their creative flexibility and originality would be to have shared assignments. Have the student work in pair choosing a topic or idea and then each developing a unique approach. It would be cool to see how each student can think of unique approaches to the topic. I would also make sure to have the students each develop three or more preliminary sketches before deciding on the final approach. They would be encouraged to work together to come up with ideas while, at the same time, critiquing each other's progress along the way.
Another project to encourage higher level of thinking when using Pinterest is a product development. Students would be required to use Pinterest to search for inspiration for a theme and then develop three different products that all incorporate that theme. Student would be using fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration skills again to develop their own creative processing skills.
Students could research other artist and/or products and develop unique approach. For example if the student has been drawing charcoal drawings for the semester/year, they could use Pinterest to explore other approaches and technique other artist have used. The great part about Pinterest is the social aspect. Comments are welcomed on the site and anyone can ask questions about how the piece was made or where they found it. It is a very education site. Not all the users are professionals, but they all are exploring their creative side. (It is similar to Flickr in this way).
Using the social aspects of Pinterest, student could be required to post a favorite piece of artwork. They could then have discussions, through comment tool, about the piece with other users. This project could help develop/practice their artistic language.
RESEARCH: Building Creativity with the FFOE Model.
Growing creativity with the combination of Pinterest and FFOE model. The FFOE model of divergent thinking was imagined in the 1950s by J. P. Guilford. It offers four different dimensions that make up creativity. In the article written by Candace entitled “Grow Creativity”, creativity can and should be grown in the classroom. The article goes on to talk about how there are four ideas that promote the growth of creativity in students and they are; fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.
Beginning with the idea of fluency, how a person should have many possibilities or approaches to a project. Students can then research, evaluate, and experiment different approaches. Students need to develop their skill in fluency or their ability to generate many ideas. This creative skill of fluency can, in my opinion, be promoted with the use of Pinterest. Considering the setup of the website allows for a great deal of sources of inspiration. Until students develop their own set of fluency skills, student can work off of other users’ ideas. The key is for students to see how possibilities are endless. And how important it is to see beyond the original idea to the bigger picture. Never confine yourself, push to see how many different way you can manipulate one single idea. The article goes on to explain the importance of brainstorming and how it too can help build fluency. Things like a digital whiteboard or a social media website that would allow the whole class to elaborate/brainstorm on an idea would be a perfect example of using technology to help build fluency.
In addition to fluency, comes the idea of flexibility. Students should be able to look at a topic from different angles. A great start to this is by shifting viewpoints, angle, direction, time or place. Flexibility creates variety and extends results/outcomes. Flexible thinkers uncover entire new realms of possibilities. It can also promote interpersonal and cross-cultural understanding of peers and world. Flexibility can also be a key to originality, finding a new approach or way of doing something. Steve Jobs is a perfect example of someone who was creatively flexible and original. Pinterest can be the stepping off place for students. They can practice flipping an idea they find on Pinterest and giving it a creative spin. An art example of flexibility might be the Cubists or the impressionists. They developed an entirely new way of interpreting reality.
Considering that flexible approach to things can lead people to see things in a new way, leads us into the next idea which is Originality. Originality is when you create or generate something or idea that is unique, unexpected, unusual, the first of its kind. This section of creativity requires great risk-taking and innovation. This is the area of creativity that is suppressed in most school settings that focus on the “correct” answer. These disruptive ideas are frowned upon in school settings but they often generate great change in the real world. Originality cannot be forced, only reinforced.
The next and final area of creativity is Elaboration. It involves adding the final touches, filling in the gaps, embellishing, fixing the quirks, and completing the idea. This step to creativity has the details and content that makes the idea real. Without elaboration, others would not get to see the final project or the full potential of one’s idea. Collaboration can hold an important part of this step of creativity. Critiques and other methods of sharing concerns or praise will help idea reach this final step of creativity. This step is also the easiest section to fake. An example of this is how some students go above and beyond the requirements of a project just to get a good grade. Most of their added details are “fluff”, yet they often receive the highest grade. Shared online documents or mind maps is a good start to promote all students to add detail yet including some sort of a critique to make sure students understand and share these details.
Creativity has a huge impact on students’ future successes. When it comes to propelling yourself further into life, you have to have a creative outlook to solve problems efficiently and you always should have many options. There is never only one way to do something. Options are endless and as soon as students understand this, there will open up to endless opportunities. Teacher should try and use FFOE model to promote creativity skills that can extend far beyond the classroom.
SOURCES:
“Grow Creativity”, http://www.eric.ed.gov.cowles-proxy.drake.edu/PDFS/EJ926368.pdf
“Creativity”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity
This is all well done, but you make no connection to teaching standards.
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