Make Your Own Kanji

 Have you seen this contest site where students create their own kanji? This is an interesting idea and a really creative way to learn kanji.

My wife teaches high school Japanese, and we were just looking at how to use this. I suggested she start by giving them three kanji they probably know (八、心、色）, and talk about them including the radicals. 

Then show them the corresponding kanji from this page that include those three kanji from above. 

sousaku-kanji.com

Which creative style do you most relate to?

In a review of the book, The Launch Cycle, Matt Miller describes several different ways people approach creativity then poses the question: Which one do you most relate to?

• the artist, who loves to make things from scratch

• the geek, who is fascinated by systems and structures

• the architect, who crafts things from the systematic side

• the engineer, who focuses on fixing problems

• the hacker, who tears things down to build something better

• the point guard, who makes a difference and creates opportunities 

• (He missed this one) The astronaut is the teacher who is always exploring new ideas 

If I had to choose two, I would definitely say that I am either the engineer or the point guard. Honing in on one though is more difficult. I am confident in the two I chose if for no other reason than I came back to this assignment after six months and my choices are the same as before.

• What does it mean to have a bigger definition of creativity?

Teachers should be on the lookout for creativity in the process as well as in the final product. Creativity can manifest itself in any subject.

• How are certain creative types misunderstood?

Often creativity is misunderstood or interpreted differently by different people. I am reminded of the student who painted a picture and another teacher remarked how "powerful" it was. I didn't see it.

Different people can show their creativity differently. Some people need more time to make the connections necessary to be creative in the first place. Students might need to do a gallery walk or some additional reading/viewing before jumping in to allow their creativity to show through. 

• Why is it important to have a maker mindset?

The maker mindset consists of the skills students need to learn. It teaches them to be more flexible with their thinking and solve problems or challenges.

I was going to write the word "real", but not all challenges are something they might encounter in the real world. However, the challenges allow students to think through and solve problems at hand with the tools and resources available. 

In that sense, the problems are "real".

• What is the risk in failing to develop a maker mindset?

I think the risk in failing to develop a maker mindset is that the jobs of today, as well as the future, demand the skills of a maker mindset; flexible thinking, making connections, improvising, being creative, and thinking critically.

I think this is where we teachers risk failing to prepare our students for life after schooling.

From Education Closet, but I forgot the link

Making Infographics using Google Slides

Google Slides is the most flexible G Suite tool in the box.






Here is the basic outline.

Day 1

• Share a template. I create one and set the permissions to "view" as a way to teach students how to make a copy.
• Create title
• Choose a background image

Day 2

• Add small pictures
• Add other graphics

Day 3

• Tweak colors
• Add facts

Day 4

• Share infographic with a partner and edit, then share with the class.

Below is the infographic I made before it was accidentally changed. I am keeping it here just for legacy purposes.

Course 1 - Who Inspired you to do Creative Work?

• Who inspired you to do creative work (a friend, a mentor, or a teacher)? 

This question is a hard one for me, probably too hard. I wanted to talk about a past teacher. I can think of a few teachers who were influential:

• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 10
• Grade 11
• Several in college

This list gives me for an idea to make a post of the most memorable lessons from my own schooling. 

The teachers' areas of specialization are also interesting because they weigh heavily in social studies and in college, I chose international relations, a course of the social studies group of subjects, as my major.

• How did that shape your approach to teaching?

I don't remember much about schooling before high school - my mind was always focused on things outside the classroom, but I do remember a shift from junior high to high school and college. Assignments moved from more project-based learning to essay/writing assignments, then to lectures and essays in college.

I remember a unit on communities in junior high were we were asked to interview all our neighbors in what we considered to be our neighborhood. So, we first had to decide and justify what we consider to be our neighborhood and identify it on a map before going out and knocking on doors.

In high school, I had a new (to teaching) teacher that had us simulate the Cuban Missle crisis. I don't think his lesson went according to plan (we always opted for the nuclear option) but it made us look at the even a little differently and I still remember it as an interesting way of teaching.