REACHING BEYOND THE CORE:
CULTIVATING CREATIVITY AND
COMMITMENT USING PRACTICAL
BRAIN-FOCUSED TECHNOLOGIES
Morgan Appel, Director
Education Department
New Perspectives: Gaming
“A game is an opportunity to focus our
energy, with relentless optimism, at
something we’re good at (or getting
better at) and enjoy. In other words,
gameplay is the direct emotional
opposite of depression.”
― Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken:
Why Games Make Us Better and How
They Can Change the World
“Prose is an art form, movies and acting in
general are art forms, so is music, painting,
graphics, sculpture, and so on. Some might even
consider classic games like chess to be an art
form. Video games use elements of all of these
to create something new. Why wouldn't video
games be an art form?”
― Sam Lake
Overview
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Introductions and Overview
Finding ‘Flow’ and the Neurobiology of Learning
Educational Technology Trends: 2013
Five Strategies to Enable/Boost ‘Flow’
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Using the Internet as a tool to create novelty and to differentiate
content, process and product
Community blogs
Personal learning environments and networks
Making the most of the Mimio
The little things that mean a lot (enhancements)
Questions/discussions
Wrap Up
An Amazing Artifact: The Smith Corona Electra 210
How do
you edit?
How does
it print?
The power of self editing and thinking
before one puts words to page
A laptop
that never
gets a
virus
Technology Power: Generation X
RPG, 1972
I-Pad, 1970s
I-Pod, 1979
I-Phone, 1980
Relive your childhood online for free:
http://www.bafta.org/games/awards/play-pong-online,678,BA.html
Technology Power: Generation X
You Tube, 1940s – 1980s
Interactive ‘Smart’ Board
Twitter, 1960s – 1970s
Copy, Paste and Delete
Smart Board Interface
Online Learning
Meet the Brain!
Impulse Control
Judgment
Language
Working Memory
Motor Function
Socialization
Spontaneity
Integration of
Sensory information
From different modalities
Multisensory
Learning
How
Visual
processing
Motor control
Sensory pathways
Some cognition
‘Little Brain’
Auditory processing
Speech
Vision
Semantics
Why?
Brain Werks
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Neurological Characteristics and Physiology:
 Brain
thrives on complexity and problem solving
 Emotional/affective nature of the learning experience
 The chemistry of learning, memory and problem solving
 Other:
 Multisensory,
multimodal, holistic (non-segmented)
 Evolution, focus and the ‘cocktail party’ effect
 Neuroplasticity and teaching an old dog new tricks
 Process focus and metacognition (sound habits of mind)
 ‘Cognitive Flypaper’
Creativity and Commitment Through ‘Flow’
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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1975, 1990)/positive psychology
A Zen-like, intensive state in which an individual becomes
completely emerged in an experience
“In the groove,” OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE, “In the zone”
Time stops (almost a meditative state) or flies
“Seeing the seams of the baseball” or “seeing the Matrix”
Losing oneself so that one is so focused, s/he is unaware of
distractions, even bodily needs
A universal and cross-cultural experience
Connectivity between emotion, motivation and
internalization
Components of Flow
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Balance between individual’s ability and level of
difficulty in the challenge (cannot be too easy or
difficult or flow cannot occur).
Goals should be clear. Expectations are foreseen and
goals are attainable.
High degree of concentration in a limited field of
attention—person should be able to focus and become
deeply engaged in the activity.
A loss of self-consciousness is experienced (unaware
of self and what the self is doing).
Sense of time transcendence (subjective experience of
time is altered—passes quickly/slowly/slow motion)
Components of Flow
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Direct and immediate feedback should be available so
behavior can be adjusted (merging action and
awareness)
Empowerment/sense of personal control over the
situation or activity
Effortless of action brought about by absorption in
the activity
Lack of awareness of bodily needs (hunger/fatigue)
In education, ‘feeling’ the lesson and using smaller,
highly engaging holistic assignments that counteract
boredom and feelings of being overwhelmed
Conditions for Flow
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Clear set of goals related to the activity, adding
direction and structure (ambiguity threatens Flow)
Balance between ability and challenge
Enjoying something in the long term requires that
tasks increase in complexity
Some tasks must have immediate results/feedback
(success breeds success/making corrections)
Flow cannot be environmentally manipulated or
forced (but can be encouraged)
It ain't about if he knocks a
guy out. It's about how he
knocks a guy out. It's the style,
the improvisation.
I never know what it's going to look like.
Wouldn't be much point in painting if I already
knew the outcome. I have a subject in front of
me and I start flooding colour and making
marks, I don't know, it's improvisation isn't it?
Peter Wright, Painter
Don King, Boxing Promoter
Float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee.
Muhammad Ali, Boxer
Certain kinds of speed, flow, intensity,
density of attacks, density of interaction...
Music that concentrates on those qualities
is, I think, easier achieved by free
improvisation between people sharing a
common attitude, a common language.
Evan Parker, Musician
You ever have that feeling where
you're not sure if you're awake or
still dreaming?
Neo, The Matrix
Understanding Flow
Many ELs are here
Some Gifted are here
Understanding Flow
The Physiology/Science of Flow
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Emerged from a need to
reconcile the metaphorical
with the physical
Release of dopamine
consistent with meditative
state or dealing with stress
Rapid switching of attention
to higher-level problems
Mild amount of anxiety
works to sharpen focus
Chemical stimulation suggests
that Flow state can be
‘addictive’
Flow is
addictive!
Famous Flow-ers
(***)
They make it look
effortless!
Educational Technology and Flow
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Internet searches, metacognition and neuroplasticity (exercising the
brain)
Enhanced learning capacity; higher processing rates; automaticity;
improved memory and recall; enhanced ability to pay/sustain
attention; reduction in impulsive responses; among others
Promotes opportunities for novelty and personalization, as well as
infusion of choice for advanced learners
Moving beyond formal learning resources and organizing to fit the
needs of a more self-guided learning experience
Engagement, empowerment and interest
Opportunities to ‘live’ the curriculum in an active, involved and
communal way
LITTLE THINGS go a very long way—they hold your attention!
Long story short, when used correctly, technology promotes Flow.
Trends and Movements: 2013
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Technology empowers:
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Individualization (pacing);
differentiation; and
personalization
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Research and information fluency
Critical thinking, problem solving
and decision making
Digital citizenship
Technology operations and
concepts
‘Formal’ learning decreases over
time
All ‘Flow’ related!
Source: US Department of Education, 2013
A Vision of Learning Powered by Technology
YOU CAN DO THIS, EVEN WITH SMALL STEPS. YOU
NEED NOT BE GATES OR ZUCKERBERG
THE LEARNING CURVE MAY BE SHARP, BUT YOU
NEED NOT APPROACH IT AT 90 MILES PER HOUR!
Consider the ways in which we differentiate instruction
and the tools we have at our disposal to differentiate
intake, process and product.
It all ‘goes with the Flow.’
Remember
Source: Tomlinson, 2010
Five Immediately Implementable Technologies
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Work with Students to Plan/Develop Personalized
Learning Environments Powered by Technologies
Create a Classroom Community Blog
Add a Forum Comprised of Threaded Discussions
to Your Portal
Create a List of Web-based Resources to
Differentiate Intake, Process and Product
Add RSS Feeds to Your Portal
Ramp it up—even just a bit!
Using Technology for Differentiation
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Resources to help address various
learning styles and modalities
(http://teaching.monster.com/be
nefits/articles/8484-usingtechnology-to-differentiateinstruction)
Thinking Maps, Graphic
Organizers and Concept
Maps/KWHL
Pinterest – for both intake and
output (galleries illustrating
concepts)
Online books and other resources
(lesson plans; webquests; among
many others)
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Digital Cameras and Smart
Phones (Picturing Peace/Look
Again)
Using everyday applications
like Powerpoint based on
ability grouping and interest
Share presentations and
feedback using Slideshare
(http://www.slideshare.net/?ss)
Use in conjunction with tiering
and choice boards
(empowerment)/RAFT
strategies
Community Blogs to Action
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Fostering community and
constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978;
Lipman, 1991)
Knowledge-centered
instructional tool that enables
creative research and thought,
guided by expert practitioners
Cooperative and collaborative,
real-time feedback within and
outside of the learning
environment
Move through developmental
concepts within and across
disciplines—opportunities to
bridge and go deeper
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Equality of access to information and
meaningful reflection through
embedded links and other
technologies (personalization,
individualization and differentiation)
Creativity and critical thinking in a
disciplinary or cross-disciplinary
context
Host/post information that is easy to
access and organize
Opportunities for guided discovery
and extension of discussion—
individual or community
Opportunities for broader
dissemination (and cultivation of skills
related to genres of writing, editing,
etc.)
Examples of Community Edublogs
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http://edublogs.org/community/
http://theedublogger.com/files/2010/12/edublogs_introblog
ging-262ybbo.pdf (a great ‘how-to’)
http://movingforward.wikispaces.com/Education+Blogs+by+D
iscipline (Edublogs by discipline)
http://edublogawards.com/ (award-winning blogs)
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Learning-with-Blogs-andWikis.aspx (a great article on creating and using Edublogs)
MANY ARE JUST TEMPLATES TO BE FILLED IN!
Where do we Acquire Information?
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Formal Resources: Courses; textbooks; trainings;
literature and other media; official websites; television;
radio; among others
Informal Resources: Networks; YouTube; Facebook;
LinkedIn; Flickr; Google; Itunes; Netflix; Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCs)
Balance is Tantamount —based on your resource
preferences and learning styles. What technology tools
do you use? For what purposes? How do you organize
learning? How do you map it out?
‘Buffets for the Brain’
Personalized Learning Environments
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Customizing sets of online resources (content; presentation;
navigation support; and educational services) to address the unique
learning styles, profiles and interests of the individual user – START
SMALL
Benefits:
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Engages students as creators (versus strict consumers) of education and
information
Promotes ownership of knowledge and participation in assessment
Offers choice and autonomy, values dimensions beyond cognitive
Real-life connections and creativity
Promotes critical thinking and sound habits of mind
Opportunities to share ideas
Interdependence and mutual respect between teacher and student
Enhances tiering, grouping and scaffolding
PLE Directions and Trends
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Game-based learning (GLASS lab,
sponsored by the Gates
Foundation)/ Gamification
Adaptive Learning (technology
modifies content and pacing based
on the needs/skills of the individual)
– Knewton (knewton.com)
Explosion of all things mobile (apps
for e-readers, laptops and the like)
Moving to the Cloud and
collaborative learning environments
Combines formal and informal
learning resources – can be done
per course, discipline, etc.
Pearltrees: Everything you like at
your fingertips! Virtual curation
http://www.pearltrees.com/
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A few ready resources:
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EdTechPost: Diagramming PLEs
(http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PL
E%20Diagrams)
A great PLE blog:
http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/
web-2-0/ple-personal-learningenvironment-whats-yours-like/
University-sponsored Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCS):
http://www.openculture.com/free_ce
rtificate_courses
What are a few basic things that
you could do with technology that
could get you started in the direction
of PLEs?
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Working with students to list
available resources and tools
Mapping it out (suggestions based on
working with available resources) –
even on a white board
A Diagrammed PLE: Thinking Map
EXAMPLES
A Diagrammed PLE: Thinking Map
MORE
EXAMPLES
Making the Most of the Mimio
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Presentations and saving changes/notes
Group note taking; class PLEs; center time; among others
Can be used in the development of individual PLEs and in
the development of differentiated lesson plans
Sharing lessons and resources through MimioConnect (free to
register)—including professional development
(http://www.mimioconnect.com/forum)
Using Mimio: Case Studies (http://www.mimio.com/enNA/Content/Case-Studies.aspx)
56 Interesting Ways to Use Your Interactive Whiteboard
(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IpRaaQvSLl5Q7
pj91D2jSRn3sFSX4QOYOYAR8JzvCA0/present#slide=id.i6
3)
The Little Things That Mean Alot
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Discussion Forums. Can be topical,
thematic, troubleshooting, or off topic. A
great way to keep the conversations
moving outside of the classroom
environment.
RSS Feeds. A series of personalized
tickers based on interest or purpose.
Usually at the touch of a button, you can
avail your students the latest and
greatest.
Multimedia Clips. Why state it when you
can show it? Qwiki offers a wonderful
free resource for slideshows set to music.
YouTube offers a deep pool of clips
related to just about anything and
everything.
Jing. Show others how to do what you do
by capturing shots and processes.
http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html
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Dropbox. A straightforward way to
share files and resources with others
(especially large documents and
other materials). Also accessible
through smart telephones and
tablets. https://www.dropbox.com/
Online Quizzes. An easy way to
formatively assess your pupils and to
encourage them to visit your portal.
Don’t need to be related to the
curriculum—can be used for fun as
well.
Creating Links. Link to external
supplemental resources – materials
and tools – for each lesson or course.
Even if they are not required, you
will find students interested in
exploring further (for clarification
and/or expansion/enhancement)
Questions/Discussion
Contact Information
Morgan P. Appel
Director, Education Department
UC San Diego Extension
9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0170-N
La Jolla, California 92093-0170
mappel@ucsd.edu
858-534-9273/ FAX 858-534-9256