The title of this post is from a book from Monica Burns I am reading at the moment. This is one aspect which is a guiding idea for me since many years: clearly, creating something related to a subject demonstrates understanding – there is simply no way to do this without understanding. To accomplish such a goal requires quite an amount of creativity too, which means, e.g., asking (the right) questions. As Monica puts it:
„Long before tablets, laptops, or computer labs became fixtures in schools, students documented their learning by creating products. Giving students the power to create gets their wheels spinning about a topic, helps them make connections, and provides relevance to their work. In his popular TED Talk, Sir Ken Robinson (2006) notes that “creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” How often do we give students an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding by exploring content in hands-on learning experiences? Are we giving students a sense of purpose for and ownership over their learning?“
From: Monica Burns. „Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a Tech-Rich Classroom.“
Every solved problem, every given answer creates new questions: ok, if this is done that way: how could it be done easier/faster? How can I modify this solution? How could I extend it? And so on…
The most important aspect however for me is: creation is fun – almost anytime. Consumption is easy, creation is work, but it is work easily done when experiencing a flow of creativity. See my App Inventor experience!
