Blog - Page 45 of 49 - Spencer Education

Sep 22 2015

Eleven Ways to Improve Online Classes

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 5 Comments

I sit in front of the computer, staring at the screen. I have a general syllabus with little more than standards and goals. The university is giving me a crazy amount of freedom to design this online course. I shake my head, unsure of what…

Sep 17 2015

The Creative Power of Limitations

By John Spencer Creativity Deconstructed 2 Comments

Last April, I had the opportunity to deliver a TEDx Talk in Pennsylvania. Here's the talk: There's a deeply cultural idea that freedom and opportunity are the key ingredients to creativity. We use terms like "think outside the box" to describe the wild ones who…

Aug 27 2015

Creative Work Is Slow at First

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed No Comments

Over the last few weeks, I've enjoyed experimenting with illustrated videos. Here are three of my examples: One of the questions people ask is, "How did you make these?" This is often followed up by a second question, "How long did it take?" That…

Aug 14 2015

Seven Ways to Break the Consumer Mindset in Schools

By John Spencer Creativity No Comments

For the last eleven years, I asked my students to fill out a survey about how they use technology. Although I am now teaching university students, I think I'm going to do a similar survey. The questions are both about technology use (have you ever…

Aug 08 2015

Life Is Meant to Be Epic — A Reflection on Fatherhood, Teaching, and Life

By John Spencer The Epic Life No Comments

Subscribe to YouTube Channel Here's the transcript of the video: It was about eight years ago when the alarm woke me up at 3 in the morning. Except, it wasn’t an alarm. It was a newborn baby and I couldn’t calm him down. I remember…

Jul 24 2015

Ten Alternative Assessment Strategies

By John Spencer Creativity One Comment

It's easy to bust on standardized tests. They suck. They're boring. They're virtually meaningless. They kill instructional time. But what's the alternative? If we're not using multiple choice tests, what are we using? If we want a more creative classroom, what types of assessments exist…

Jul 01 2015

Nine Ways to Help Students Embrace the Revision Process

By John Spencer Design Thinking 2 Comments

I have noticed that students often hate the revision phase. In the design thinking cycle, they go from research to ideation and building a prototype. It seems cool. They're excited about what they made. But then when we switch to testing and revising, they get…

Jun 13 2015

My Favorite Fifty Books on Creativity and Design Thinking #createchat

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed No Comments

My Recommended Reading List on Creativity and Design Thinking I'm a big a fan of reading -- especially in the summertime. Later in the day, when it's blazingly hot, I usually have a quiet time. We all sprawl out on different chairs or couches and…

Jun 05 2015

Seven Ways We Can Fix the Dreaded Student Research Paper

By John Spencer Literacy No Comments

When I was a kid, I hated research papers. I hated the paint-by-numbers rules we had to follow. I hated the fact that I couldn't choose the topic or ask the questions or find the sources. I hated the notecards and the binders and everything…

Jun 01 2015

Sometimes Less Technology Means More Creativity

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed One Comment

I'm a fan of digital writing. After all, I'm sitting at my computer typing right now. And yet, when it comes to my deepest writing, I nearly always scribble it out by hand. When I'm stuck, I doodle. When I plan, I sketch out webs.…