iPods and Creativity in Learning and Teaching: An Instructional Perspective
Educators debate whether creativity can be taught. What they do agree upon is that students need to demonstrate creativity as opposed to just knowledge-based skills to be successful in today’s society. Educators realize that an ideal way to help foster creativity is to incorporate technology. In this article, a study was conducted on the use of iPods as tools in an educational setting to help develop creativity. Five key problems arose during the analysis of integration of the iPod: (1) creativity is taken for granted; (2) teachers’ creativity is rarely celebrated; (3) creativity is rarely an explicit objective for assessing students as part of the learning and teaching process; (4) many teachers lack understanding about what creativity means and how this can be embedded within the subject; and (5) developing more creative approaches can be seen as more work by teachers themselves. In addition, this article discusses the factors that influence the development of creativity and the description of Grainger et al. (2004) of a “cocktail” -- the ingredients needed to develop a creative learning environment. Overall the findings suggest that the iPod is a useful technology tool to help foster creativity for both students and teachers. It was also discovered that certain conditions need to prevail in the wider instructional environment if iPods are to be used as a learning technology, thus future research is needed.
Dale, C. (2008). iPods and Creativity in Learning and Teaching: An instructional perspective.International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(1), 1-9. Retrieved from: http://www.eric.ed.gov.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/PDFS/EJ895220.pdf
Dale, C. (2008). iPods and Creativity in Learning and Teaching: An instructional perspective.International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(1), 1-9. Retrieved from: http://www.eric.ed.gov.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/PDFS/EJ895220.pdf