My Love Affair With Educational Technology, Teaching, & Homeschooling Part I - Harness Your Creative Energy

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Hello!

Please excuse the mess! I am working, writing, turning my
homeschooling classroom into an office, and preparing for
for my oldest daughter’s wedding in Sept.

My excitement and love of technology, learning, homeschooling, and teaching are some of the reasons I am back writing. There is so much to explore, write, and discuss that at times I find it hard to stay focused and not get too excited.

Before I continue, I have a question?

Why are we all here? No, I am not asking the meaning of life question. I am asking, why are we writing and sharing our thoughts? I believe it is because we are intelligent, free thinkers and creative people. Also, we all have something to say!

As a teacher, I am constantly searching and trying to find creative ways to reach my students. As a homeschooling mom, I also tried reaching my daughters.

My Daughters

When I became a lover of homeschooling and educational technology I became influenced (in a positive way) by several authors whose works could be applied to all aspects of life, not just education. These authors led me on a journey to be a more creative teacher and person. I learned about personal creativity and attempted to harness my “ creative energy and inner creativity” to become a better teacher.

Creative Something (a really cool blog)
http://creativesomething.net/post/115032844158/harnessing-the-energy-effect-of-everything-you-do

The author I am writing about today is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and his book is Creativity. In Chapter 14, Enhancing Personal Creativity, Csikszentmihalyi gives several ways to avoid the obstacles he says prevent people from using their creative energy. The obstacles are laziness, lack of discipline, too many demands, and being easily distracted. Csikszentmihalyi states that the first area to focus on to help people become more creative is the acquisition of creative energy. The next is to focus on internal traits, which as I understand it, is to try to change the way we do things to become more creative. By change, I mean our habits and perhaps some personality traits. Finally, to become more creative one needs to explore the application of creative energy. Some ways to do this are to attempt divergent thinking as it relates to looking at as many viewpoints as possible and finding a special domain.

Well, to say the least, I was excited and intrigued! All the ideas made me rethink the ways I have been creative and maybe not so creative over the years. The reading material also stirred my interest in trying some of the ideas suggested.

So, I set forth trying some of Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas. I started with trying to think of a way I can be surprised by something every day, but I but found it difficult. I tried seeing things from others’ point-of-view (my husband’s view while we were arguing; that was hard too) and I tried meditation techniques (Zen Zoto), which I am still doing! I attempted to surprise myself, which failed. I am still not sure how one can surprise one's self.

But I was successful at surprising family members. I took my youngest daughter to a surprise lunch as well as cooking a new recipe for my husband.

I also tried daydreaming activities; one was while I was on our boat last weekend; I looked for images in the clouds (the old childhood game) and saw what looked like Africa. It was fun!

Remember, I am still on my quest to harness my creative energy to help me become a better teacher.

So, next I tried:

1. Watching my cat playing in the family room
2. Watching the TV with no sound
3. Listening to the TV with my eyes closed
4. I tried changing my schedule (During my lunch hour I watched a movie; I found it very relaxing. I like the idea of taking charge of my schedule.)
5. Divergent thinking
6. Finding a domain
7. Personal diary

As you can see from the list, I can confidently say I have tried many of Csikszentmihaly’s activities. One that worked for me is keeping the personal diary. Writing helps me to put into terms or try to understand how creativity can fit into my life. Perhaps this is where I can apply Csikszentmihalyi’s internal traits. Maybe, if I try to change something about myself or try to, as Csikszentmihalyi says, “develop what I lack,” I will experience my world from a new perspective, which may make me more creative, a better teacher, and happier.

I can honestly say that I will never think of the word “creative” in as simple of terms after reading Csikszentmihalyi’s work and trying some of his ideas. I have a newfound respect for the word.

I still need to work on my divergent thinking and finding a domain. I like to work on trying to produce unlikely ideas, but it seems that it goes hand and hand with trying to be more creative. As far as a domain, I have tried related domains, such as cross-stitching, scrapbooking, and drawing (all involving art); I would like to try one that takes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to try new things.

With my newfound understanding of creativity, I definitely feel more confident as a teacher and I have to continue to search for ways to be creative.

From my experience and what I have learned about creativity, I would like to encourage all teachers, whether brick-and-mortar, online or homeschoolers to search for creative ways to reach students.

Here is a video I created with iTunes Visualizer for my online Creative Writing class. It is an extra credit assignment (I am not allowed to alter the curriculum). The students are to write a story using the song. I have asked them not to Google the song. This activity is a good example of combining subject areas (Writing & Music). Also, remember it can be used in any classroom (including homeschooling classrooms).

Thank you for reading and sharing this educational journey with me.

Also, if you are interested in Csikszentmihaly, check out his other books!

Csikszentmihaly

Until next time!

Sandra