Creativity

   These are a few of the picture that I took while in Germany last summer.  I was there for a study abroad program it was 6 weeks that I will never forget. 

Learning and Leading

1.  The four dimensions used by J.P. Guilford to describe creativity are fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.

2.  Elaboration is the one dimension that I think I struggle with the most.  I can be creative and original but sometimes I have a hard time laying on a bunch of layers.  When I do projects I do not include a lot of fluff.  I usually do what is required, with a little bit of extra flair, but I do not over elaborate.

3.  I think Twitter could be used in to help with elaboration and flexibility.  A teacher could tweet an idea then have the students tweet back with their thoughts, ideas, or add some details.  If the students tweet back with an appropriate hash-tag everything could be tied together nicely.

4.  I checked out the website Wordle.  I could definitely use this site in an ag classroom.  Wordle is a website where make word clods.  The first thing I thought about in how to use this site is having the class list all the animals you might find in a forest or all the tree species that are in that same forest.  Once these word clouds are made it would be easy for students to go back and quickly scan the lists to refresh their memories.

Something Creative

  I really enjoy cooking, and I really enjoy breakfast and the foods that go with it.  So when we were asked to do something creative on Monday morning I planned on cooking something for breakfast.  At first I thought about making a breakfast pizza, but I have made one before and I did not have a whole lot of time to prepare everything needed for the pizza.  I decided to make some pancakes, but not any pancakes mind you.  I made these pancakes with pecans and bits of sausage.
  

 
 I mixed up the pancake batter, chopped up some pecans, and then crumbled up some precooked sausage patties.  The end result was fantastic.  I finished off my short stack with some butter and syrup.  Definitely going to have to make these again in the near future.

Horizon Report

  I am excited about all the technology that I will be able to use in the classroom.  Long gone are the days of overhead projectors and having to roll in a TV to show a video in class.  At times this technology seems to come out way too fast.  Luckily though most schools and universities are spearheading ways to integrate all that they can.  I really like the idea of students using tablets loaded with apps and programs that pertain to what is being taught.  Teachers will be able to suggest apps to use, videos to watch, and articles to read that will expand on and enrich what is happening in the classroom.  I have commented to my friend and family many times about Google has made it so easy to find out about stuff that years ago we would have just been left not knowing.  The information is there and luckily it is readily available and easy to access.