My April Educational Leadership column is online

My latest Power Up column Technology and the Illusion of Creativity from the April 2014 issue of Educational Leadership from ASCD is now available online. Enjoy. Links to all my Power Up columns can be found here.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

Comments

[Doug Johnson]

From Barbara Barreda via Google+:

Interesting ... I agree on many levels but overall I disagree. Not so much with your thinking but rather with how some I know would interpret your thinking. I have two primary issues with your point.

I agree that it is about craft but that does not mean creating it yourself. It could me understanding form and composition but still using things from online....it could be about derivative work and remixing

I am pretty passionate about how we define creativity. As an administrator I am constantly working with staff on the idea that it is about thinking outside the box. That it is the ability to draw on all disciplines and make something new. The arts are part of that however I get frustrated when a good art program means we are creative and the box is checked off.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Barbara,

Thanks so much for your reaction. Defining creativity is tricky business. I believe there are over 100 definitions in educational literature alone. You can read my take on it here if interested: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2014/2/18/the-three-attributes-of-creativity.html

Thanks for making me think,

Doug