This document summarizes an open online course called #creativeHE that took place from September to November 2015. The course was facilitated by Chrissi Nerantzi, Sandra Sinfield, Sue Watling, Norman Jackson and Nikos Fachantidis and aimed to help participants reflect on creative teaching and learning. Over the course of 8 weeks, participants engaged with topics like creativity in higher education, play and games, using story, and learning through making. The course utilized various online platforms and tools to foster engagement and sharing of ideas. Participation grew over the duration of the course from 41 members initially to over 100 by the end. The community continued collaborating online after the formal course ended.

1. #creativeHE
28 Sep – 20 Nov 2015
with Chrissi Nerantzi, Sandra Sinfield, Sue Watling,
Prof. Norman Jackson and Dr Nikos Fachantidis

2. #creativeHE facilitators
Chrissi Nerantzi
CELT (organiser)
@chrissinerantzi
Dr Nikos
Fachantidis
@nfachantidis
Sandra Sinfield
@danceswithcloud
Prof. Norman
Jackson
@lifewider1
Sue Watling
@suewatling
Joined
the
team in
week 3

3. On successful completion of this open course,
students will be able to:
• Reflect on creative teaching for student creativity
based on relevant pedagogical theories, as a driver
for student engagement and learning in their own
professional context.
• Discuss challenges that influence creative learning
and teaching in higher education.
• Evaluate an innovation in their own practice based
on their own creativity involved in the development
and implementation process.
Learning outcomes

4. #creativeHE in 8 weeks
• Week 1: orientation, familiarisation with the course,
platforms, peers, facilitators + webinar
• Week 2: Creativity in HE
• Week 3: Open week to catch-up + webinar
• Week 4: Play and games
• Week 5: Using story
• Week 6: Learning through making
• Week 7: Innovation project
• Week 8: Open week to catch-up, complete + webinar
• BONUS: Learning ecologies, throughout and after Week 8

5. Learning with others
•Find a study buddy (How did this
happen?)
•Join a small facilitated group > check
out
https://docs.google.com/document/
d/1zKyfcslt7VWwOZja-
GWz25VHTz9PvsXT78-
XxO63qJY/edit?usp=sharing
•Create your own study group (Did
this happen, locally perhaps?)

6. Norman’s
example

7. Course site within p2pu
https://courses.p2pu.org/en/courses/2615/creativity-for-learning-in-higher-
education/

8. Collaboration space in Google + community
https://plus.google.com/communities/110898703741307769041
Before the start of the course

9. Collaboration space in Google + community
https://plus.google.com/communities/110898703741307769041
A few days after course completion

10. #creativeHE was useful for…
• Engaging in creative approaches to learning and teaching
and considering these for own practice
• Engaging in informal CPD within a diverse and distributed
community with individuals from other institutions and
countries
• Exploring the possibility to link to formal CPD in an
institution (MMU example: FLEX, Creativity module)
• Learning and developing through using a portfolio-based
approach within an distributed community of
practitioners
• Learning within a small facilitated group where applicable
• Co-facilitating with colleagues from other institutions and
countries and exploring new possibilities together for
joint-up learning and development

11. 2 more webinars, Tuesdays 8-
9pm UK time
• https://mmu.adobeconnect.com/_a1023480576/cr
eativehe/
•There is also an Adobe app
•13 October peer-led
•17 November celebrating
learning

12. Opportunity to become research
participants
• Chrissi’s PhD research in open collaborative learning in
cross-institutional academic development courses
• Ethical approval from Edinburgh Napier University
(details will be communitated to colleagues interested)
• express interest at
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ln63DGvXDF2yVG4J
g1LGSmVQz61uMkJkdt1hEAaXsfs/viewform

13. Week 1 familiarisation
Webinar 1
Visual discussions
Video

14. Week 2 creativity in HE
http://suewatling.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/20
15/10/09/i-may-be-less-creative-than-i-
think-creativehe
blogging
http://bnicollscre
ativity4learningin
he.blogspot.co.u
k/
http://padlet.com/nikosmouratog/8rs14d88w
3g6

15. Week 3 catch-up
Facilitator sharing own views
Sharing interesting resources
http://blog.mahabali.me/blog/pedagogy
/considering-teaching-with-sole-
approach/
http://www.norma
njackson.co.uk/cre
ativityopencourse
Participant becoming facilitator
Creative mood board
https://www.pinterest.com/debbaff/d
ebs-creative-mood-board/

16. http://padlet.com/tziouvar/w4efxjia13dr
Portfolios, loads of them!
2nd webinar

17. Week 4 play and games
Linking the physical with the digital

18. Week 4 play and games
Norman’s openly shared reflections
http://www.normanjackson.co.uk/creativityopenco
urse
Norman is exploring
the strength of
connections
Nikos playing the Sell your bargains game his way
https://youtu.be/BmGdm-Tfz2M

19. Week 5 using story
Our Sue is
changing
institutions
Celebrating together
The activities seem to trigger engagement and sharing

20. Week 6 Learning through
making
https://youtu.be/kpcW0zWWaOU
Great use of video to develop reflection
http://padlet.com/tziouvar/w4efxji
a13dr/wish/79706787
Sharing personal creations

21. #creativeHE participation badges
Have you claimed yours? Check out
https://courses.p2pu.org/en/courses/2615/content/7440/

22. Week 7
Catching up!!
Reflecting
Co-authoring opportunity

23. Week 8
Webinar
Learning a new language
Catching up
Using visual creativity

25. “Week 8
This has been a very interesting course for me and i am glad i had the chance
to participate. It gave me the opportunity to come in touch with people i would
have never normally met and exchange ideas with them. I also think that a
course like this gives to someone the opportunity not only to come in touch
with ideas from people he/she doesn't know in real life, but also from people
that he/she may meet in a real classroom, but time restrictions there don't
give the opportunity to everyone to express their ideas. It also helped me
become familiar with some technological tools and gave to me an example of
how technology can be used in education. I think that it would be much more
likely for me, now that i have participated in such a course, to try to use
technology in a course that i would be teaching, than it would have been if a
just had been theoretically informed about the potential to use technology
that way.
Participating in this course has also changed the way i see creativity and made
me think more about it. The site course and google plus are also providing
many interesting resources and readings. Although the problem of language
has been a concern for me at the start of the course, it hasn't troubled me very
much since then, because i never felt that anyone of us who is not a native
English speaker was judged for his/her English. I felt that everyone was much
more interested about our ideas.”

26. #creativeHE numbers
within the community
members Facilitators
Day 1 41 4
End of week 1 64 4
End of week 2 76 4
End of week 3 94 5
End of week 4 99 5
End of week 5 102 5
End of week 6 102 5
End of week 7 102 5
End of week 8 102 5 Group 1 Group 2
9 8
Facilitated groups
Sue Watling
after joining the
course as a
participant
asked to
become a
facilitator
UK
Greece
Canada
Australia
France
Jordan
Egypt
USA
Switzerland
Iraq
United Arab
Emirates
Sudan
30% of participants for whom
there were publicly available
information were from the
following 12 countries

27. #creativeHE stats
provided by Roger Greenhalgh
Total interactions: 2257 by 42% of participants
Average posting per participant:: 52.4 interactions >>> per week 6.5 interactions

28. #creativeHE community postings
provided by Roger Greenhalgh
Popular engagement days: Wednesdays, Thursday, Fridays, Sundays
NOT popular: Saturdays, Mondays, Tuesdays

29. #creativeHE posts per day
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

30. Patchwork approach (Wenger, et
al. 2009) used in #creativeHE
Course site Portfolio
Community space
Unknown? Other
spaces, networks,
communities
online, offline
etc. (Twitter,
Webinars)

31. What next?
The community will stay open
Special Interest Groups:
Learning ecologies with Prof. Norman Jackson
Creative robotics with Dr Nikos Fachantidis
Digital creativity with Sue Watling
Creative assessment with Sandra Sinfield
PLUS: Model making webinar TBC in collaboration
with Dr Alison James and @LEGOinHE network

32. Related research
This iteration of #creativeHE has
been used as a PhD case study to
explore the lived experience of
learners in this open course.
Findings will be communicated via
the thesis and related publications
and conference presentations.
Thank you to all study participants.
Chrissi Nerantzi @chrissinerantzi
https://chrissinerantzi.wordpress.c
om/phd-research/

33. • Day 1: Making a start
• Day 2: Creativity in HE
• Day 3: Play and games
• Day 4: Using story
• Day 5: Learning through making
We will be looking for volunteer facilitators

34. What facilitators said

35. Extending
engagement
Three #creativeHE
participants contributed to
the Lifewide Magazine
Creative Lives, Dec 2015
http://www.lifewidemagazine.co.uk/uploads/1/0/8/4/10842717/lifewide_magazine__1
5.pdf

36. Creative Academic Magazine created by #creativeHE
participants (Jan 2016) supported by Prof. Norman
Jackson and Dr Jenny Willis 100
pages
http://www.creativeacademic.uk/uploads/1/3/5/4/13542890/cam3.pdf

37. Introducing the #creativeHE
community badge > Jan 2016
https://credly.com/claim/63970/451-7505-446

38. Thank you so much everybody! We will
be back in March 2016. Same place.
Chrissi Nerantzi, Sandra Sinfield, Sue Watling, Norman Jackson and Nikos
Fachantidis
#creativeHE artwork by Ellie Hannan @ellihannan