Creativity thrives on connection and nurturing relationships. The document discusses how creativity is fostered through collaboration between students, teachers, mentors, and communities. It emphasizes cultivating creativity in education by tapping into students' interests and talents, modeling risk-taking and passion for learning, and making space for mistakes and creativity to flourish. Connecting across boundaries between schools, industries, and learning organizations can provide opportunities for creative problem-solving and nurturing young innovators.

1. Connecting Across Boundaries to Life & Learning
Creativity, Connection & Change
Mary
Loftus

2. Tony Wagner – Creating Innovators
The world does not
ask, what knowledge
you have?
It asks what skills do
you have?
What can you do?
Are you motivated?

3. Creativity is not about creating
‘something out of nothing’…
Creativity encodes, selects, re-
combines synthesises already
existing facts, ideas, facilities, skills
Arthur Koestler (1964) The Act of Creation

4. What does a
creative person look
like?

5. My Dad

6. Digging
My Grandfather cut more
turf in a day than any
other man on Toner’s bog.
Nicking and slicing neatly,
heaving sods over his
shoulder, going down and
down.
For the good turf.

8. 70s oil shortages?
Not a problem :)

9. And he’s
infected his
grandchildren
…

10. • Creativity is about tapping into what is alive in us
• It’s why we’re here
• We need to make and keep a connection to it

13. “A teacher used to say "Susan Ryan! Rathmines
Town Hall today, Carnegie Hall New York
tomorrow!" I never forgot that and when I did
perform at Carnegie Hall I sent him a card to let
him know I had fulfilled that vision he had for me”
“a few teachers… treated
us like individuals with our
own minds and opinions”
“I was the last child; I was
singing from an early age
and identified strongly
with my musician
mother… Her death
propelled me more deeply
into music, writing,
philosophy, finding
meaning: it helped,
immensely”
“there's mental health
issues in the family
(hey, we're Irish) and
hence there's high
incidences of creativity in
those families”
“my Dad gave me a clear message that artistic creativity was of no value
however he was an inventor with an entrepreneurial mind (did I tell you he
invented the Catch Bar?) and was certainly a creative thinker, so I have him to
thank for what I call my cultural entrepreneur side, and the tendency to be
hell bent on doing something if someone tells me I can't (a trait common in
entrepreneurs)”

14. • Paradoxes of Creativity
• It requires failure,
exposure and
overcoming
vulnerability & shame
• The antidote to shame
is empathy
• Unused creativity is not benign. It clumps inside us,
turning into judgment, grief, anger and shame

15. We can’t make space for our students to
Draw from their creative well
If we don’t fill our own well first
We have to be innovators, model, take risks, make
mistakes, learn from them, work collaboratively
Where am I modelling play, passion, purpose?

16. How do you nurture your own
Creativity and what is alive in you?
How could you nurture it some
more?
tinyurl.com/icteduq1

17. • Creativity + Connection
• The Internet is a machine made out of people - a
connection machine – dana boyd
• Connection is also why we’re here
• It’s why many of us are here in Tipp today

18. • Schools are hugely powerful
• Last community resource
• Educators, students and communities have an important
role to play in imagining and building the future
• - Keri Facer

19. Songs from the East Village – Susan McKeown

20. What gets measured gets managed
• What are we measuring?
• Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate
management by numbers, numerical goals.
Substitute leadership - Demming
• The Hawthorne effect is a kind of "tell-me-what-you-
measure-I-will-tell-you-how-people-react-to-it"
effect

21. • PISA scores inversely correlated with
innovation – Pam Moran / Ira Socol

22. Connecting Across Boundaries – how?
Schools
Industry
Universities
CoderDojos

23. Giving kids and young people all over the world better access to the
Magic behind the technology that surrounds us and touches almost
everything that we do in our lives, CoderDojo is a global community of
free programming clubs for young people.

24. The Kids “Ninjas” ChampionsMentors Parents
• Attend sessions
• Learn skills
• Coding
• Presenting
• Interpersonal
• Become part of an
international coding
community
• Coach kids
• Demo to kids
• Create content
• Help kids to find
answers to
questions
• Kids who become
adept at coding
through CoderDojo
make the best
mentors!
• Set up & run
Dojos
• Often mentor
• Coordinate
everybody
• Primary liaison
for interactions
with the
Foundation team,
Local Businesses
& Venue etc.
• Facilitate their
children’s
learning
• Support their
local Dojos
through
maintaining the
environment of
“One Rule: Be
Cool”

25. Notice where the parent is (left)
and where the children are (leading the room)

27. MissionV is providing a highly creative, totally immersive, game based
learning environment for schools and industry. We’re putting the focus
on 21st century skills, helping students to become original digital
creators with 3D modelling and programming skills.
MissionV allows students to connect, create and collaborate in a 3D
world entirely of their own making.

29. Real world context
oUse real world problems
oDraw on real world Experts
oUse real world methods
oDevelop tech skills & “soft” skills
Student-driven learning
oKeep it project-based
oDraw on flipped classroom
approaches
oGive opportunity for creativity
oUse a team approach
oBuild in opportunity to “fail”
Coding & technology
oKeep it creative
oFocus on purpose
oUse familiar technology
oUse full range of free software
oDraw on self- or peer-learning

30. Creativity and technology can go hand in hand
Creativity can & must be learned thru tech
Course content &
pedagogy
Tools , training
& support
AFG AwardsExpert Community

31. Apps for Good – a free programme for schools
Education partners receive:
Course content &
pedagogy
oCourse plans
oPresentations &
videos
oStudent activities
oTeaching notes
Tools , training
& support
oCourse induction
oCoding materials
oSchool-to-school
support from our
Ninja Education
Partners
AFG Awards
oNational competition
oOpportunity for your
students’ apps to go
on the market, owned
by them
Expert Community
oAccess to 600+
Tech professionals
oVideo content from
top names in tech
oExamples of work
from real world
products
Find out how to join for free – www.appsforgood.org

32. Creativity:
Wholistic integrated thinking
‘and’ not ‘or’
Collaboration
Messy & requires comfort with making mistakes
Benefits from Mentors & Muses
- Debbie Forster, Co-CEO

35. Find and foster a community of young coders and
digital makers
Get them 'civic hacking' together: using their skills, to
improve their communities
Promote peer to peer learning
Provide a fun, inclusive and supportive environment
Equip these young people with the skills to become the
tech stars of tomorrow

37. What creative educational related
connections and collaborations do
you want to nurture?
tinyurl.com/icteduq2

41. Young Digital Makers UK - Key Recommendations
The high levels of interest in
digital making amongst young
people and parents need to be
capitalised on further.
Young people need to be
supported as digital makers
across the UK, not just in
London and areas that have
high provision.
Non-professionals – such as
volunteers, parents, teachers,
and young people themselves
– need to be mobilised.
There needs to be greater
access to a variety of making
opportunities catering for a
wider variety of young people
and their different interests,
ages and genders.
Clear pathways to excellence
should be built to grow young
people’s ambitions as digital
makers and help them fulfill
their potential, in and out of
school.
Schools must exploit their
potential as a hub for digital
making opportunities, work
with informal learning
organisations, raise parents’
awareness and recruit
volunteers.
Digital making organisations
need to be supported to grow
sustainably through new and
existing partnerships with
grassroots organisations and
private companies.

43. What policy or system changes
would you like to see to promote
more creativity and innovation in
the education space?
tinyurl.com/icteduq3

44. Summary
Nurture your own
Creativity
Connect with
Others
Push for Change

45. Action Praxis

47. Backup Slides

48. 3rd Level
Bridge to Learn - Trinity
Student as Producer – Lincoln University
Online Education – NUI Galway
MOOCs – Sligo IT

51. Carl Rogers
‘Saw himself as a facilitator -
one who created the
environment for
engagement.
•Active Listening
•Creating a safe space
There were 'ways of being'
with others that foster
exploration and encounter‘
Smith (1999)
Further reading:
Joe McCarthy
Donald Clark
• Realness in the facilitator of
learning
• Prizing, acceptance, trust
• Empathetic understanding

52. Mentors
Is there a teacher or mentor who’s made a difference –
2/3rds said yes
Many of these mentor teachers were outliers