A line in the new President's inauguration speech struck a chord with many people ... and has formed the basis of Mitch's keynote ...
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
So how do we help the students of today become makers and not just consumers in today's digital world? Sure creativity is key and therefore, it is important as educators that we encourage doing and making through creative thinking. Interacting with animations and simulations, and writing on people's Facebook pages simply isn't enough.
When Mitch and his team at MIT started out with their Scratch venture, they had no idea that children as young as 12 would be uploading tutorials on how to use this programme. Today, children all over the world are collaborating on games and resource development, and sharing these via the Scratch website - http://scratch.mit.edu/ - these children have become 'makers' with technology.
The Scratch website now offers a global collaborative community: students can upload projects to the website and engage in discussion about improving them! And students who modify projects can upload their own versions! It is important to remember that creativity doesn't have to be something started from new but can often rise from the adaptation of something that exists already!
For example, one user put up an anime project and invited others in the Scratch community to create new characters for her story. Other children have created scrolling backgrounds which were not offered in the original programme. A number of children have created projects around the very successful Warrior cats books etc. Some young people even used the site to create and adapt Mother's Day cards!
Scratch now being used more and more in schools ... and is providing a means to encourage children to think logically and systematically. Scratched - http://scratched.media.mit.edu/ offers support for teachers wishing to get started. Trevor Blunn's resource on the Teachnet UK website is also a good place to start - http://bit.ly/os4J0
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