Don't Teach Your Students Creative Technology Tools

As a district leader for a large school district in Atlanta I was able to travel to several large educational conferences per year to engage in professional development. One of my favorite conferences was the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). As a former Graphic Design teacher and Adobe Education Leader for the district, I loved staying immersed in what was happening in the tech world, especially in regards to education.

One day an email came across my screen from ISTE saying they were offering their members free access to TED Masterclass with the opportunity to submit your talk for a chance to deliver it at the next ISTE conference! The annual conference is one of the most influential educational events, attracting over 16,000 attendees and industry representatives including teachers, tech coordinators and directors, library media specialists, education leaders, tech providers, and researchers from around the world.

The course would require months of coursework, assignments and deadlines with no guarantee that you would be one of the few chosen to give your talk at ISTE. I thought about it for a couple of days. Did I dare? I loved TED talks. I found them to be so inspiration and often listened to them on my favorite podcast platform. I decided to take the plunge. Here was my talk that was not only chosen, but was picked as a featured talk:

Hello, I am a district level specialist who oversees, organizes and implements curriculum, instructional coaching and professional development for hundreds of teachers in one of the largest school districts in Atlanta.

After much consideration and analysis I’m here to argue the case “Don’t teach your students creative technology tools.”

Upon hearing me state this your thought may be “Wait, aren’t you an educator?” Correct. And aren’t educators encouraged, and in some cases are basically on contract to teach these emerging technologies? And yes, that is also correct.

So what do I mean by creative technology tools? Google the term and you are hit with a long list of the best digital tools for creative expression. These tech tools allow our students to create interactive online posters, graphic design projects, visually stimulating classroom presentations and slide shows, customized comic strips, animations, coding projects and virtual art studios.

A statement I hear often from teachers is “Students use this tech tool regularly in my classroom” or “I taught my students how to use this software or app.” Great. Nothing wrong with that, we want teachers to use creative tech tools, especially those that can lead to a career pathway.

So my journey to what seemingly sounds like a blanket statement developed as a graphic design teacher who utilized and taught a wide variety of creative technologies including design software.

As a new and eager graphic design teacher I was determined to teach my students both the technical and creative side of things. My older students were exposed to my love of Photoshop quite quickly while my first level students tried a variety of new online tech tools.

For one particular project I gathered my 6th graders and announced excitedly “We will be creating unique, digital comic strips.” I had researched and found a site that would allow each of my youngest students to show off their creativity and design skills by creating amazing comics which they would share with the entire class.

I painstakingly taught them to use the site. We walked through it for days, learning every tool. Once I was confident they had mastered the technical side, I gave them a set of guidelines and off they went to create! It was an exciting time to be a design teacher…

That was until the comics were turned in. One after another, they all looked the same. Yes, they told a story with a beginning, middle, and end. And, it was apparent that they knew how to use the tools but the comics were boring. Uninspiring. Uniform. It was not a question of just teaching them the elements of a “good design.” It went deeper than that.

I then realized there were 3 components more vital to producing higher level outcomes than just teaching them the tech tool and giving them project guidelines. The first component was the spark. Something you try to ignite during exposure to the app, tool or project concept. This spark is vital.

It is the grab that makes your learner interested in not only carrying out the task but also to want to learn more. You ignite that spark by showing them the cool possibilities, the benefits to knowing and then instilling confidence that the learner can achieve the same result.

The 2nd component is creative guidance. Let’s train our students to be creative. Aren’t kids naturally creative? Sometimes. But in reality that assumption is often unfounded. Kids, especially very young in their childhood may be imaginative and yes, even creative. But it is a creativity without a formal purpose. They are not trying to connect, inform or inspire larger audiences or more concrete ideas.

Creative guidance is where we help our students design, problem solve, create and develop unique ideas and means of expression. Through guidance, permission, templates, steps, prompts, reminders, examples and choice.

Let’s say you have 2 groups of students, Group A and Group B. Group A is a group of creative students. They have honed their ability to be unique, engaging, to problem solve and be creative. I take this group of students, introduce the project and then teach them the basics of the tech tool.

Group B is a group of students who know the tech tool but have had little exposure to design thinking or creative guidance. I take these skilled techies and give them the same project. Whose project would prevail in its uniqueness and in its ability to connect with the intended audience?

I’d like to argue the case for Group A. A person with technological skill but no engaging way to express it cannot grab your attention. But a highly creative person armed with a napkin, two paper clips, markers and tape can engage an entire audience.

This is where the 3rd and final component comes in. I call it E. O: Extraordinary Outcome. For any tech tool or project concept you are introducing ask yourself the question “What would make for an extraordinary outcome?” You then create the learning environment necessary so that E.O. will be the norm. Not standard. Not boring. Not uniform.

You “back it up,” work backwards by keeping the end in mind. If the tool being used doesn’t demonstrate higher level thinking, uniqueness, or a sense of the creator then what is the purpose? We have enough ways and more than enough permission to be standard. The tools we decide to introduce to our students should touch and connect others to their ideas and give them the freedom to truly express themselves.

Learning is inherent if there is a will to learn. Exposure and a spark equals will. It is at that time you will know you are doing your job too well because students will be pushing you out of the way and will be seeking the information needed without going through the “middle man.”

For example, I know of a teacher who decided to make the move from teaching fine art to teaching animation. Although this teacher had a graphic design degree she had no direct training in the art of animation. The game plan? Stay at least a few steps ahead and learn the animation software while teaching it.

Two things were not taken into consideration. One, she was teaching adolescents. Tech is their wheelhouse, literally in their DNA. They have grown up using it every day, and have more expendable time to master it than most adults do.

Two, she also underestimated her ability to ignite that all important spark. Needless to say, her plan didn’t last very long. Within a few classes most students had caught up and even surpassed her knowledge. That’s engagement. That is the will to learn.

I’m no longer in the classroom but my work now affords me a birds eye view. Teachers are showing students the tech tools, but show me the student work, the outcomes and I can tell you where the focus is being placed.

The concept I am embracing is yes, still teach the skills, tools and technologies. But that is not sufficient as a stand alone and shouldn’t be taught in detail up front without the other side of the coin.

This new model or “focus switch” shifts the focus from the tool and/or technology to the spark and the extraordinary outcome. Students will be inspired to know more, do more and to strive to connect with their intended audience in an effective and unique manner.

Don’t teach your students creative technology tools. Instead, allow your students to use these tools and technologies creatively to express themselves in extraordinary ways.