Student vs. Teacher created Media

While listening to the Technology Shopping cart podcast I heard Wes Fryer say:

I am a catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning [...] Students creating media and then students collaborating.

I fully agree with Wes that we don’t see students do this nearly enough in the traditional school system. They are still mostly the passive recipient of teacher created content and lectures. Even when students are supposed to “create”, it is often a directed and restricted creation. “First you need to do this, then that, then ….”. It goes back to allowing students time to “play”, which I wrote about in a post las month. They need that time to be creative.

What motivates anyone to create?

My personal experience is that I simply enjoy the process of creating. Let that be designing a website, writing a blog post, or knitting a sweater. Other reasons for creating “something” are financial benefits, the need or enjoyment of the final product.

So how can we motivate students to C R E A T E ? How do we motivate teachers to allow students to create?

I am looking around in my own elementary school and am observing the following:

The teachers who have caught the “tech bug” and are using tools to showcase student’s work. They are finding these tech tools useful for personal use as well. Ex. Taking digital images to document an activity, scanning in of students’ artwork, uploading photos to classroom blogs, having students type in a story or report in word or directly into the blog.

Some of the teachers have taken the next step and are using the available tools (hardware and web- based) to manipulate their own content, present curriculum related material found on the web, and students’ work to mash up and to CREATE new materials. They are are using them for reviews, personalization, and content delivery infused with technology. Ex. PowerPoint presentations with images, audio and video; Jeopardy style games; document cameras; teacher created lectures delivery through podcasts, using digital images taken from/by students to create new teacher presentation, etc.

The next natural step should now be “student creating media”. The one that Wes Fryer is talking about. Allowing students to learn through their own creations is still not widely acceptable (especially not when high stakes testing is looming). But isn’t that the way we learn?What creation is more desirable (student or teacher)? Is one above the other in hierarchy or just a stepping stone to the next level? What is the value of teacher created material?

If teacher created material for their students is the stepping stool for student created media, that it has its value! Then we need to motivate teachers to create, create, create for their students? Maybe that will help them see the value of the PROCESS of creating in their own learning.