When I was little there was no internet. As an only child, I often found company in my own imagination. I remember trying to make a hot air balloon out of construction paper and a box, which clearly didn’t taken me up, up and away, but gave me many hours of entertainment. I look at my son who is the typical teenage boy who will die if his cell phone is not in his hand or gets stir crazy if he has to wait in line patiently for something.
I wonder, as parents and educators, are we encouraging the imagination of kids? Are we constantly giving students detailed rubrics of what their project should look like, or are we giving them the room to explore and create.
Education has changed greatly in the last few decades. Teachers are often focused on finishing the unit, book, preparing for testing, etc, that they lose sight of what is important. Of course learning specific per class and grade level is important, but the way in which we do it does not have to be static and routine.
Some resources to spark the imagination:
Global Cardboard Challenge http://cardboardchallenge.com/
Mind Craft for Google Chrome https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mindcraft-minecraft-in-br/llnjlbikhilmfbmoflapiafdhjeadjpm?hl=en
Maker Camp http://makercamp.com/
Kiwi Crate http://www.kiwicrate.com/