Creativity Contract Project

Since I'm a CMSD major, I felt it would be appropriate to incorporate my personal interests into this project. I created a site called SLP Style, and I included all kinds of neat information for SLPs or anyone interested in speech at all. I hope you enjoy! :)

Creative Cooking

Recently, I discovered a blog called Chocolate Covered Katie. A young genius, named Katie, has developed several delicious dessert recipes that are also healthy. This is great for me, because I love dessert, but I also bought a dress I need to wear to wedding, and... it's a little snug.

Katie has a recipe for a dip. Cookie dough dip. How amazing does that sound? I had to make it. Her picture is seen below:

I bought all the ingredients and hurried home to make it. It was at this point that I realized I had missed a crucial detail. You need a food processor to blend the ingredients (It has garbanzo beans in it... who would think of that?!). Well, I don't have a food processor, or money, and no one in my apartment had one. I resulted to manuel squashing because I was desperate to make this dip work. In the end, it tasted pretty delicious, but it wasn't as visually stimulating:

I got paid yesterday, so I splurged on a food processor, and I plan on recreating this dip soon. I'll admit it, it's almost gone already!

FFOE Creativity

J.P. Guilford believes that Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration describe creativity. Personally, I struggle with originality the most. It sounds sad, but I honestly feel like I have very few original ideas these days. Perhaps it has something to do with the theory that schools kill creativity. I just often find myself struggling to come up with something brand new, and not regurgitated. Storybird helped me with my originality a bit because I never thought about using online books in Speech Therapy. It provided me with an idea, but I applied it differently than the traditional use. I think that qualifies as originality. It can also be applied with flexibility, considering the user can alter the text in any book any way they wish.

I looked a little a Worditout, a program that allows users to create word clouds. This could be really beneficial for younger students who are learning about different kinds of words (adverbs, adjectives, nouns, etc.). I certainly could see myself using this in the future.

Creative Studying

So I spent a good part of this morning trying to think of something creative to do, but nothing was coming to mind. I decided that this mental block is probably related to the fact that I have my first test of the semester Thursday, and I'm reasonably anxious. I had planned on making some flashcards, but I write slowly and it seemed like such a mundane task. It was in this moment that I had a great idea. I had bought some bright, neon card stock awhile back for reasons unknown, and I have a printer... so that only means one thing- neon business/flashcards!

I used a business card template on my word processor and typed out all the definitions and terms I needed to review. After a couple of hours (much less time than writing, I usually take all day), I had almost 100 beautiful, bright study cards. I'm pretty happy with myself over them. :)

Here's the finished product!

Web 2.0 Tools

I've haven't really found too many useful sites on the Internet, but the Web 2.0 tool list given to me for this EDIT 2000 project has led me to a wonderful discovery. Storybird. The site has a relatively simple mission: to allow users to make free, web-based books. This is an amazing site to me. Firstly, it breaks down the complicated process of bookmaking into an easy, step-by-step, user-friendly process. It's perfect for creative teachers and SLPs! I plan on teaching speech to adults, but if I ever do work with kids, this will definitely be a site I'll return to. As a Speech-Language Pathologist, you could work with any child's skill set to create a perfect, readable book for their level. How awesome is that?!

Also, the site lets you use artist's images in your creations, providing you with inspiration or simply accenting your own creative idea. You can also search by theme, allowing a wide range of images to be analyzed. 

Storybird is going to be a great resource for me, and I'm super happy I have it!

Here's a picture of the program in action.

Horizon Report Response

I think the most significant change that education system will be facing from technology is the concept of speed. With technology now, students expect to have access to anything, anywhere, at any time. This can be challenging for schools worldwide. Having access to newer computer systems and allowing these items to be placed in the classroom will be very important in shifting toward a technology friendly environment. Collaborative learning has also gained much respect recently when it comes to education. Students need to share their ideas with one another in order to be able to think deeply. Adding new technologies and making sure students have hospitable environments to collaborate in are extremely important for future educators.

Keychain Collecting

I'm not entirely sure if this qualifies as a hobby, but I certainly feel that it's worth mentioning. Since I've carried keys, I have had keychains. I'm not sure why, but I am somewhat fascinated with the ideas people have developed for keychains. Catchy logos, team spirit, bottle openers, mini-fans, etc. I've seen a lot of amazing keychains. My collection started out rather small; I don't travel too often. My friends who made trips would always be sure to bring me back one so I could add it to my collection. I've long been made fun of (and been given warnings on the safety of my ignition) over my long keychain ropes. When I got to go to Disney World for graduation, my collection nearly doubled. I'm actually ashamed to admit the amount of money I spent on keychains. However, I have no regrets. I love my collection, so much so that I brought it with me to Athens. I have a small box here to keep the ones I like best, and a bigger box back home. It may seem silly to most, but I love collecting these things. It's exciting in such an interesting way, and I hope my collection never stops growing. I've included a few pictures below to show off. :)

This is my Athens box. I love having them on hand to switch out now and then.

This is one of the many Disney World keychains I bought!

One of my friends actually made me this keychain! How cool is that? :)