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A thought provoking video about critical and creative thinking from John Seely Brown

The SAMR model was developed by as a framework to integrate technology into the curriculum. I believe it can also serve as a model to establish and assess if and how technology is being used to reinforce an old, often archaic Education 1.0 or being used to promote and facilitate what many are calling 21st century skills, i.e., creativity, innovation, problem-solving, critical thinking; those skills characteristic of Education 3.0. Many look at SAMR as the stages of technology integration. I propose that it should be a model for educators to focus on Modification and Redefinition areas of technology integration.

Video from AITSL site. (Ravenswood Schools for Girls, Sydney) Teachers discussing and showing how they go about encouraging student to develop a specific research skills ie framing the "Right" sort of question. Having the skill to develop good inquiry questions is important to self-learning and critical thinking. The audio is not great but a useful example nonetheless.

Video from AITSL site.

A reflection about one school library faculty's goal of creating a positive learning environment with space that would help students and teachers develop real-world connections and the approach they took to creating it. The ideas for the space included housing the collection, helping students and teachers collaborate, being a hub for learning with a flexible floor plan and supporting newly developing areas in educational technology. The school decided to create a learning commons to move beyond traditional thinking about libraries and respond to what the kids and teachers really needed. The faculty envisioned their environment to be developmentally appropriate for their young students, as well as to foster a sense of creativity, inspiration, and encourage dialogue and a sense of community. The new learning commons library offered more space for stacks, added conference rooms and a lounge area, but the learning commons concept informed more than the library. These design changes increase opportunities to be inspired by student work and performances and create stronger interpersonal connections among students and faculty.

"It is essential that all of our students have a wide range of skills that develop the ability to function within a rapidly changing society - skills different from the 20th century. The essential 21st Century Fluencies are not about hardware. They are about critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, innovation, and so much more. These aren't just for the students, though. The 21st Century Fluencies are process skills that we all need, and there is as much benefit in cultivating them within yourself as within your classroom."

"The school library has changed the main focus from providing books providing a place for students to practice skills like creative thinking and collaboration."

This post presents Dr Many Lupton's analysis of the Australian Curriculum v6.0. Inquiry skills and information literacy are embedded in the Australian Curriculum in the subject areas Science, History, Geography, Economics and Business (draft), Civics and Citizenship (draft, and in the general capabilities Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) .

"A good chart featuring some important tips to help your students be smart learners. You can use this chart in your class with your students as a motivator to boost their learning moral or as a checklist for assessing their learning habits. While some of these tips are straightforward such as tip 6, 9, 11, other tips are a bit generic (tip 23, 25,26). Overall, these suggested tips cover several skills students need to work on to be better learners. These skills include sensory-motor skills, communicational skills, emotional skills, inter and intrapersonal skills, and critical thinking skills. They also touch on key areas integral to effective learning including: introspection, creativity, confidence, imagination, networking, passion, sharp observation, experimentation among many others."

This is an interesting article about how we can foster creativity, communication and thinking skills. Libraries can play an important role libraries in creating these areas.