Day: February 12, 2015

Inspiration

Nobody Owes You Nothing

Sonya terBorg

I’m not going to give this video much introduction other than to say it is about innovation, ideas, kindness and a spirit of generosity mixed with entrepreneurship:

This video would be brilliant to show any class of students working on an Economics unit (I wish I had seen this a few months ago when our third graders were creating their own businesses!) or for students looking for innovative ways we can share the planet.  It is also another great resource for demonstrating taking action that you could show to students undertaking the PYP Exhibition (I have added it to the Videos section of my new PYP Exhibition website).

When I heard the quote from Johnny’s dad (Nobody owes you nothing), I was reminded of a post by Seth Godin a few weeks back about “Almost No one”.

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Johnny knew he didn’t have to please everyone.  He didn’t bend when he was pushed by others to make money off the farmers who desperately need to save money. He didn’t have to leap into partnership with everyone.  He just needed almost no one to see his dream flourish.

Seth’s words really resonated: “…Individuals that fail fall into the chasm of trying to be all things in order to please everyone, and end up reaching no one.  That’s the wrong thing to focus on. Better to focus on and delight almost no one.”

So that is my mission and my challenge to you:

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Creativity

The Art of War

Sonya terBorg

I recently came across a stunning photo essay via National Geographic.  Titled Behind the Mask: Revealing the Trauma of War. Soldiers who have returned to the US from Iraq and Afghanistan undertake art therapy classes creating masks to represent their state of mind. Images painted on their masks symbolize themes such as death, physical pain, and patriotism.

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While the idea of creating art to represent How We Express Ourselves is not a new one, especially to those who teach in PYP schools, what is interesting about this exhibition of work is the personal narrative that accompanies each mask.

Images of the soldiers who created the art wearing the mask, quotes from them or their family members and haunting recordings of their own voice, telling their own story, make up the exhibition:

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This could be a beautiful way to showcase student art work. Using an app like Book Creator, photographs of the art and artwork, typed text, and audio recording could be seamlessly added to a book and then exported as an iBook or video. You could even add a soundtrack to your book.

Book Creator has become one of my favorite apps.  It’s functionality, ease of use, multiple features, and intuitive features make it accessible to my Grade One students to use independently. And it would seem I am not alone in my praise of this app.  Book Creator was awarded the Judges Choice Award for Educational Apps in the Bett Awards 2015. The Bett Awards play a key role in identifying and rewarding innovative ICT resources and services for use in education, and awards are considered the highest accolade in the industry.

In my humble opinion, it is totally deserved and I am grateful for the continued innovation and refinement that the Book Creator team put into their app development.

Book Creator is $4.99 for the Education version that does not include in-app purchasing and allows for unlimited books to be created.  If you would like to give Book Creator a trial run, your first book is free with the option for more via in-app purchase:

Click image to visit App Store
Click image to visit App Store