Creative
There is a huge amount of myth and mysticism around the fairly straightforward concept of ‘creativity’ upon which the Creative element of digital literacies depends. In reality, creativity is a straightforward concept involving the making of something new that has some kind of value. 1 What counts as ‘valuable’ and/or ‘new’ depends upon the context.
I believe we face two problems when talking about creativity. Firstly, we hold it in too high esteem. Creativity is an everyday act. Secondly, we conflate creativity with originality, a highly problematic concept. There is nothing new under the sun — especially in the digital world — meaning we can dispense with endless discussions as to whether or not something is ‘original’. This means that when we talk about the Creative element of digital literacies we should focus upon the ‘value’ created in a given context.
The Creative element of digital literacies is about doing new things in new ways that somehow add value. It is about using digital technologies and techniques to create or achieve things previously impossible — or at least out-of-reach to most people. It is, to use a phrase borrowed from Ewan McIntosh, about turning people into ‘problem-finders’ rather than just ‘problem-solvers’. 2
While solutions to problems can (and should) be creative, finding a problem to solve adds an extra dimension. In the classroom, this requires a shift in thinking and approach. For students to feel they can take risks requires educators who feel empowered to themselves take risks. Sadly, this is rare in our current testing-focused and prescriptive climate of formal education.
A model I have found useful when talking with educators is Puentadura’s SAMR model:
Adding value in the digital domain comes through the transformation of task design. Mere tool substitution is akin to the skeuomorphism mentioned earlier. Instead of focusing on the particular software or hardware involved in a learning activity, we should concentrate instead upon the processes, procedures and systems behind them. So wiki platforms rather than Wikipedia; app stores rather than Apple’s App Store; email rather than Gmail.
I have argued that creativity in digital domains arises through making something new (not necessarily ‘original’) that is of value in a particular context. Developing this Creative element of digital literacies involves two elements, both of which follow from the SAMR diagram. Firstly, existing learning activities should be significantly redesigned to take account of the affordances of digital technology. Secondly, the ability of people to be creative (as defined above) requires a level of freedom and a change in the dynamic between teacher and learner.
Aspects of randomness and discovery should flow through learning experiences, finishing with opportunities to synthesise these experiences. This sense-making is often where the ‘creativity’ occurs. The learner joins the dots in new, interesting and contextually-relevant ways.
1. See the Wikipedia article on ‘Creativity’ for a no-nonsense definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity ↩
2. Ewan’s TEDx Talk on ‘The Problem Finders’ can be found on [his website](http:// ↩
edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2011/11/tedxlondon-the-problem-finders-video.html), along with some context.