CREATIVITY INSTIGATORS & the Adobe Education Summit

I have spent the past two days attending the Adobe Education Summit.  This experience has solidified my belief in the importance of CREATIVITY in the classroom for students.  The Summit was attended by nearly 8000 educators from around the world.  During these two days, we heard from incredible speakers, master educators who innovate with creativity in their work with students.  I also met some extraordinary educators who are truly "CREATIVITY INSTIGATORS" (courtesy of Michael Cohen, the Teach Rabbi).  We need more of creativity instigators who will ensure that all students have the opportunity to experience and grow their creativity.  Creativity is a necessary life skill for our students and we must actively infuse it into our work with students. 

Below are my top take aways from this year's Adobe Education Summit:

• Creativity is both a mindset and a skill set.
• Skills can be taught but creative mindsets must be nurtured and developed.
• When using technology, we must ensure that tools can be learned quickly so creativity is the focal point of the work, not the technology.
• Schools and systems should develop policies and processes that promote and prioritize creativity in the classroom.
• All individuals should have the ability to grow their individual creativity through opportunities and practice regardless of location, background, and access to resources.
• Creativity does NOT exist in isolation; instead, it coexists in many contexts and flourishes with collaboration, communication, and problem solving.
• Creativity is a unique experience for each individual and we must recognize and respect each person for their own creative efforts.

As this year's Adobe Education Summit ends, let us not forget many of the things that we learned and may we use our inspiration from this experience to support our students and ourselves in practicing and expanding on creativity.  Continue to be a CREATIVITY INSTIGATOR!

---