Creativity - an elusive ideal?

During TEP Bahrain there were a number of ideas that recurred throughout the conference. In the eLearning stream that I presented in, creativity was one of these - unsurprisingly. One of the most impacting statements made for me was when a woman asked a question following our presentations that went something like; "It is all very well to talk about creativity as being an essential component of 21st Century education, but what are we to do if in our countries our teachers have never seen a creative classroom, been taught in one or have any idea what it would look like?"

This question has stuck in my mind and I have been pondering it for a couple of weeks now. Firstly to realise how many intangible advantages we have in developed countries, and secondly to consider what we have to offer as real solutions to developing countries.

On our return from the Middle East we stopped over in Sydney so I could attend the Australia/NZ ADE conference for 3 days. As part of the event we were asked to bring a 2 minute 'double click' to present. This was to be a multimedia presentation showcasing what we have been doing in our own recent practice. As you can imagine at a gathering like this these presentations were stunning and I learned a huge amount from them. And carrying the hallmark of the ADE community, they were very creative.

During the first session Maxx Judd, who organises the global ADE programme, gave a presentation showing where on the globe ADEs are located. When I saw the map, with the question of the woman in Bahrain still alive in my head, my eyes were drawn more to where ADEs are not represented on the world map and I decided to change my presentation. I looked at the talent in the room and thought about the words used to describe ADEs: Advocates, Advisors, Authors, Ambassadors - and wondered if there was any place for this talented group to support the kinds of schools who have never experienced creativity.

So this is what I put together that night for my double click presentation on the second day...

*NEW*

Added YouTube version in response to request. Left blogger version for those where YT is blocked!