Every day millions upon millions of children and students attend schools and educational centres all over the world. They go to school with expectations to learn something new, to get a new experience and most of all to express and celebrate their uniqueness. Do their teachers think about their creativity? On the creativity continuum, there are two extremes "he or she is born creative, gifted and talented" on the one end, and on the other end is "he or she has been exposed and trained by very smart parents and teachers". Read about one of the theories - the "systems approach" - which originated from Positive Psychology and according to Csikszentmihalyi (1999a). The 'flow' state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation. This essay considers and discusses the creativity debate. The author considers creativity (education) in a New Zealand context. He continues to consider his practice as a Design and Visual Communication teacher. APA referencing included (academic paper). An easy read!

ESSAY: Excerpt *APA Referencing Imagine yourself behind a conveyor belt with an air-powered tool in your hand assembling vehicles for Toyota in a factory in Japan. I am sure that after several years working for the company, you would appreciate if your employer could ask you: “How could we improve this assembly line?”, and “What are your ideas for changing the way we assemble here?”; “I want you to collaborate with the other workers and come up with some innovative ideas to improve or change the way we do things here?” These are just the type of questions the world out there is asking the worldwide community (internet users). The education revolution has done just that. From ‘crowdsourcing’ to ‘hacking’, and other new online strategies, ‘production lines’ of knowledge creation has evolved exponentially. Just as mass production in the advent of Fordism went through some developmental stages, Open Education (OE) has gone through some radical changes over the past twenty years. Many academia calls it an education revolution.... Keywords and Phrases: Open Education (OE), crowdsourcing, hacking, Fordism, globalisation, democratised, decentralised, student-centred, prosumer innovation, collective intelligence, knowledge economy, peer-to-peer, P2P, peer production, peer governance, common property, community of learners, co-create, Web 2.0, Web 3.0, MOOCs, OER, Open Education Resource , intellectual property, global citizen (GC), web semantics, co-construction, community of practice, situated cognition, openness, knowledge capitalism, historicism, Karl Popper, Henri Bergson, George Soros, Immanuel Kant, fallibilism, open society, free will, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, sustainability, Yochai Benkler, social production, teacher-centred, student-centred, individual education programmes (IEP’s)

ESSAY: The focus of this essay is on Bill Gates as a creative, gifted and talented person (business & entrepreneurship). An easy and very interesting read. SEATTLE - If you spend time with the Gates family it is most probable that someone will mention the "water incident". The future software guru was a headstrong 12-year-old and was having a particularly nasty argument with his mother at the dinner table. His father lost his cool and threw a glass of cold water in the boy's face. The young boy snapped back with something like this: "Hey thanks for the shower!" (Guth, 2009) Behind the Bill Gates, a success story, is the other William Gates (Sr.), his father. It is the story of his father about the young Gates junior's early years and the raising of Bill (Jr.) that generates interest by almost everyone. Questions like: 'How did he grow up?'; 'What was his life like as a child in the Gates household?', and 'What was he like in senior high school?' In this case study, I will look primarily at "Raising the young Gates" and I will endeavor to identify patterns and traits of giftedness, talent, and creativity which could be linked to the work of Renzulli (1986), Simonton (2000), Sternberg (2006), and Csikszentmihalyi (1999a). In the second section, I will look at some influences, time frames, historical, political, economic and social events that shaped the wealthy and very successful Bill Gates (Jr.) to become one of the wealthiest men and most influential men in the world Executive Summary This case study assesses, analyses, and discusses the prosperous life of the entrepreneur Bill Gates (Founder of Microsoft software) as an intelligent, gifted and talented person. The work of Simonton (2000), Sternberg (2006), Renzulli (1986) Csikszentmihalyi (1999a), on talented and gifted persons, shows that Bill Gates fits into three of the four categories outlined by Riley et al. (2004) Ministry of Education (New Zealand), namely: 1. Intellectual/Academic refers to students with exceptional abilities in one or more of the learning areas (i.e., English, the arts, health and physical education, learning languages, mathematics and statistics, science, social sciences, and technology). 2. Creativity refers to students with general creative abilities as evidenced in their abilities to problem-find and problem-solve, and their innovative thinking and productivity. 3. Social/Leadership refers to students with interpersonal and intra-personal abilities and qualities, which enable them to act in leadership roles.

Abstract: Concepts of 'openness' in education hinge on interactions between individuals and organisations and boundaries within which these interactions exist. The future development of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technologies of Higher Education rests on the critical decisions of 'openness' ('open' & 'free' education). The conceptualisations are largely influenced by those responsible for making political, economic and social decisions. I argue that NZ is currently in a favourable position to take advantage of P2P technologies because it has the basic infrastructure to support collaborative technologies (digital interconnectivity-Web 2.0 moving into Web 3.0). This literature review explores the value of philosophical perspectives or 'foundational schools of thought on openness' from theorists such as Karl Popper, Michel Foucault, and Jürgen Habermas - which act as a measuring stick in this literature review to gauge the position of NZ HE's 'open' education within a global tertiary education context. 'Openness' and the concept of 'neoliberalism' in the two main philosophical theories of Michel Foucault on Governmentality ('biopower') and Jürgen Habermas on Communicative Action are at the heart of the 'democratisation of the knowledge economy' debate. There is no point of convergence when comparing the theory of Foucault and Habermas. Foucault is mainly concerned with providing a genealogical account of the diffusion of power (political & economical), whereas Habermas is concerned with creating a political philosophy based on the recognition of the communicative capacities of rational human beings, which Foucault neglects.... P2P technologies implemented by some OECD countries compared to NZ shows that NZ HE is utilising and implementing P2P technologies (VLE's, video, podcasts, vodcasts, microblogging, and Moodle) successfully and effectively to enhance peer teaching and learning. I reason, with specific reference to the fundamental notion of the 'openness school of thought', that the P2P learning and teaching technologies in NZ HE are well developed, and NZ takes every opportunity to develop and refine the infrastructure and software available. The Neoliberalist ('laissez fair') approach refers to an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government interference such as regulations, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies (Peters, 2011; Olsen & Peters, 2005). I reason that this approach in HE shows agendas that are seeking profit over altruism. The paradigm of education as 'social good' within the knowledge economy (knowledge to be shared) is at the heart of the philosophical approach in this paper. Peters (2011) suggests that what is required is a change in 'ethos'. "It is not the confidence and trust of the markets but rather the development of trust that comes with the radically decentered democratic collaboration that epitomises distributed knowledge, political and energy systems" (Peters, 2011, p.182). Keywords: Peer-to-Peer Collaboration (P2P), Peer Learning (PL), Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), Openness, Neoliberalism, Post-Neoliberalism, Higher Education (HE), New Zealand (NZ), Conceptualisation, Governmentality & Biopower (Foucault), Communicative Action (Habermas), Microblogging, Twitter, and P2P Technologies.

Who is this book for? For Design and Visual Communication teachers and students. Students aged 16 to 18 years old. New Zealand context. Design and Visual Communication - NCEA Level 3. Spatial Design Brief. Two design briefs are included: BRIEF 1: Design a Unique Sustainable Bach BRIEF 2: Design an exhibition for your unique sustainable bach (holiday home) in a room in the Waikato Museum, which will be provided by the museum. Include your portfolio, 3-d model, enlarged pictures of your model and design sketches/work drawings, etc. (Sketch-up). Use the computer, data projector & screen to loop parts of your presentation (choose a component like research, for instance). Show possible flyers and brochures of your design work (assume you are an architect marketing your work). Show the link to your website or blog. EXCERPT: For example, you could use the following building materials for your bach: Aluminium cladding for the exterior walls and roof. Shuttered rammed earth sections for interior walls. Coloured concrete floors. A macrocarpa ceiling (sustainable timber). Large triple glazed windows in aluminium frames. Aluminium frames with large glass sections for interior /external doors. Discuss and illustrate the following with regards to your design decision (Unique Bach Design): Weather and climate of the location (precipitation, sunny days during the year, wind speed and wind direction) The terrain of the location (screenshots Google Maps and Google Earth) Bio-mimetic influences (for example the shape of a dune could be considered for the unique bach). To make the building more aerodynamic it will channel the air flow effortlessly over the building when the wind blows, and you could perhaps trap some moving air into tubes which could spin smaller wind turbines (blades) in the tubes to generate electrical power (engineering). Sustainable architecture (e.g. Passive Solar Design – Sun, Passive Ventilation-Air Flow, and more). Apply what you know and explore additional and new sustainable features and functions. View this slideshow from slide share about passive solar design: http://www.slideshare.net/WilliamZyl/passive-solar-design-architecture-33264758 Scientific concepts and ideas. For example, some engineering features you are thinking of. Discuss and collaborate with your friends in class-you could get some new ideas! Artistic inspired shapes/forms and ideas. Other Book details: Word count = 6078 Pages = 55 (size A4) including mane images, sketches, and links to websites and videos.

SYNOPSIS: This book is about Design and Visual Communication for secondary school students and teachers. It is a very useful resource for primary, secondary school teachers and tertiary students, who are interested in all aspects of sustainable architecture. Designers and architects could also find it an interesting read. The software Google Sketch-up used, discussed, and illustrated in this book, is very user-friendly. The computer-aided drawing program – SketchUpMake – is freeware, which can be downloaded from the Internet. The computer program is very easy to use; very young kids, like primary school students, and secondary school students, can use it. It is a great design program and many tertiary students, as well as professional architects and designers, make use of it. The advantage is that objects and buildings can be designed in just minutes, for example, concepts and ideas. Included in the sleep-out brief is general research (inspiration board, design eras & influential architects), and design activities that include possible solutions to a sustainable architectural design brief. Extensive content is included on freehand sketches, SketchUp computer-aided drawings, elevations, site plans, diagrams, screenshots, biomimetics, assessments, and more. The assessment of the chosen building site is presented, including weather and climatic factors. Additionally, the author has included links to his YouTube videos (model/movement). These videos were specifically included to assist the solution to sustainable architectural briefs. Links to published academic work by the author, and much more, are also included. See Five House Publishing for more details. Exemplars of secondary school students work (sixteen-year-olds) from a New Zealand Secondary School are included (Design and Visual Communication). KEYWORDS: Design and Visual Communication (DVC), Sustainable Architecture, 16-year-olds, animal architecture, armadillo and onion inspired, ask nature how, biomimetics, clerestory, climate, collecting rainwater, computer-aided software, concrete, creativity, design eras, elevations, freehand sketching, generating design ideas, green roof, harvesting energy from the sun, harvesting energy from the wind, heatsink, ideation, illustrate sustainable function, influential designers, innovation, location, model, modernism, modernist architects, movement, New Zealand, orientation, passive solar, passive solar design, passive solar panel, passive ventilation, photovoltaic panel, primary school, retrofitting, secondary school, sectional views, Shadows and Shading, shipping container sleep-out, site assessment, site plan, Sketch-Up, sleep-out, steel reinforcing, sustainable architecture, sustainable features & functions, the living classroom, thermal mass, trombe walls, weather, climate.

Synopsis: In this book, the author introduces handmade papermaking from recycled materials. From the equipment required for making a mould and deckle, to techniques for making artistic paper, are all included. The book progresses to pop-up greeting cards (paper mechanics/origami) and then develops ideas around electrical circuits and the programming of microprocessors (make LED lights blink, buzzer, etc.). The handmade paper could be used to create the greeting cards. A digital curriculum combined with organic papermaking - with the title ‘…from computer mouse clickers to computer programmers,’ - are touched on. The book includes STEM, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Maths) & ESSSTEAM (English-creative writing, Social Studies, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Maths). The author coined the acronym ESSSTEAM in 2018 to include creative writing and Social Sciences (timelines and history/social issues). This book is a great resource for those teachers and educators who want to include an integrated and layered approach to their teaching. Additionally, the author has included important educational principles like global citizenship, sustainability, and taking action (social aspect). The book covers most of the trending aspects of integrated learning. It is surely a great resource for teachers, educators, and parents who want to combine an organic (natural) approach (papermaking) with technology (circuits and computer programming). Keywords: Papermaking, paper drying, paper pulp, couching, paper press, circuitry, copper adhesive tape, LED’s, batteries, mould and deckle, microprocessor, Arduino Uno, Micro:bit BBC, Picaxe, Raspberry Pi, computational books, pop-up card making, greeting card making, nets, sustainability, taking social action, global citizenship, fair trade, paint techniques, STEM Education, STEAM Education, ESSSTEAM Education, Blockly, Chibitronics. Brief outline with some details of this book This book will introduce and cover the basics of making handmade paper from recycled paper. The basic tools and equipment required for papermaking are covered. The steps of how to make a sheet of paper are included. Ideas like greeting cards pop-up cards, wrapping paper, and more, are explored and explained. Techniques like adding seeds, doing printing on the paper, colouring and scenting the paper – to name a few – will be discussed. From a teaching perspective, the underlying value of these activities will be investigated. For parents and educators, several layers of integrated learning are included in this resource. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) is explored in the process of papermaking, and the integration of these subject areas are illustrated. The following areas will also be touched on, namely, global citizenship, sustainability, taking action for the environment, taking social action, entrepreneurship, business opportunities, accounting, and more. These areas are very relevant to teaching in a modern day context. It is practical and focuses on cutting-edge educational practice to date. These layered and integrated aspects will provide a rich educational approach to project-based learning. It includes creating and selling handmade greeting cards with and without circuitry. Additionally, some very creative techniques for adding value and fun to the papermaking process are introduced. For example, dyes for papermaking (colouring), different paper textures (choice of materials), scented paper and exploring different fibres. The last section of the book includes pop-up greeting card making. The goal is to plan the papermaking (colours and textures, etc.) for pop-up card making as a second activity. From a scientific and electronics perspective, electrical circuits to the pop-up card will be introduced. For example, led lights, microprocessors, buzzers, switches, and more. Finally, the basic programming of microprocessors will be discussed. The microprocessor will be programmed to light up led lights, make buzzers go, and more. User-friendly interfaces like Micro:bit, Arduino Uno, Picaxe, Arduino LilyPad, and Raspberry Pi are discussed towards the end of the book.