Innovation Journal #1
My Level of Creativity:
I would say that I am pretty darn creative. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would say I am at least an 8. I have been creative with things most of my life. I think it’s because I was raised on a farm and my parents and grandparents were very creative in making do with what they had. My grandparents rarely threw anything away because they thought they could always make good use of it at another time. I actually saw my grandfather make a bagger for his riding lawnmower out of a folding lawn chair and a feed bag. Besides being a farmer, my grandfather went to school to be an engineer but ended up installing furnaces and ductwork for a living.
I have always been intrigued by technology and am sort of a geek when it comes to those things. I marvel at all of the new gadget that come out on the market. They are amazing! I believe that I can be innovative in the way I use technology at work to streamline or even simplify my life. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would have to say that I am also a number 8 on Innovation.
I believe I’m innovative in my work. I am the Regional Coordinator for a Technical College and I manage the operation of a Regional Center. I manage support staff and instructors and, of course, a budget. I plan for upcoming course offerings for a year in advance. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for creativity, but I can add classes at anytime.
In my position I have taken on many new projects that had very few parameters, which are my favorite kind. I recently inherited a commercial kitchen and since it was the first of its kind in my realm I had to create a Processors Manual from beginning to end to help guide the processors though licensing, etc.
As for all of the innovation occurring around me, I would have to say that since the creation of the internet, it’s hard to ignore the innovation going on. As for my industry in education, we are always looking for ways to have people learn in different flexible learning options that fits their lifestyle.
On the topic of education:
I found an interesting article about “The Future of Education is Here” and they spoke about Place-based Education. Bill Gates addressed a group of students at a conference and said that students going to campuses will be a thing of the past. He said that the K-12 System would still have its place, but that it also needs to involve students in experiences outside of the classroom. Below is the link to the blog.
You can choose to agree or not with Bill, but he is a leader in Innovation and certainly has the money to back it up! I do see us moving toward changing the way we deliver classes and a good example is the number of classes we offer online and over VC. I know that we are also exploring delivering classes using camtasia and other software applications for recording and delivering classes.
The barriers that I need to overcome usually consist of either the lack of time, or money. I think that there are times that we are in such a hurry that we could be more creative or innovative but the deadlines just don’t allow us enough time to stand back and take a good look at things from a different perspective. In the future, I am going to try to identify at least 1 project a month to take on as an innovation project. I’m sure it would pay off in the long run.
Now for the final question of how the classroom activities and materials have assisted me in developing my innovation skills. I learn from all different media. I like the books that were chosen for this class and love how they stimulate my thinking.
One last thing I would like to share with you. I saw this presentation at a meeting I attended a while ago and it’s sort of a big picture look at what’s happening NOW. It’s called Shift Happens. There have been a few versions through the years, but I think you will find it interesting. If you have the time, it’s worth your while.
