Invention

=Introduction= As we think about "Invention" as a 21st Century Proficiency which our students need to have in order to compete in a global economy and be contributors to a global society, we need to first understand the premise of "invention". The Colorado Department of Education has identified it as one of the essential abilities integrated within the content model standards. The following link lists all five of those 21st Century Skills and Abilities. They reference the related skills of creativity and innovation as examples and The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has defined "Creativity and Innovation" as one of the Nets for Students.

Invention itself implies a new product or design that did not exist before and has some impact on the world or culture in which it was born. Innovation, however, is an instance or process of improving a previously invented product or design. Both of these skills or scenarios have one major common thread and that is creativity. As educators, we are compelled to nurture these abilities within our students and provide as many opportunities as possible for them to explore this facet of life. By definition, these skills truly lie within level six of Bloom's Taxonomy. 1288645531

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=Tools for Fostering Invention, Innovation, and Creativity= This section is a resource of links and downloads to give teachers a starting point from which they can research and find appropriate tools to enhance the various projects and activities they design within their curriculum. The guiding mantra for picking these types of resources is "It is never about the tool, it's about your curriculum". This section is divided up by general categories of the types of activities the tools might fit into although many may cross categories and most are capable of also allowing for collaboration and communication.

Blogs
"Web logs" are used to express ideas from an individual or group in a written format but are not limited to text. They can incorporate text, pictures, video, and other media that relate to the topic being discussed by the author. Most blogs also allow for the content to be commented upon, linked to, and referenced by readers.
 * Edublogs.org -
 * Blogger -
 * WordPress -

MicroBlogging
Microblogging is a method of expressing ideas in small "dollops" of information. It is usually 160 characters or less and allows users to quick send and read the comments that are relevant to them.
 * Twitter -
 * Tumblr -
 * MySay - audio microblogging via phone
 * Hictu - video microblogging

Wikis
Wikis are essentially web sites that are editable by large or small groups collaborators. They, like blogs, can incorporate text, pictures, video, and other media but are designed as an evolving collection of content versus a snap shot in time.
 * Wikispaces -
 * PBworks -

Other

 * Wordle - visual organizer for related groups of words
 * Adobe Buzzword
 * Google Docs

__Graphic Design-Photo Editing & Sharing__
With the widespread availability of cameras on cell phones, computers, game platforms, mobile computing devices, etc., the desire to manipulate and share those images has become extremely popular.
 * Picasa - free photo editing and sharing tool from Google
 * Flickr - photo and video management and sharing
 * Photobucket -
 * Apple iPhoto - free for mac users
 * The Gimp - free, open-sourced, professional photo manipulation software similar to Photoshop
 * Glogster - digital "posters" consisting of photos, graphics, text, and other media

__Audio/Video editing and Sharing__
Within the last 15 years, digital video capture and editing has gone from obscure, technical, and confusing to mainstream, easy, and accessible. Services such as Youtube have given the ability for everyone to easily share ideas around the world through the media of video.
 * Youtube - the giant of video sharing
 * TeacherTube -
 * Animoto - makes video slide shows from your uploaded pictures and songs

Podcasting, Vodcasting, Screencasting
The term "podcast" comes from the terms ipod and broadcast and represents the idea of sending out audio recordings to an audience of listeners via a mobile device or online. Now video and screen capture capabilities are easy and within the grasp of all educators.
 * Apple's iTunes -
 * Microsoft MediaPlayer -
 * Audacity - free audio editor and recorder
 * Skype - video and audio conferencing software
 * Apple's iMovie -
 * Microsoft MovieMaker -
 * Jing - free screencasting software
 * Screencast.com - screencast sharing service
 * VoiceThread - collaborative multimedia projects

__Graphic Organizers and Planning__
Graphic organizers and other planning tools lend themselves to digitalization very nicely because of the ability to produce clear, sharable, and (many times) convertible mind maps focused on a particular area of interest or study.
 * Gliffy - diagramming software
 * bubbl.us - free brainstorming/mind mapping tool
 * The brain - mind mapping tool

__Technical Design__
Drafting is the language of industry but it has certainly evolved from a tedious world of pencils and expensive, difficult to use, and sometimes inaccurate tools to an environment of precision and three dimensional visualizations. Math is the solid underlying theme in technical design and can give students the practical application for many mathematical theories.
 * Google Sketchup - free, easy to use, 3D solid modeling software
 * Lessons and training for Sketchup

__Animation__
From frame-by-frame to stop-motion to computer generated, 3D, live action models, humans have found that animation provides a way to express concepts in a way not available through traditional videography. Animation mixes art, story telling, math, and technology to produce compelling and engaging messages.


 * Xtranormal - free and easy animation - "If you can type, you can make movies"
 * GoAnimate - free and easy animation
 * Adobe Flash - not so free but very powerful, professional animation application

=21CLExpo Presentations= Geoff Grimmer: Google Apps David Russell: Invention using Google Apps and other web 2.0 tools


 * 3DVinci - Free Stuff for Everyone

http://edutraining.googleapps.com/. Google Apps Basics - specific to educators

http://edinagotgoogle.blogspot.com/. Molly from Edina is more than a hockey mom, she's a Google Apps ninja, ninja.

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