Spotlight: Create Innovate Explore Blog and Rachel Jones

Congratulations, Rachel Jones

Today's spotlight is the blog entitled Create Innovate Explore by author Rachel Jones. Her blog is a 2013 Edublogs Finalist and is filled with resources, teaching, inspiration, and so much more. The post which caught my attention and drew me to her informative site is entitled "Ten Ways to Use Technology to Enhance Creativity Across The Curriculum." Jones is a Google-certified educator and this post, written February 5, 2015, has been featured on both the LinkedIn Reader Leader Forum by Rob Furman and in the industry expert article section on the site, Innovate My School. Her coauthor for this article is Nicky Moxen, art teacher at King Edward VI School, Southampton. The Guardian recommended her as a must read of 2014 due to her blogging and twitter presence. I do agree.

I was gratified to see she is promoting Canva, the on-computer and now new app which I highlighted in an earlier blog post. The best descriptor for Canva is versatility. Instagram has also surged forward in education, business, entertainment and for personal use, and teachers are constantly looking for ways to use its versatility. It isn't just for storing pictures for friends anymore!

(c) Piktochart logo

Look to Google Tour Builder for innovative assignments offering the opportunity to tell stories through the use of maps, and Piktochart for a fun organizational tool which learners can use to create infographics.

You don't need to spend a lot of time on any of these websites to see how education is being enhanced by the availability of these tools and how you might use them personally. Jones with Nicky Moxen as done an admirable job of cutting the list down to the most promising entry into creative teaching and learning.

Let me add that Rachel has a new book published, Don't Change the Light Bulbs, Independent Thinking Press, 2014. The promotional and descriptive text tells us: "Rachel Johns is an emerging voice in the world of education, especially via social media. She has edited this collection of hints and tips for teachers, covering all aspects of teaching, including leadership, inclusion, special educational needs, etc. It is a resource to be dipped into as needed for new ideas as to how to engage with students."

Start that conversation with her on Twitter: @rlj1981 and visit her website.