What I learned in education in 2012

2012 was a good year for a lot of progress in ed-tech in the district where I work.  More teachers are getting it.  We had more video projects, iPads and flipped teaching than ever.  We even started using Google Apps for Education at our middle school.

Here are the things I learned and related posts for each:

• Video game design integrates perfectly with science at the middle school level.
• Creativity exercises are fun and popular!  Teachers always ask me back and my most visited posts by far are the ones based on the exercises and games I created.
• In fact, I'm convinced creativity is the oil in the education machine.  Without it, the system grinds to a halt by high school.  With it, students are engaged and more willing to work through problems.
• Every class can be taught within the framework of creative problem solving and the students buy in.
• Poke the Box is a great book that had a huge impact on me.  My first attempts at computer (Flash) game programming are a direct result.  See What's It to Ya?, Pegged and Factor Duel.
• Instructing with video is very effective.  It makes me a better teacher too as I have to focus on my presentation so much more as I record and edit.

All things considered, the Classroom Creativity Game sums up most of what I learned this year.  From my video lessons (created with Explain Everything) about the related presentation to the creation of the generic, versatile webpage itself, I'm excited to hear feedback and improve the resource over the upcoming months.