The EDUjournal Project

I’m a movie fanatic and enjoy the rollercoaster of emotion from a good drama or thriller; while at the same time, I like to watch a mind-numbing action movie. You know, the ones that require you to check your brain at the door and relax. I’m also someone that loves to learn. In a group or by myself, I love to learn something new and apply it to my life. This was evident when I first picked up a camera in college and taught myself how to make films. It was so amazing to capture moments and learn the ins and outs of telling a story through video. I loved the process. The frustrating, time consuming, and complicated process that comes from communicating what was inside, outwardly through video. On the other side of dealing with the process is the tragedy of not telling the story. Maya Angelou captured my thoughts when she said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

It is out of this love for cinematography, my passion for the creative process, and the desire to help others to communicate their thoughts and story effectively that I created the EDUjournal Project. I wanted to use these passions of my own as a catalyst for helping educators share the fantastic work they’re doing to empowering learners.

So what is an EDUjournal? An EDUjournal is a small window into the story of educators that are using innovative methods to give students voice for the classroom and beyond. I believe that if we as educators can observe, learn, and apply the lessons from those profiled, it can lead to innovation and success for students.

With this purpose in mind, I set out to create a list of educators that I knew had a passion for helping and that could provide value and inspiration when sharing with others. That leads me to a good friend and fellow Adobe Education Leader, Claudio Zavala Jr. Both he and I have a passion for design and believe we need to help build the next generation of creative problem solvers, so it was clear early on in the planning stages that we would focus on the importance of having a creative mindset within education and how that mindset can empower students. So, here is the first EDUjournal with Claudio on the importance of a creative mindset. Once you finish watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss out on any future content.

If this EDUjournal inspires you to take action on your creativity, here are some tips to consider as you follow your passions:

1. Don’t be afraid of constraints; they are the core of creative problem-solving.
2. Build in time to play for yourself and for students.
3. Allow multiple formats for assignments. Choice fosters creativity.
4. Explore creative tools like Adobe Spark and The Extraordinaires Design Studio.

 

 

Al Thomas (@educopilot) is a digital learning consultant with more than fifteen years in the field of education serving as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and educational consultant. His passion is to develop and curate distinctive and innovative tools that improve the quality of the learning experience and to inspire educators by telling stories through cinematic, documentary style films.