Originally published on November 23, 2013.
There have been 1.7 billion views of the ‘Gangnam Style’ video. That’s a big number. In fact, the magnitude of it makes the number incomprehensible to me — it fails to connect. However, a number I do understand is 13,000 years. I understand it because I can give it a face. For instance, I could live to be 100 years old. Ten ASB teachers could live for a cumulative period of 1,000 years. And 130 ASB teachers (this is actually the number of teachers we have at ASB) could live for a total of 13,000 years. Therefore, 13,000 years is a number I can grasp. And, by the way, it’s also the cumulative length of time it took to view Gangnam Style 1.7 billion times.
Jim Sill, the keynote speaker at the Google Summit hosted at ASB today (http://in.gafesummit.com/2013/) called YouTube, “today’s exporter of culture.” An exporter that is growing it’s volume of ‘cultural data-points’ at the speed of 100 hours of new material, every minute.
Sill’s keynote was entitled: The World of Wild and Reckless Creativity. He spoke about a series of digital innovations whilst nudging us (parents and teachers) to “re-purpose how children are inclined to use technologies.” Sill is correct to suggest that we need to provide the guidance and the space for children to develop the skills and the curiosity to “want to leverage the power of these resources,” so as to spawn creativity and enhance social entrepreneurship.
One of the innovative technologies Sill spoke of has been called “a diabolical device of the demon of darkness, imbued with a wild and satanic nature.” I won’t tell you which device it is, yet. I’ll hide the answer somewhere in the text below. He also offered a provocative equation for the production of “actual and real innovation.” His equation was: A Fantastic Idea + X = Actual and Real Innovation. Guess what his X is? Again, the answer is hidden below. You need to keep reading.
Listening to Sill, this morning, I wondered: what characteristics, of an educational environment, help create a culture of creativity and innovation? Here’s the beginning of my answer:
- Time built in for reflection.
- Intense focus on the individual — what do we (students, parents, and teachers) need and want?
- Unstructured time built in to allow divergence.
- The opportunity to ‘play‘ at what we are passionate about.
- Autonomy, mastery, and purpose in our work.
- Encouraging and rewarding risk-taking.
- Remembering that the products and solutions we have today are the innovations of a creative past.
- A sense of constructive competition.
- A healthy balance between access to resources and a forced deprivation of them.
What do you think should be added to this list? Leave a comment below.
The innovation that was said to have a “wild and satanic nature” was the bicycle. And Sill’s X in the above equation is: FEAR! What did you think it was?