Tag Archives: creativity

Generate a 3D Hologram With Your Smartphone | Mashable #makerspaces #holograms #tech

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Regardless whether the hologram created is actually in 3D, this project would make a fantastic makerspace activity!

LONDON – If you happen to have an old CD case and a few basic tools lying around, this one will make a pretty cool party trick. British YouTuber and independent tech reviewer Mrwhosetheboss has uploaded an instructional video on how to turn any old smartphone into a 3D hologram projector – using nothing more complicated than a sharp knife, a ruler, a pen and paper, an old CD case and four squares of sticky tape. READ MORE: Here’s how you can generate a 3D hologram with your smartphone | Mashable

Why #Coloring Could Be The New Alternative To #Meditation | HuffPost #coloringbooks #psychology #selfhelp #books

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Currently, six of the top 20 selling books on Amazon are adult coloring books. The unlikely pastime for those of us who have successfully graduated from kindergarten has been gaining popularity of late, as an easy means to express oneself and de-stress along the way.

The activity not only provides a low-stress, low-stakes way to unlock your creative potential, it also unlocks memories of simpler, childhood times, when the biggest cause of anxiety was how to avoid your next nap. “I recommend it as a relaxation technique,” psychologist Antoni Martínez explained to the Huffington Post. “We can use it to enter into a more creative, freer state. I recommend it in a quiet environment, even with chill music. Let the color and the lines flow.” READ MORE:  Why Coloring Could Be The New Alternative To Meditation | Huffington Post.

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16 #Trends That Will Define The Future Of #VideoGames | The Guardian #gaming #tech

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Super-interesting! If you are a fan of coding camps and makerspaces this would be a good article to read to get an idea of what’s on the horizon in gaming development, gaming innovations and interactive/social gaming.

From the rise of gamer parents to transparent game design, a step-by-step prediction of how games will be made over the next five years. READ: 16 trends that will define the future of video games | Technology | The Guardian

A Lego-Friendly Prosthetic Arm Lets #Kids Build Their Own Attachments | Gizmodo #Lego #disabilities

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Hoping to build the confidence of children living with a missing limb, Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar, of Umeå University in Sweden, has designed a prosthetic arm that’s compatible with Lego so kids can swap its gripping attachment for their own custom creations. READ MORE: A Lego-Friendly Prosthetic Arm Lets Kids Build Their Own Attachments | Gizmodo

Adieu |Guy Laramée | Vimeo #art #books

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Adieu / Guy Laramée from Colossal on Vimeo. Artist Guy Laramée (guylaramee.com/) bids farewell to the printed Encyclopedia Britannica. via Adieu / Guy Laramée on Vimeo.

35 #Books Every Designer Should Read + 27 #Apps Designers Can’t Live Without| Co.Design #design @FastCoDesign

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Some great design app suggestions that I had not heard of before (like Axure, IFTTT and Processing) and a wide range of design books recommended. Something for everyone.

35 Books Every Designer Should Read | Co.Design | business + design We asked some of the world’s top design schools to share their favorite books. Here’s what they recommend for your summer reading list.

27 Apps Designers Can’t Live Without | Co.Design | business + design
Maybe it’s just Gmail, or maybe it’s something more esoteric like Processing, but there are certain apps we rely on so much that if they suddenly went missing, we’d have a hard time getting by. That’s especially true for designers. Their livelihoods depend upon great software. What’s more, as people who dissect design details all day, they have unique insights into what makes an app great. They can see UI/UX friction points the way Superman can see microscopic structural flaws in steel. So we combed out rolodexes and reached out to more than two dozen designers to ask about the apps they couldn’t live without.

Play Lego Worlds, A New Minecraft Competitor From Lego, Right Now | TechCrunch #LEGOWorlds #Minecraft

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When Minecraft came out, I heard a lot of people describe as sort of like virtual Lego. Now, there’s a game for which that description is even more apt: Lego Worlds, an open world building game that lets users create using virtual Lego bricks, and interact with the world as a customizable minifigure avatar. READ MORE: Play Lego Worlds, A New Minecraft Competitor From Lego, Right Now | TechCrunch.

Check Out This Coding Toy—For Grownups | ReadWrite @TeamKano #coding #diy #makerspaces #tech

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I think its a very smart marketing move for Kano to launch products that are gender and age neutral. I volunteer with my public library’s CoderDojo program, which is for 9 to 17 year olds. One of the participant’s parents has actually stayed to learn as well. Its heartwarming to see parent and child learning new concepts together. Learning to code, makerspaces, hackfests, arduino…these activities are fun and instructive for all ages and can be a family activity too.

Check Out This Coding Toy—For Grownups - ReadWrite

Kickstarted into existence in 2013, with a campaign that blasted through its $100,000 goal with $1.5 million in pledges, Kano now makes Raspberry Pi–based computer kits commercially available to children ages 6 to 14. Inspired by those young users, who founder Alex Klein says have created and shared as many as 5 million lines of code, he wants to spread that enthusiasm to a larger audience.

Engineering kits have been popular among kids and a natural fit in the educational space. Likewise, Kano set out following in the footsteps of companies like Little Bits, Adafruit, and Goldie Blox. But Klein now wants to extend Kano’s reach, taking it into grown-up territory. Simply put, he wants to appeal to everyone’s inner “inventor and tinkerer,” he said.

Klein wants to push into the adult maker market by putting out products that are both gender- and age-neutral. The core design, he hopes, speaks to fundamental human impulses: “Everyone has shared urges to look inside,” he said. “Everyone wants to take control. Everyone wants to make and play.”

Kano’s next stage of evolution will involve some fundamental shifts. The company is expanding its line-up with new add-on kits, and plans to open up Kano Blocks—its game-making arena—and online platform Kano World to community development.

All Kano products run on Kano OS, the open source operating system that sits on top of Raspberry Pi. It boasts high computational powers that let it run fast, boot quickly and offer clear graphical rendering. For developers, this means that they will have ample resources to jump on board and quickly create their own projects. Kano World allows for the Kano community to share their creations and add on to existing projects.

READ MORE: Check Out This Coding Toy—For Grownups | ReadWrite

MinecraftEdu Takes Hold in Schools | School Library Journal #minecraft #education

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There aren’t any express objectives or any real way to win in Minecraft. It’s a “sandbox,” in gaming speak—offering free play without a specific goal and currently used by more than 18.5 million players, with some 20,000 more signing up every day. Users may choose between Creative Mode, in which they can build using unlimited resources by themselves or with friends, with no real danger or enemies, and Survival Mode, where they fend off enemies and other players and fight for resources and space. They can trade items and communicate using a chat bar. Modifications (or mods) can add complexity by creating things like economic systems that let players buy and sell resources from in-game characters using an in-game currency system. These downloadable mods can also add computer science concepts and thousands of additional features.

MINECRAFTEDU

Minecraft’s worlds and possibilities are truly endless—and increasingly, so are its educational adaptations for school use. Available on multiple platforms (Apple, Windows, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Raspberry Pi, iOS, Android, Windows Phone), the game’s flexibility and collaborative possibilities make it a favorite among devotees of gamification.

“Minecraft is like LEGOs on steroids,” says Eric Sheninger, a senior fellow at the International Center for Leadership in Education. “Learners of all ages work together to ultimately create a product that has value to them,” he adds. “The simple interface provides students in the classroom with endless possibilities to demonstrate creativity, think critically, communicate, collaborate, and solve problems.” A Swedish student research study also showed that collaboration in Minecraft provided a more immersive problem-solving experience than group LEGO building.

via MinecraftEdu Takes Hold in Schools | School Library Journal.

6 Articles on Creativity and Creative Thinking #creativity #brainstorm #creativethinking

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Science Continues To Show Us How To Be More Creative | Will Burns | Forbes
Last year I compiled a list of scientific findings around the topic of creativity…Now, fast forward one year and I’ve discovered even more fascinating scientific studies on creativity. What we are seeing are even more tangible ways to trick ourselves into being more creative by getting ourselves – or, our reality – out of the way.

The Science Of Great Ideas–How to Train Your Creative Brain | Belle Beth Cooper | Fast Company | Business + Innovation
Creativity is a mystery right? Maybe not. Here’s a look at the science of the creative process and how to harness your brain’s power to come up with more great ideas.

How Creativity Works–And How To Harness Its Power | Leo Babauta | Fast Company | Business + Innovation
Creative ideas don’t just come out of the blue. Creativity is often a process of taking existing ideas and remixing them…Creativity is a powerful tool to help anyone, from the parent trying to find new things to inspire his kids, to the small businessperson looking for a new direction, to the writer or artist stuck or feeling uninspired. So in this post, I’ll briefly explain how creativity works (as I’ve observed it), and then share some tips on how to do it.

18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently | Carolyn Gregoire | Huffington Post
Creativity works in mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Creative thinking is a stable, defining characteristic in some personalities, but it may also change based on situation and context. Inspiration and ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we most need them, and creative thinking requires complex cognition yet is completely distinct from the thinking process…While there’s no “typical” creative type, there are some tell-tale characteristics and behaviors of highly creative people. Here are 18 things they do differently.

How To Cultivate A Creative Thinking Habit | Jane Porter | Fast Company | Business + Innovation
Creativity isn’t a mythical creature to be caught and tamed. It’s a habit, studies suggest; a way of life that’s built over time.

The Weird, Wonderful Social Network That Puts Your Creativity First | Chris Gayomali | Fast Company | Business + Innovation
For artists, writers, and other creative types, few things mean as much as a blank white page. Its emptiness serves as a frightening reminder that you have yet to create anything of value. Its indifference is something that even gifted geniuses like Roger Ebert had to learn to cope with. But Zach Verdin, the CEO and cofounder of NewHive, views the blank page more optimistically. He sees it as an open-ended symbol of creative possibilities…

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