Children that are given opportunities to create, to solve problems and to collaborate with others on independent projects learn much better than children who are required to sit through hours of lectures and to memorize facts.
Back in 1956, Benjamin Bloom found that over 95% of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level – the recall of information. The highest, most abstract order of thinking, which is creating, was almost completely ignored. Sadly, this is still the case today.
Creative thinking means creating something new, original. Instead of memorizing something that someone else has thought up, the student uses skills such as flexibility, brainstorming and imagery to create something of their own.
Avatar Storytellers, virtual worlds for K-12, is all about bringing back creativity into the education process. This program enables elementary school, middle school and high school students to write their own quests, mysteries and digital stories. Students customize and develop expressive 3D avatars to populate their stories.
Avatar Storytellers also allows students to learn how to create and develop ideas by manipulating the story as it evolves in the 3D virtual world setting. Students can walk or fly up to their 3D storyboard and move ideas around, expand or reshape the story conflict and watch their drafts evolve.
The use of strong imagery, keyword and topic interlinking appeals to all types of learners – visual, linguistic, logical and auditory.
Most importantly, instead of spending most of their day remembering, understanding and applying existing knowledge, students spend a big chunk of their day thinking and creating.
