The world of technology is always expanding and creative people will always find new ways to incorporate it into their projects. One way of doing this is what we’ve been calling “creative technology”. The term may be new, but it’s possible you’ve seen examples of this throughout our website and in your classrooms before.
What Is Creative Technology?
There are many ways to use technology supplies creatively, but the term “creative technologies” is specific to projects which happen to have an electronic component as part of them. Products qualify for this category by their presence in the finished project.
The category of creative technologies is distinguished from things like 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters, and other technologies, in that the product itself should be present in the final creation, not just a tool that was used along the way. It should be a piece of tech that you can put into artistic projects that will enhance the final outcome.
This kind of creative technology product is attractive to both arts and crafts and ed tech educators. They are often found in Fab Labs, Makerspaces, and arts and craft classrooms.
Examples of Creative Technology
To help illustrate what creative technology looks like in the real world, take a look at these projects and notice how the tech product is present in the final creation.
Seasonal projects, like carving a pumpkin, can be enhanced with LED lights and music to bring the creation to life. You could also add LEDs to Christmas trees, greeting cards, or holiday figures like the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, and baby Cupid.
A flying creature like a bird or dragon, can use a servo motor to animate it and move its wings or tail to mimic flying through the air. This could also be used in flying objects like hot air balloons, rocket ships, and airplanes.
Posterboard projects, such as book reports or science fair experiments, can have interactive elements to help share the information in a more visually-appealing way. Getting students to explain their ideas in multiple formats helps ensure they fully understand the material.
Take Creative Technology One Step Further
More advanced students can go beyond where they started with their projects and dive into learning how to code. One such respected and credible block programming editor, MicroBlocks, was created by the former Team Leader of Scratch at MIT. It runs on microcontrollers such as the micro:bit, Calliope mini, AdaFruit Circuit Playground Express, and many others. Block-based coding is a great place for beginners or young learners to start before they advance to text-based coding languages such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and others.
Best Creative Technology Brands
Many of your favorite school tech supply brands for electronics and STEM lessons are part of the creative technologies category.
Chibitronics - Starting as a project by a student at MIT, Chibitronics was born from the intersection of technology, art, and papercraft. These paper circuits help students learn the computational possibilities of electronics while creating art.
Makey Makey - Also by two MIT students, Makey Makey is a STEM toy with a community of thousands of creators learning and sharing their projects. It works like a USB keyboard or mouse to send signals to your computer from an everyday object.
Brown Dog Gadgets - Beginning with a group of teachers and friends creating easy-to-use projects, Brown Dog Gadgets now offers fun and practical educational products and kits. Centered around alternative energy, the products are designed for grades 3 and up.
Bring Creative Technology to Your Classroom
Technology supplies in an arts classroom bring a new element to the learning experience. Cross-curriculum education such as this helps students see how what they are learning in the classroom can be used in the real world as adults. To get your class started, shop our selection of school tech supply products, including electronics project kits and supplies plus arts and crafts materials.