In the age of social media, quick video composing apps like Boomerang, ImgPlay and Nutshell are enabling people to share snapshots of their lives. But it also raises some questions…
Can emerging multimedia apps be used in educational settings too?
What is Nutshell?
Nutshell Camera by Prezi is a multimedia app that combines photos, text and graphics to create a short video. Students start by taking three photos and then adding text, arrows or other moving animation on top. Nutshell then compiles the photos into video
format, pausing on each photo. These Nutshell videos can be imported into other video editing software like iMovie to combine videos together.
Example video created using Nutshell, by Renae Cunningham during EDUC3620 tutorial class
How does it foster creativity in the classroom?
Creativity involves making products that are both novel and useful (Mumford, 2003).
By this definition, Nutshell fosters creativity with students making something that is novel to them, a video with unique images and graphics, but is also useful for student learning. For example, students could create an instructional video on a recipe for food technology classes or explain a concept such as plant life cycles in a visual way. Example Nutshell video to explain a plant life cycle. Created
during EDUC3620 tutorial class by Renae Cunningham
Divergent thinking is also a key component of creativity (Zhou, 2018). This involves seeking multiple ‘correct’ answers rather than only accepting one conventional truth (Guilford, 1959). As a science teacher, I can see the usefulness of this app in fostering creativity by breaking out of entrenched ideas on what constitutes an acceptable, conventional scientific method. Writing scientific reports usually follows a distinct structure (Schulte, 2003), but this app allows a novel way to express scientific procedures. For example, students could take photos during an experiment and annotate them.
Pedagogical Issues: Can technology hinder creativity?
As much as technology assists the creative thought process and end product, many programs have inbuilt features that remove the need for creativity (McCormack & d’Inverno, 2012). Nutshell is no exception, with the app controlling how fast the video is sped up and offering limited graphics options, forcing students to conform to the provided ones rather than create their own. However, there still lies the potential for creative thinking by using the graphics in different ways to what was conventionally intended.
As such, it falls on teachers themselves to model creative practices for students (Henriksen et al., 2016) rather than relying solely on technology by itself to stimulate creativity.
Instead, implementing a creative pedagogy strategy when using technology such as Wheeler et al.’s model (2002), could assist teachers in successfully integrating emerging technology to foster creativity.
References
Guilford, J. P. (1959). Three faces of intellect. The American Psychologist, 14(8), 469–479.
Henriksen, D., Mishra, P., & Fisser, P. (2016). Infusing Creativity and Technology in 21st Century Education: A Systemic View for Change. Educational Technology & Society, 19(3), 27–37.
McCormack, J., d’Inverno, M. (2012). Computers and creativity: the road ahead. Computers and Creativity, Springer: 421-424.
Mumford, M. D. (2003). Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going? Taking Stock in Creativity Research. Creativity Research Journal, 15(2-3), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2003.9651403
Pro FilmMaker Apps. (2018). Nutshell Camera [Photograph] https://profilmmakerapps.com/tn/175x175/images/nutshell-camera.jpg?hash=1487892012
Schulte, B. A. (2003). Scientific Writing & the Scientific Method: Parallel “Hourglass” Structure in Form & Content. The American Biology Teacher, 65(8), 591–594.
Wheeler, S., Waite, S. J., & Bromfield, C. (2002). Promoting creative thinking through the use of ICT: Promoting creative thinking. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18(3), 367–378. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0266-4909.2002.00247.x
Zhou, K. (2018). What Cognitive Neuroscience Tells Us About Creativity Education: A Literature Review. Global Education Review, 5(1), 20–34.
Hi Renae,
Thank you for a really informative and insightful post on Nutshell. I really enjoy your layout and it is easy to follow and read. I never heard about Nutshell before, and I think it is such an interesting and engaging resources for various teaching area. I really like your video that shows how to use Nutshell to explain a plat life cycle. It represents how technology as a creative tool through learning process, and it bridges students lifeworlds with the classroom, especially in science class.
Great post! And I really appreciated the effort you have done to represent the pedagogical implications of Nutshell as a useful technology to foster student's creativity. I would love to apply this technolog…
Hi Renae,
This is a very insightful and interesting read about Nutshell. I loved your implementation of a your own video to show everyone how it can be used in the classroom! Using Nutshell to create scientific reports this way is truly unique and I would love to find ways to implement it around my own classroom one day. Your blog is easy to follow and extremely insightful and well researched. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Warm regards, Euan. 8/3/23
Beate Mannes [08/03/2023]
Hi Renae,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post, and your exploration in how the Nutshell technology can help explore and break conventions of traditional scientific report writing to make it more interactive was awesome.
I do like how it is a new form of a video-creation tool which is exciting for both students and teachers, I also like that you highlighted the downfalls of pre-made video editors, which restrict visual options. You have pointed out the limited options hindering some aspects of creativity, it still fosters the process by providing a platform in which it can be explored and mentored with a teacher’s expertise.
I can absolutely see this continuing to be used across curriculum areas…
Hello Renae,
This was such an insightful post about Nutshell! I've never heard of this digital media before and I can imagine how effective this form of technology can be to foster student creativity! Additionaly, I really enjoyed reading your idea(s) as to how you can implement this software into your pedagogy as a science teacher to break the traditional conventions of composing a science report.
As an aspiring secondary English teacher, I am keen to incorporate this to my educational teaching! Similar to how you seek to break the traditional methods of writing a science report, I also would like to use Nutshell as a platform where students can create their 'creative writing' piece. Rather than thinking of a…
Hey Renae! Well done with this blog! It was incredible how you managed to link the pedagogical implications with the use of Nutshell. It was an incredibly easy read. You explained how it could be utilised within classroom environments and practically used for every subject, which is fantastic to see! I also love how the personalisation of the video can extensively showcase creative fostering and the ability to display understanding, as seen within the growth of a plant! Incredible. I want to mention, though, that I would love to see an example of implementing a creative pedagogical strategy to prevent a decrease in creativity. In addition, I think it would be great to contextualise how it can be used realistically within a…