Digital Technology and Creativity - Potential Question 1a

Example Question from OCR

"Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.” In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions? (25 Marks - 30 minutes)

Ideas and theories to help you.

"A process needed for problem solving...not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people" (Jones 1993)

"The making of the new and the re arranging of the old" (Bentley 1997)

"Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation." (Csikszentmihalyi 1996)

"There is no absolute judgement [on creativity] All judgements are comparisons of one thing with another." (Donald Larning)

Themes and Questions

1. Is creativity an internal cognitive function, or is it an external social or cultural phenomenon?
Creativity is a mixture of things you see in your environment and your own ideas. You can find inspiration from things around you but you can develop the ideas to make them your own. I believe that most ideas are a mix of existing ideas or things in the environment around, however they are original as they are a mix of different things in a new way. Creativity does not have to be a completely original idea you thought up it can be mixture of ideas, experiences or things that already exist.

2. Is creativity a pervasive, ubiquitous feature of human activity, or a special faculty, either reserved for particular groups, individuals, or particular domains of activity, in particularly artistic activity?
I think anyone can be creative, it is not a skill reserved for certain people. Creativity comes in many different forms and is used by everyone. You do not have to be artistic to be creative.

3. Is creativity an inevitable social good, invariably progressive, harmonious and collaborative; or is it capable of disruption, political critique and dissent, and even anti-social outcomes?
Creativity can be both positive and negative. Different people have different views and opinions and creativity can be interpreted in different ways. Creativity can be meant to be good but could be viewed as disruptive or offensive by someone else.

4. What does the notion of creative teaching and learning imply?
Creativity can be learnt by anyone and it can be used to aid learning of other topics.

Benaji, Burn and Buckingham (2006)