The Importance of Play

     Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity of attending a free SCRATCH workshop at MIT.  SCRATCH is a programming environment on the computer that enables young people to create their own interactive games, art, stories, animations, and simulations.  Not only did I have fun learning how to use the program and the variety of ways in which it can be used, but I also extremely enjoyed being able to play with my colleagues.  Over the course of three hours, we experimented with the program, shared ideas, and had fun!

     After the workshop, a few of us took some time to explore the new MIT Media Lab that just opened in January 2010.  As stated on the website (http://www.media.mit.edu/about/faq#what), the Media Lab focuses on the study, invention, and creative use of digital technologies to enhance the ways that people think, express, and communicate ideas, and explore new scientific frontiers.  Like tourists in New York City, we walked around wide-eyed, in wonder at the building itself—from the ultra modern construction to the open and airy quality of the space to the gleaming white walls to the open design of the offices to the sleek and colorful furniture to the transparent elevators where the pulley mechanism could be seen in action. 

     Particularly drawing our interest was the whole concept of the Lifelong Kindergarten (http://llk.media.mit.edu).  On the website, the goal is stated:  Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society.  We develop new technologies that, in the spirit of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, expand the range of what people can design, create, and learn.  Within this building, there is even a LEGO learning lab, how cool! 

     Like kids in a candy store, we eagerly gobbled up everything that our eyes took in and everything with which our hands could play.  Hanging on the walls were several interactive exhibits.  My favorite was a huge magnetic board with lit up tiles that could be manipulated.  I had fun making messages with it, like the one below:

      As the writer of this blog, what was especially awesome, was when my friends Brenda and Grace came bouncing back into the presentation room, bursting with enthusiasm to share with me their newest discovery.  “You have to see what we found!  You will love it!  It is so you!”  Curiously and excitedly, I followed them into the hallway as they led me to a photographic exhibit on display in several areas throughout the building. 

     The exhibit consisted of clusters of photographs by an artist around a central theme that they had chosen.  Similar to this blog, next to the photographs were a few paragraphs, written by the photographer, explaining how the pictures related and posing thought provoking questions to the viewers.  It was fascinating to me to see how other people had presented a similar idea in a different way.   In a follow-up email later in the day, Grace wrote, “I loved the photography exhibit and it definitely spoke of you. If you were going to put together your own exhibit, which of your photos would you include?”  My mind has been on fire ever since, ignited by the idea of organizing my photographs into an exhibit, and playing around with themes and how I would display my pictures.

      In so many ways, my mind was at play yesterday: in learning Scratch, in sharing ideas with my colleagues, in exploring the new MIT Media Lab, in viewing a photography exhibit, and in envisioning ideas for creating my own photo gallery.  After the workshop, Grace also commented, “That was really fun today. It is rare to have 3 hours of totally focused time to learn something and share it with others.”

      An article called “Play, Creativity, and Learning: Why Play Matters for Both Kids and Adults" addresses the importance of play.  The benefits of play in the workplace include keeping you functional when under stress, refreshing your mind and body, encouraging teamwork, helping you see problems in new ways, triggering creativity and innovation, and increasing energy and preventing burnout.  (http://helpguide.org/life/creative_play_fun_games_html). 

     If my colleagues and I so thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and there is research that clearly defines the benefits of play at work, why don’t we engage in it more often?   Unfortunately, the answer usually is:  there is not enough time.   If elementary school teachers (who work with kids all day long) can not find enough time for play in their busy and hectic schedules, just think about what other types of work environments must be like.  So how do we create the time for play at our jobs?  This is a complicated and difficult question to answer, but a very important one to ask.


Questions to Ponder…..Feel free to post a comment in response to any of the questions below if you are so inspired.

1.    How do you define the word play for yourself?  What does it feel like when you are engaged in playful activities?  What activities do you consider to be playful?

2.   How is the element of play incorporated into your daily life at work?   If play is not already a part of your everyday routine, how could it be included?

Experimenting and Taking Risks: Keeping Our Craft Fresh

In photography, just like in teaching, some of our best work comes about when we experiment and take risks.  Trying different techniques and new ideas keeps us on our toes and our craft fresh.  Often our minds are more open to new ideas when we are playful and these are the times that we are often at our most creative.

When I take pictures, I like to experiment with light.  I love to see the different ways that light can affect photographs.

1.  Light can have very striking effects on clouds, creating textured pictures in the sky, such as in the picture below:

2.  Light can also highlight the underside of clouds, creating a three-dimensional effect.

3.  Taking pictures at different times of day can affect the lighting in the sky, especially at sunset.  This can result in some very pretty colors that contrast well with dark objects, such as the buildings in this picture:

4.   Light can accentuate a silhouette, highlighting its shape.

5.  Light can also give a picture a dramatic effect, especially the role that it plays with clouds before or after a storm.  The lighting can affect the entire mood of a scene.  In this case, it creates a sense of impending doom that a storm is coming or one of hope that it is leaving.

6.  Light can give a photograph a magical effect when it streams through an object, such as in the picture below:

Light can also create a luminescent effect in a picture:

When the sun hits an object or a scene at a certain angle, shadows are created.  I've also enjoyed experimenting with the role that shadows play in my pictures.



1.  Shadows can add depth to a picture, making it more interesting.

2.  Shadows can become the subject of a picture, especially when they have shapes that engage the viewer.  Look carefully at this picture.  It looks like the shadow on the left of the tree is trying to sneak up on the one on the ground!  Both look kind of scary.

3.  Shadows can also be funny.  (Just think about using your hands to make animal shapes with the light of an overhead projector.)  In this picture, I captured my shadow taking a picture.  For some reason, it looks like I have the head of a clown!

4.  Last, shadows can create striking patterns, giving a photograph texture.  I like how the shadow of the banister creates stripes that look like a flag.

In experimenting with the role of light and shadows in my pictures, I have taken risks with the ways that I frame subjects, the angles at which I shoot pictures, and how I crop my photographs.  Continuing to play around with my techniques keeps my ideas fresh.  Since the environment, the lighting, and the weather are different every time I go outside to take pictures, it is helpful to have a repertoire of different techniques to use.  Similarly, in our classrooms, the environment is different each year-- shaped by our new crop of students.  Having a wide range of techniques and strategies to experiment with helps us to reach the variety of learners in our classrooms and to keep our teaching new and fresh each year.

Questions to Ponder:  How can you take risks and experiment with your art?   How can you tweek a technique that you've been using in your art or in your classsroom to make it different this year-- to make an old idea new?   What risks will you take in your teaching this year?  With what techniques or ideas will you experiment?