Crystal Machado, professor in the Department of Professional Studies in Education, and Koga Chilume, a Curriculum and Instruction doctoral candidate, presented a paper titled: “Empowering Preservice Teachers to use Snapchat for Visual Representation of Thought” at the thirty-fourth International Conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) on March 15, 2023.

Abstract

Innovation has been ranked as a top priority in all sectors of the workplace including education; however, employers still struggle to find employees who possess creative skills. In some disciplines, post-secondary education has begun to pay greater attention to this need by cultivating creativity and communication skills in college students. Nevertheless, there continues to be a dearth of literature that describes how higher education professionals use technology applications to nurture creativity.

The Four C model of Creativity and the PIC-RAT model were used to guide the assignment design for preservice teachers. Snapchat, a powerful digital tool that is popular with young adults, was used to create BookSnaps to identify visual digital representation of thought using the course's prescribed text.

Professional Studies in Education