Piccles

Creative classroom collaboration

Creativity is the only test students score WORSE on the longer they spend in school. We're building a platform to enhance every class with creativity, so students can exercise their imaginations and build agency to affect the world around them.

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Shortlisted

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Overview

HundrED shortlisted this innovation

HundrED has shortlisted this innovation to one of its innovation collections. The information on this page has been checked by HundrED.

Web presence

2018

Established

7K

Children

10

Countries

Target group

Students basic

Updated

June 2023

I want to bring balance to education: Countering the competition with more collaboration. Countering the memorization and regurgitation with more creativity and imagination Counter the individual pressure for success with a shared experiences that connect and build community.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

I created this when I got my first soul-sucking corporate job, and discovered creative expression was what was missing. But it is scary to make something new and share it with the world, so I set about seeing how I could break down the self imposed constraints we have when expressing our creativity.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

Through our web application, any learner on any device draw their answers to creative prompts, with each brush stroke revealed in real-time on one shared screen. Teachers can customize the constraints, students can be as creative as they want responding within the constraints, and every contribution comes together to form "The Big Picture" which generates a visual snapshot of the sentiment of the students.

How has it been spreading?

All spread has been through word of mouth, primarily through events that we will do. People will experience Piccles here, and then create an account to use it with their own audience.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

You can get started with your free account here: https://app.piccles.com/admin/register?locale=en
And set up a personalized demo, where I can walk you through the technology and different use cases with my meeting link here: https://meetings.hubspot.com/chris983

Implementation steps

Create an account

Go to https://app.piccles.com/admin/register?locale=en and create your free account.

Create your activity

Click the big green "Create New" button and customize your activity.
Enter a title like "Tuesdays class energizer" and select "QR Code" if your students have phones or tablets (this makes access easier)

Customize the constraints

Add the text prompt you want. You can start with an easy Icebreaker question like "What do you love about school?"
You can also customize the color palette and set a time limit under "advanced options" but I don't use this much.

Start the activity

When you finish customizing the activity, click the green "add to stack" button.
It will get added to your activities on the right.
Then click the purple "Start Activity" button to open the screen you will be sharing with your students.

Get your students in

On the new window that has opened up, instruct students to scan the QR code, or log in on their computers to access the drawing interface.
The QR code on the left can be clicked to enlarge it for easier scanning.
Tell them the question and give them the time limit (I usually say 2 minutes) to draw.

Interaction

Every brush stroke your students make will show up in real time on the shared screen. You can double click any one to highlight it, and use it as a jumping off point for classroom discussion. Ask students if they want to describe what they drew, or call on students to interpret the drawings of others. Have fun!