Week 1/2
Does school kill creativity?
I personally think education in general kills education. When we were younger we would learn through drawing and showing our thinking through building and making projects. As we get older our education changes. It turns into taking tests and writing papers. All we know is studying and trying to get a letter A on a paper. We watched a Ted Talk by Sir Ken Robinson and he talked about education and creativity. He talked about how the school system has the wrong values and teaching the wrong things. The school system has taught us to not take risks and not step out of our comfort zone.
Why is it important to find the problem?
This week we were asked to go back and remember a show or movie we recently watched and find multiple problems and make a problem statement. I chose Breaking Bad and found the main three problems in the show and how they effected the whole show entirely. After doing this I related this to business, especially entrepreneurship. I think to be successful in entrepreneurship you have to find a problem in a company and make your product to fix that problem.
What is journey mapping?
Journey mapping is basically a visual look and how your customers interact with your company. We were asked to make a journey map based on one of our ideas we had with the dining halls. I made a journey map on food trucks coming to all the dorms at Miami. I thought this was pretty cool because it was interesting to visualize your thought process and actually see it on a piece of paper.
How did you use creative thinking this week?
We were asked to do a Rube Goldberg machine. Me and two other friends all collaborated and tried to make a really good machine. Although we failed multiple times we came up with a creative machine that used random objects that we found laying around. After an hour of trying, we got the machine to constantly work and we all felt pretty accomplished because we've never done one before.
How did you step outside your comfort zone?
This week we were asked to get rejected. We brainstormed 20 ideas on how we would get rejected and had to do 2 of them. The two I chose to do were go up to a random house and ask to take a nap and then go up to a random girl and ask her to go on a date. These both were super uncomfortable and definitely got me out of my comfort zone. Both interactions were super awkward and I got rejected both times. I think this assignment was for us to be prepared when we get rejected in the business world. The only problem I had with this assignment was that going into both situations, I knew I was going to get rejected so my reaction was not that bad because I knew it was coming.
How is creativity expressed in business?
Creativity is expressed all the time in business. Creativity is needed in business. I interviewed my mom to see how she uses creativity in her job. My mom is a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. I asked her a list of different questions on how she personally uses creativity in her work place. Before the interview I didn't think she would use creativity because her job is mostly based on numbers. One of the ways she uses creativity is when she interviews new employees she tries to ask creative questions so that she can see how the new employee minds work. She wants to see more how the people are instead of just listening to them talk about themselves. She thinks creativity makes certain people stand out from others and she thinks that's one of the reasons why people get promoted.
How did you step outside of your comfort zone?
This week we downloaded the app GooseChase and had to get a certain amount of points on the app. To get points you had to do certain things in dining halls. For example, you might have to go up to someone and ask for their favorite foods at dining halls or you might have to dance in the middle of the dining halls. All the challenges were different and the points were based on how difficult the challenges were. I did most of the challenges that had me go up to random people and ask them about the dining halls. I was generally curious about what people thought about the dining halls and it was also pretty uncomfortable because it was a random person. This again got me out of my comfort zone and made me do something I wouldn't normally do.
What is frame storming?
Frame storming is something you do before you take action and it helps you re-frame your main problem questions and help you break it down to get the most effective question. I also used frame storming with my food truck idea and this help me design and frame the idea better and helped me thing of the best way possible.
What prototypes did you come up with?
I came up with three different prototypes for the dining halls. My three ideas were drone delivery, lounge areas, and food trucks. We had to have three prototypes of ideas on how to improve dining halls. These were my three main creative ideas that I had that I thought would improve the dining halls the most. The drone delivery would have drones fly your online order from the dining hall and drop the food off at a ledge outside your dorm window. The lounge areas were places inside the dining halls that had couches, tv's, games, etc. This would make students want to go to the dining halls and hang out and this would allow kids to meet more people and have a safe fun place at Miami. My food truck idea was that food trucks would come to each quad for breakfast, lunch and dinner and would sell food to the dorms. This would save time for students and make it more convenient to get food. There would also be different themes each day which would get the students excited for the food.
An example of a company that plays infinite games is apple. Apple is always trying to make their product better and more innovative. Apple will be doing what they are doing forever and will not stop, hence infinite. Every year they come out with new updates and new products to make sure they stay on top of their competition.
How did you show creativity in the first two weeks?
How have you grown so far in ESP 103?
So far I have improved and grown in a lot of different aspects. I have majorly improved on my creative side. With all the different projects and assignments we've had to do, it has opened a side of my brain I didn't know I had. I have been way more creative and have been thinking more creatively. With every different assignment I try to be as creative as possible. I have also realized how important it is to be creative. Business look for people who are creative and they like to because people who are creative are way better at problem solving which is a big factor in business.
How did you remix something?
This was super easy for me. I picked up djing about a year and a half ago. When I heard remix I instantly thought of djing. I remix songs all the time and djing is my escape from school. It is how I am creative outside of school.
How have you grown as of right now in ESP 103?
Going into esp I was not that creative and this class is all about being creative. After the first couple week and definitely got more creative and understand why I should be creative. I had to force myself to be creative for every assignment. Now in week 5, I don't have to force myself to be creative. I am at the point where I constantly think creatively. I use my creative thinking in all my classes now and it has really helped me become a better student and better thinker.
How have you developed your dining hall idea?
At the beginning of the semester we came up with tons of dining hall ideas that would make them better for students. Ever since then we have been narrowing them down and building on them. Now being 6 weeks in I am down to three main ideas. My favorite one being food trucks at Miami. This week we took that idea and gave a pitch on it. This was really easy for me because I am really confident and engaged with my idea. It was really easy for me to talk about it because I think my idea would be a really good idea.
What is empathy problem and purpose finding?
I learned what empathy problem and purpose finding was through a video about Jason Mayden. Jason Mayden is an entrepreneur that made a business that sells affordable shoes mainly for young children. Jason grew up very poor and being an African American also put a toll on his life. Also, when he was young he got super sick. Although he had it pretty hard, his parents were super positive and told him if he worked hard enough he would be able to accomplish anything he wanted. With this always in his mind he wanted to grow up and start a business that would have a big impact on people. He started a shoe business with the empathy he had for young children who were like him when he was young. He wanted to show children that they can do what they want with their life even if they have it hard. His company was called Super Heroic and he would sell shoes and with the shoes came a cape. With this he wanted the children come together and feel powerful. He wanted the kids to know they have a meaning in life and they can do whatever they set their mind too.
What is something very interesting you've learned so far?
I have learned how important it is to be creative. In 2015 creativity wasn't even in the top 5 for most important qualities to have. Today, creativity is number 3 most important quality to have when applying for a job. Being creative helps you with problem solving because you think of different and creative solutions that most people don't think of. Being creative also helps you be innovative because you can think of different and creative ideas.
What is divergent thinking?
Divergent thinking is a thought process that helps you think of many different and creative solutions to a problem. We used divergent thinking when it came to dining halls. I had to think of 40 ideas each for 3 different questions. For the first 40 we had to do it alone and it was very difficult. I got stuck half way through and really had to think deep. The next 40 I got to do it with a partner. This was much easier because we had to brains thinking of ideas. The last 40 I used a different technique. I thought of the worst 40 possible ideas. This was very easy because there are so many things that could make a dining hall bad. This also helped because when I would think of a bad idea, it would make me thing of a good idea that would be the opposite. After doing this assignment I think I am way better at divergent thinking and is a new quality I can say I'm good at.
Why is it sometimes a good thing to fail?
The motto I live by is "You need to fail to succeed". In business lot of people fail. In my opinion it's good to fail because you learn from your failure and come out even stronger. This is important with anything you do in life. In business, if you fail or do bad at something, you learn from the mistakes and make it even better after. When we were doing our Rube Goldberg we failed multiple times and we used that failure to succeed.
Are you glad you are taking this class?
Going into the semester I had no idea what this class was about. I showed up the first day to fidget toys on the tables and thought to myself that this would be an interesting class. We started talking about creativity and I thought the class was going to be super dumb and not useful. Later I realized that this could be one of the most important classes in the FYIC. Learning about how to become more creative has really showed me how to be a better student and it has prepared me for the future.
How did you step outside of your comfort zone?
This week we were asked to go to a dining hall and watch a random person eat and take notes on them, then afterwards we went up to them and interviewed them. This was very weird for me and I felt really uncomfortable doing this. This was definitely the first time I've done anything like this before. Not only was just watching the person eat weird, but going up to them after and telling them you were watching them was very awkward. Although the actual assignment was weird, I think I presented it very well. I made a TV show review and the show was called "Impractical Stalkers". I think I really showed my creative side because I could of just made a power point on this assignment, but instead went out of my comfort zone and make a TV show review which I think made my project way more engaging. I think if we weren't taking this class I would have never thought of that idea and this really showed early progression in this class.
How dos creativity relate to problem solving?
Thinking creatively makes you a way better problem solver. If you are creative and looking for a solution to a problem, you are able to come up with different solutions that not most people think of. Thinking creatively makes you think outside the box and lets you think of many different ideas that could help benefit and solve your problem.
Why is it important to have a diverse workforce?
What does resilience mean when it comes to business?
Being resilient means you are able to adapt to different circumstances within the business. This is a very good quality to have because you ae able to adapt and strive through any problem no matter what the occasion is.
How has this class overall changed you?
This class has changed me into a new student. It has made me realize how important it is to be creative. I would have never thought that creativity is one of the most important qualities when it comes to entering a job. I've also really improved on problem solving and critical thinking. Creativity has improved both those skills for me and those are critical skills I should be good at for the future. Overall I'm really happy I took this class and tried my best in it because it has definitely improved me as a person and student.