Creative Archives - KDAN Blog

Building an Effective Online Classroom Using 3 Tools

Dr. Wei-Chung Wang, like many professors and teachers around the world, will be conducting the remainder of the 2020 spring semester online. Dr. Wang is a professor of business and economics at Juniata College, who offers courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, in addition to acting as Kdan’s VP of Global Marketing & Strategy. Follow along to see how building an effective online classroom using 3 tools has helped Dr. Wang.

“You can’t just stop learning and teaching!”

“I want to introduce some tools you can use to facilitate online learning,” he explains. “I know that the past few weeks, everyone has been rushing to this virtual world and has been trying to learn the best online tools.” He compiled a video lecture where he shares some of the best practices he found for creating an effective online classroom experience. Check out the full video! Continue reading “Building an Effective Online Classroom Using 3 Tools”

Creative In All Capacities: A Conversation With @TheWolves.art

We hosted the Ramen Challenge last December, and it ended up creating more opportunities to connect with our users than we expected! We issued the Challenge to Kdan users everywhere to create their best tasting (and most unique) recipe using ramen noodles and record them on NoteLedge. After narrowing down the competition, our team decided on a winner, @thewolves.art. After sending her Ramen noodles from Nona Lim, Allergy Orchard, and a year-long membership to Creativity 365, she offered to take things to the next level and collaborate on a campaign for our Animation Desk users. In honor of her account reaching 70,000 followers, we hosted the #DTIYS70K (Draw This In Your Style) Campaign. Her followers and our users came together to recreate one of her Animation Desk-inspired drawings. With such creativity and artistic talent, we had a few questions to ask about her work and creative process!

Tell us a bit about yourself! Continue reading “Creative In All Capacities: A Conversation With @TheWolves.art”

Fostering Self Expression and Creativity in Kids through Animation

Self-expression is the intrinsic way in which we express what it feels like to be human.

It’s the avenue by which we communicate to ourselves and the world what we think, feel and believe. It helps us understand ourselves and the way in which we see the world better, but it’s not always pretty or productive.

The absence of self-expression can lead to unhealthy outbursts.

The world of self-expression can be hard to navigate for developing minds. It’s our job as adults to help them identify and try new methods of self-expression. Kids need to express themselves and find a healthy way to channel their creativity.

Why not introduce them to the art of animation? Not only does animation teach focus, but it also helps them learn something new and fun in the process.

Children see a huge benefit when they’re encouraged to engage in self-expression, according to Building Blocks for a Healthy Future. They possess higher self-confidence, individuality, problem-solving skills, and the ability to cope with their feelings. This ultimately leads to less stress and anxiety in the long term. Continue reading “Fostering Self Expression and Creativity in Kids through Animation”

4 Simple Ways to Foster Creativity for Students

It can be tough to find ways to exercise your creativity once the semester is in full swing and the assignments, projects, and tests start adding up. So how do you strike an effective balance between achieving good grades and finding fun, creative outlets?

We’re sharing four simple ways to unleash your creativity this semester. Continue reading “4 Simple Ways to Foster Creativity for Students”

Dadaism and Layout – We are so Dada

Making a beautiful collage layout was a hard job before the invention of the digital printer; however, technology was not the only factor that impacted layout design. Layout design displays the opinions of the time it was created in. Reacting to the World War I period, a group of artists disposed of the decorative Art Nouveau, to look for a better format of communication. Dadaism was created to provide these designers a resource for innovated expression. Do you like freestyle layout designs? It may be surprising how “Dada” we are today when looking at historical Dada pieces. Continue reading “Dadaism and Layout – We are so Dada”