Vintage Innovation: Leveraging Retro Tools and Classic Ideas to Design Deeper Learning Experiences

by John Spencer

Vintage Innovation redefines innovation not as "new and flashy" but as "better and different." It isn't a rejection of new approaches or cutting-edge technology so much as an embrace of the old and the new.It's the overlap of the "tried and true" and the "never tried." It's a mash-up of lo-fi tech and new tech. It's the idea of finding relevance by looking back and looking forward. It's a focus on timeless skills in new contexts. It's the idea that innovation happens when teachers take a both/and approach as they empower their students in the present to prepare them for an uncertain future.If you are a teacher, you are an innovator. You are the experimenter trying new strategies. You are the architect designing new learning opportunities. Apps change. Gadgets break. Technology grows obsolete. But one thing teachers change the world. And one way to do this is through a vintage innovation approach. With vintage innovation, teachers How do I innovate when I don't have the best technology? How can I use vintage tools, ideas, and approaches in new ways? How can I use constraints to spark creativity? How do I blend together the "tried and true" with the "never tried?"

Genres: Education

Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2021

About the author

My goal is simple. I want to make something new everyday. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.

I'm currently working as an assistant professor of instructional technology in a small private college just outside of Portland, Oregon. Before that, I spent twelve years as a middle school teacher, where I used design thinking and creative processes for student coding projects, documentaries, and blogging.

I am a frequent keynote and conference speaker and I had the honor of sharing my vision of the future of learning at the White House Future Ready Summit in Washington, D.C. I also delivered a TEDx Talk on the topic of creative constraints.

My research experience includes writing a chapter in The Nature of Technology textbook and winning the NAU Education Technology Graduate Award for my work around transforming professional development.

I am an avid writer whose work has been featured in Kappan Magazine, The Answer Sheet, Slate, and Edutopia. I am the author of Wendell the World's Worst Wizard and co-founder of Write About.

Reviews

[Dpalange44]

This book really made me think about how I run my Library and Makerspace. While I of course want the latest tech, cardboard and duct tape are timeless tools for creation. I felt validated when reading because I nerd out on teaching more effectively, but now I want to focus on teaching more innovatively so my students can learn more deeply. I wish some of the teachers I work with would read this book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For PD. Not anything wildly new but fast and fun.

[Crystal Koenig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. It was full of ideas and expansions on what I already do. I really appreciated the validation for creativity on a budget. It does not take a large amount of money to inspire creative thought!

[Terri Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the theme I have been searching for the new school year. Excellent!
I’ve already read this twice and I will read it again this weekend. 10 out of 10 recommend.

[Ana Rodera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un auto-regalo de esos que eliges a partir de ver las críticas y sin leer el prólogo o la contraportada para encarar su lectura sin un inicio, desarrollo y final en mente.

Un libro para releer en estos días de invierno. Para poner la mente docente en modo esponja para empaparse de ideas, que aunque pueden no ser nuevas la forma de detallarlas por parte del autor hace que se te active el botón del "por qué no lo pruebo".

No es una lectura de recetas mágicas para resolver la educación, pero sí que encuentras en ella casos y ejemplos reales de aulas y acciones provocadores.

Puede que sea la crisis de los 43, y el hecho de replantearme mi yo-profesora por lo que este texto me ha resultado motivador, cercano e "incitante".

[Aaron Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all books by John Spencer. This book pretty much captures the work I do on a daily basis with purposeful play, LEGO, and hands on learning.

I am taking the online course and preparing a roundtable book discussion of this book on my podcast which I am really looking forward to.

The biggest takeaway is that you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. We need new tech and tools, but some of the most powerful learning are the things that have been around for a while.

We must blend all of it together.

As I always share it is Old School + New School = One School

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Spencer is the man. This book is full of ways to rethink teaching and learning. And they are not new ideas, which he states repeatedly, but rather new ways to think about education. There is so much potential for richer and more authentic learning in schools and this book provides so many different ways to do that. Spencer is clearly all about students and you can feel that throughout all of his writing. I’m excited to figure out how to help the teachers in my district use these game-changing practices.

[Dr.Given · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takes key big ideas and breaks them down as we consider what kinds of learning experiences educators want to provide for students. Reminds us to focus on the experience of the students and less on finding the perfect tech tool or strategy. I appreciated the emphasis on incorporating divergent thinking, philosophy, empathy, active citizenship, imagination, and curiosity to name a few of the ideas chapters addressed.

[Will Cheney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of John Spencer and his podcast/blog, the Creative Classroom. This book is a collection of many of those ideas which inspires creativity and motivation to design student-centered learning experiences which leverage ed tech purposefully to empower students. Some errors/typos were common in this printing but I would strongly recommend it to any teacher, especially those seeking guidance on tech integration.

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The newest technology isn't always the best for teaching. Young people enjoy duct tape, glue and cardboard as much as they do iPads and tablets. Getting messy is good and stimulates thinking and creativity - all common sense ideas the American education system squeezes the life out of in the scramble for improved test scores and measurable outcomes.
Side note - my high school students find the old carbon paper I rescued from my father's principal office to be almost mysterious.

[Amy McCord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Spencer's humorous and accessible writing style as he describes student centered and project based learning. He focuses on blending vintage (or analog) tools with digital tools as necessary to meet the goals and objectives of true, important, and essential learning. While the book is mostly theory and perspective, he does provide examples as well as online resources.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Innovation has some incredible ideas and philosophies that I agree with. Doesn’t hit 5 stars solely because it really, really needed a proofreader!!!

[Amy Stohs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate Spencer’s view of innovation: that it’s not all the newest stuff out there, it’s being able to rethink and redesign and keep what works. He discusses topics you might not expect: how social media is a tool and a space; how journalism can be taught across content areas; how biomimicry is part of problem solving; why we should garden; game based learning; deep work, boredom, and slow looking; curiosity, confusion, and mystery. One of the quotes included that resonated with me was “If students leave school less curious than when they started, we have failed them” - George Couros. This book covered a lot of ground but has threads that tie it all together. This is almost a manifesto on his personal philosophy of education, and I have to say I agree.