Praise for LAUNCH
Required reading for every teacher who cares. A dramatic re-framing and a road map on how to rebuild our schools from the inside.
Seth Godin, author of Stop Stealing Dreams
Educators and administrators are realizing that twenty-first-century education systems must change to focus on students being creators, innovators, and producers rather than passive receivers and consumers of often outdated information. It is driven by the belief and mindset that all students (and their teachers) can be creative; that everyone can be makers. John Spencer and A.J. Juliani have written an accessible and practical guide on how educators can integrate design thinking and making into their classroom teaching strategies. The LAUNCH framework that they present has the potential to dramatically change classrooms to be more engaging, student centric, and most of all, fun!
Dr. Jackie Gerstein, online faculty for masters degree programs in educational technology
Spencer and Juliani are simultaneously bold and practical. They challenge the status quo of traditional classroom thinking while also holding the readers hand through the day-to-day educational application of design thinking techniques. If youre ready to tap into the inherent creativity of all children (and teachers) and apply new lenses to learning and teaching, youll learn a lot from this book.
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., director of learning, teaching, and innovation, Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency
LAUNCH will ignite the creative catalyst in every teacher who picks it up. LAUNCH is a digestible resource on the practice of designing thinking and how it can inspire the inherent maker in students. The result: teachers who design learning environments that inspire the humanity in all our students to think and act with compassion and creativity.
David H. Clifford, senior learning experience designer, d.school K12 Lab, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, Stanford Chief Catalyst and Founder, design school x
For educators who value classrooms in which student choice and ownership of learning are non-negotiables, LAUNCH serves as a mentor resource for implementing these methods through design thinking and student-friendly motivational practices. A.J. and John thoughtfully wrote this book to empower creative, risk-taking teachers around the world who want to inspire innovation and think outside of traditional classroom practices.
Kayla Delzer, elementary educator, TEDx speaker, innovation consultant
Learn how to launch your own creative projects. John Spencer and A.J. Juliani have written a book that might not just launch learning in your classroom, but might just launch you to create the classroom of your dreams. Learning matters. You need the creativity to make it happen. Heres that book.
Vicki Davis, @coolcatteacher, Cool Cat Teacher Blog, author of Reinventing Writing, host of Every Classroom Matters
LAUNCH is a much-needed book to bring classrooms to life! The authors provide practical ideas, resources, and tips for teachers who want their learners to be creative, engaged, and innovative. Any teacher, even those who do not feel they are creative, will be inspired by the authors personal stories and examples.
Shelly Sanchez Terrell, teacher trainer and author of The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers and Learning to Go
If you are looking for a book with practical advice on how to embrace, empower, and unleash student creativity and innovation, LAUNCH is that book. Spencer and Juliani have created a clear roadmap to launch your classroom with practical examples grounded in sound educational pedagogy.
Josh Stumpenhorst, Illinois Teacher of the Year, author of The New Teacher Revolution
In this increasingly connected world, educators may find themselves drowning in a sea of buzzwords. While we know that innovation and creativity are optimal, sometimes its difficult to find an entry point to integrate best practices into our classrooms. This text, crafted by John and A.J., provides educators with a series of actionable steps regarding design thinking, while simultaneously dispelling common myths and dissolving perceived roadblocks to success.
Sarah Thomas, founder EduMatch
A brilliant and much-needed solution to a real problem. A fun and inspiring read, LAUNCH is a great way to organize curriculum, with useful lesson plan suggestions, too.
Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, author of Anything You Want
The future GIP (global innovation products) depend on more and more people developing and sharing their creative confidence and capacity to make. In their new book, Spencer and Juliani graciously share a fabulous dimension of their collaborative innovation engine for enhancing GIP and bettering education. For me, their work strikes a powerful synthesis, combining the inspirational and the practical. With the chapters and various tools provided in LAUNCH, people in schools and other learning organizations will feel encouraged to build their own creative abilities and share the tender and fuel of growth mindset with others. Educators and facilitators will feel empowered to act and experiment because of the great scaffolding and materials the authors share.
Bo Adams, chief innovation officer MViFi
We all want our students to be more creative, to unlock their inner potential, and to work collaboratively in dynamic teams to do so. The problem is, we all struggle to know how. In LAUNCH, Spencer and Juliani use engaging prose and easy-to-follow outlines to take us from our utopian daydreams into a reality where students actually share their creations with the world. Every creative teacher I know has been waiting for a resource like this to help move their learners from the conceptual to the concrete.
Royan Lee, teacher and blogger
LAUNCH is an incredibly engaging book that helps teachers and students design creative learning experiences in classrooms and creates the imperative for rethinking the ways we educate our children in general. Change your classroom, change your school, and maybe even change the world!
Will Richardson, author of Why School, founder of Modernlearners.com
LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student provides a framework that is poised to spark a creative movement in schools across the world! It is a practical and valuable resource that is sure to unleash the creative power in all of our learners!
Laura Fleming, author of Worlds of Making
In their book, LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student, John Spencer and A.J. Juliani have taken their powerful ideas and expertise as long-time educators and boiled down practical advice that is inspiring as well as meaningful. This book is a true must-read for educators and administrators; it is chicken soup for the mind and provides frameworks on how to make a powerful shift to enhance the creative power of learning in the classroom.
