Upcoming Art Education PD - January and February

As we begin the second half of our school year it is a great time to keep your eyes open for upcoming art education professional development. Here are some of the inspiring art education opportunities coming up around the state and online.

Educator Evening: Gallery Engagement Strategies

January 20, 2017

Detroit Institute of Arts

Explore the permanent collection with DIA gallery teachers who will demonstrate techniques designed to encourage engagement and build critical thinking skills for students. Educators attending this event will also get an exclusive preview of the DIA’s new Lumin augmented reality tour and discuss ideas for using this tool with students on field trips. The DIA is the first art museum in the world to integrate this 3-D mapping and smartphone AR technology into a mobile, public tour.

"See What I See" Writing & Art Educator Workshop 

February 4, 2017

Detroit Institute of Arts

In this 1-day workshop focused on 5th-12th grade art educators, participants will experience activities that bring writing into the art curriculum. Using the DIA’s collection as a classroom, we’ll use the morning to think about the artist’s journey, learn journaling and reflection strategies for personal and peer work, and draft an artist statement. In the afternoon, we will focus attention on writing about the work of other artists using the skills we’ve acquired. All sessions will be experiential and conclude with a conversation about incorporating the materials into your classroom teaching practice. At the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a set of activities that are intended to generate meaningful writing within the arts curriculum.

Creativity UnCorked: Design Your Own Tattoos

February 14, 2017

Grand Rapids Art Museum

Grab a glass of wine and experience a lively and unforgettable night at the museum! Discover the tribal designs of Michigan tattoo artist Leo Zulueta, then create and print your own wearable temporary tattoos. Learn about modern and traditional tattooing methods and experiment with temporary tattoos and henna.

The Art of Education Conference 

February 18, 2017

Online

The Art of Education Conference provides great professional development online on a variety of topics. Here are some of the highlights you can look forward to at this winter's conference:

Some of the presenters include:

Mike Venezia - a talented author and illustrator who played an important role in the development of the 'Getting to Know' series. Mike will explain why he believes art - and art teachers - are so vital to our lives.

Kelly Phillips - Infusing STEAM Concepts into a TAB Classroom. Kelly will share some of her favorite ways to infuse the culture of STEAM into the art room! She'll share concrete examples of how she introduces STEAM concepts to her students in a TAB classroom, and demonstrate how these concepts can inform artmaking at every level.

Janine Campbell - Choosing to Change, and Changing to Choice. Moving away from the narrow view of what we are supposed to teach and what students are supposed to learn has transformed her teaching. Janine has challenged herself to instead give students the chance to find their own voice and connect to their work in meaningful ways. She'll share insights about what got her over the fear of change and what happened to her teaching when she said "yes" to choice.

Benefits to attending:

Some of the benefits of attending this conference include a goodie bag mailed to your door, you'll have access to the video presentations for a year after the conference airs online, you can attend in your pajamas, you can earn eight PD hours that count toward your SCECHs, TED Talk style presentations, etc...

Summer PD

 

MAEA SUMMER 2013 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

The Michigan Art Education Association in collaboration with Western Michigan University and Finlandia University invites all Michigan art educators to participate in the Summer 2013 Professional Development Workshops, recognized in 2009 as an NAEA Co-Sponsored Academy.

Running from August 4 - 9, participants can select from seventeen 1, 2, and 3-day workshops with topics that range from studio practices to pedagogical innovations. In addition, we are honored to collaborate with the historic Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, location of a special workshop on once-fired ceramic techniques for the classroom.

Earn SCECHs or graduate credits, or come to simply renew the artist within and share ideas with art teachers from across the state. SCHECs will be awarded at three times the usual rate, so each 10 hour workshop will yield 30 SCECHs that can be applied to certification renewal or professional advancement.

For links to a detailed catalog of workshops, online registration, and lodging information please visit the MAEA homepage:www.miarted.org. For the best deal, take advantage of early-bird registration through July 9.  

For more information, please contact Bill at william.charland@wmich.eduregarding workshops at Western Michigan University, or Melissa atm_hronkin@hotmail.com regarding workshops at Finlandia University.

 

One thing... NAEA 2013

I have never been to a National Art Education Association Conference. Now that I have, I can completely understand why people go back year after year, saving up their dollars to try and make it happen. It was a great experience with wonderful presenters, sessions, and workshops and time to speak and learn with teachers from across the country.

Although there is plenty to share from the conference, I am still trying to process through it all. So, instead of giving every last detail I am going to select an image and share the big idea from the presenter/workshop/session. I hope to have time to delve a little deeper into some of the themes I am going to share, but I think this is a good starting point:

Craig Roland, Ian Sands, Tricia Fuglestad, and Elizabeth Delacruz presented on being a part of a PLN (Professional Learning Network) through the use of online tools.Big Take-away: Being Connected allows you the chance to share and learn from anyone at anytime and grow professionally. 

One of the many stations in the Vendor Hall.Big Take-away: There were lots of chances to try out new and interesting materials - Apparently they make such a thing as watercolor  crayons! 

Teachers sharing about the Heart Houses/Haiti Houses projects.
Big Take-away: It is important to connect with teachers from around the country to see how they work with similar or different ideas, materials, and teaching situations.  

Ian Sands and Robert Sandagata's presentation on New Weird Ideas.
Big Take-away: Failure and risk-taking are a part of being creative and making art; do not be afraid to allow your students this opportunity in the pursuit of making something new.

Transfer Printmaking

Learning about monoprinting with Julia Healy.

Big Take-away: Interesting process to create portraits and investigate people's histories within a community.

Jesus Moroles speaks about his work as a sculptor.
Big Take-away: People don't know what they want; it is the job of the artist to show them.

Discussion with Wayne White, artist featured in the documentary "Beauty is Embarrassing".
Big Take-away: Art should flow between media - a sculpture is a drawing, a drawing is a painting, a painting is a puppet, a puppet is a performance - and it is all connected to experiences. 

Michael Reyes with his High School Art Teacher who entered his work that received a National Scholastic Award.
Big Take-away: Art teachers have the power to change people's lives and help them realize the power they have within. 

Brandon Foy spoke about how his National Gold medal from Scholastic changed his life and prepared him for his future as an artist and creative.
Big Take-away: Don't be afraid to work hard and put yourself out there; his viral YouTube video landed him a job with Microsoft in his early 20s.

New Leadership team for the NAEA
Big Take-away: There are a lot of exciting things to look forward with NAEA - including the next conference in San Diego, 2014!

If you have a favorite moment from the 2013 conference, please share below with a link to images/posts/resources. What did you think of the event? What were some of the things you learned and how will they help you back in your classroom?

Flipping Art Education

Flipped instruction is something that has been gaining interest in my district for the last couple of years. Flipped instruction is when you use a combination of online and face-to-face interaction to deliver content. There is a variety of methods to this and rather than re-explain, you can see them here.

One question that comes into play when thinking about Art Education, is how can you flip it? Or maybe better: Why would you want to? Art class is so hands-on, what really can flipping instruction do to benefit instruction in an art room. Here are 3 ways to Flip Art Education:

1. Sub plans: Nothing is worse than trying to prepare Art sub plans. More likely than not, the person coming in to take over has little to no experience using Art materials and the students are probably going to have a hard time figuring out what to do without your guidance. A couple of ways to combat this through the Flip model is recording a video of yourself explaining what needs to happen for the Sub to show students (or if the kids have access to computers, they can watch it at their own pace). That way they can see what you want them to do and the expectation is more clear than a sub trying to decipher your notes. I also tell students to email me when I am out if they hit a snag in a project and I try to talk them through it via email. It makes the students feel in control and me at ease when I am not there.

2. Snow Days: Today was the 5th one in my district. I am not complaining, but it does mean that I have lost a week's worth of instructional time with students. Instead of completely giving up on a lesson or presentation that you were planning to give on a Snow Day, you could create a video recording of it and email it to parents/students to view before returning to class the next day. I try to keep videos like this to ten minutes or less. It never takes the place of me being there in class and not all students will take the time to view it, but it does offer students the opportunity to get prepared for when we return to class the next day. Those students who do view can then take the lead in explaining the process and help others get on track with what we are doing.

3. Differentiate Pacing: What do you do with the student who is always ready to move onto the next assignment? What about students who are gone on vacation or sick? One thing you could offer is the resources for the assignment online. I house all of my projects on our Moodle page and students can check out what we are going to to do next when finishing their current projects. Sometimes I will make videos available that showcase an artist or go through a presentation I or other students have prepared. This allows students to move ahead when they are ready or get caught up if they are behind.

Imagine less time lecturing or presenting about Artists in class and more time for making Art. What might happen when students share their learning with parents by watching those presentations at home? Think of the potential this type of model offers the Art classroom when it is employed effectively. There are many tools you can use to create screen castings or videos. Two I frequent are Camtasia Relay by TechSmith and Quicktime on the Mac.

If you are interested in learning more about this type of instructional model and would like a chance to talk technology with other forward-thinking teachers, check out the upcoming PD at the GRAM this Saturday - it is only $5 for MAEA members. If you have used this type of instruction in your classroom, what are some tips or tricks you can offer others? If you have not, do you think you will? What are some potential issues that you see from using this strategy?

Transforming Minds

Happy New Year! Even though I say I am not going to, it seems like every year I get sucked into some type of resolution. I start out with good intentions and usually somewhere around March realize I had gotten off track.

A couple of years ago, I started my class blog  as a New Year's goal. It has been my most successful New Year's venture to date. I find the documenting of student growth and work to be a great reflective tool for myself and something my students enjoy as well. That is why I was excited to spend my first Saturday of the year with Art teachers in Oakland Schools, talking about technology, assessment, and how they can work together in the Visual Arts classroom to meet a variety of needs.

Claudia Burns also presented at the Transforming Minds conference on the topic of assessment. Her helpful resources will soon be available on the MAEA website.

Claudia Burns presented at the January 5th conference in Oakland on the topic of Assessment.

As we move into 2013, the topic of assessment is going to be more and more prevalent. We have to figure out how we are going to document student growth that will be put towards our evaluations. Claudia has really helped get the conversation going, by providing examples of assessment tools and sample assessments that could be used in the classroom. I hope to add to the conversation by providing examples of how the use of technology can aide in our effort with documenting student growth through my collaboration on this blog and others.

In addition to blogging, I also document the efforts in my classroom through Artsonia. This online gallery offers teachers a place to house digital images of student work over the course of their schooling career. Imagine being able to have students go back after years and reflect on their progress in various aspects of art making. I also use Google Forms and Moodle to create tests that help me quickly assess student knowledge, without having to spend time manually grading them. If you are interested in learning about any of these tools, you can find me at the January 19th Flip Teaching Conference at Byron Center High School. The event is free and lunch is provided - what more can I say!

If you are interested in helping shape the future of Assessments in the Arts in Michigan, you can apply to participate in the Michigan's Model Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Project. The deadline for application is January 21st.

What are some ways you are using assessment to document student growth. What are some tools available that help you show student growth?

Documenting with iPads

My school recently passed a bond, which has allowed major technology upgrades to our classrooms. As a part of the equipment brought into the classroom, teachers were given iPads and taught basic methods of using them to deliver content and create resources for the classroom. I had been wanting an iPad for quite a while; there are so many great teachers who implement their use in the Art classroom and I wanted to do the same.

Unfortunately, since obtaining the device my creation of "art" has not been as frequent as I would like - since I do not have a class set to use with students, I have not done as much with production other than using it to take pictures and video and make presentations for class. Although my digital paintings have been sparse, the impact that simply documenting work with the iPad has made a tremendous difference in my ability to reflect on what I teach and how students work daily.

Artists Name: Katie M.

School: Grand Ledge HS

I recently spoke with a colleague who had been evaluated and mentioned how they wished the administrator could have been there longer or at a different time. We have all been there. I know I have. That feeling got me thinking about how I can use the iPad within the teacher evaluation system to show more than just a snapshot of what happens within my classroom. Instead of just looking at a short period of time when the administrator was able to come in and observe, by taping various projects or segments of learning, I can start offering a more complete and better representation of what happens in the classroom. When using this in during the review of a classroom observation, it can reveal different experiences that occur and help give a more complete picture of what it is you do as a teacher.

I think that is why I appreciate blogging so much as a part of my daily practice. It offers me a chance to give a complete picture of what happens in my classroom and hopefully allows others a chance to understand what it means to be an art student in my school. I also get a chance to reflect on what worked and what didn't, which impacts what and how I teach in the future.

How do you use iPads in your classroom? Do you document learning activities through blogs of videos and have you used that to impact your evaluation? I am interested in hearing from others on this topic as it is something I am just starting to explore. I look forward to your comments and learning more about how you approach the documentation of learning in your own classroom.

What did you Learn?

It has been a couple of weeks since the MAEA Fall 2012 Conference, and I am still sorting through bags of handouts, sample materials, and pictures that are filled with great ideas and classroom inspiration. This conference had it all - great views of Traverse City, awesome sessions with expert teachers, and loads of ideas to take back and implement into the classroom. Here are a couple of take-aways that will be helping me through this year:

1. Assessment: Claudia Burns had a great Thursday night session on Assessment where teachers were able to share how they are working with the new evaluation requirement to show student growth. Teachers gave examples of how the implement both formative and summative assessment tools as well as the resources they use to help with pre and post testing. You will notice a new tab on our blog labeled "Assessment" - Claudia will be putting resource materials on there to help you get started or advance your understanding of how this works in an art classroom.

2. Creativity: There were several sessions that had creativity at the heart of it. Adam VanHouten, September Buys, and Cindy Todd gave presentations dealing with aspects of creativity in the classroom. I enjoyed learning about various methods of instruction to help foster innovative thinking. Both Adam and September used www.prezi.com to create interactive presentations on how they apply this in their classrooms.

3. Workshops: The amount of hands-on opportunities this conference did not disappoint. Sharon Stratton gave an awesome workshop that not only gave great resources for using unusual materials like tar paper, bleach, and soap to make awesome works of art, but also included pop-rocks in her presentation (which was a sweet surprise). The vendors also did not disappoint with their samples and make-and-takes which helps when deciding if you want to purchase products on display.

4. Data: One of the best moments was the presentation by Dr. Root-Bernstein. His keynote on the link between the Arts and everything else put hard facts and figures to something we always have felt to be true: that when you invest in the Arts, you are investing in all other aspects of learning. It was a great talk and I look forward to reading his book that goes into the topic further.


Overall, this was a great conference to attend. It was full of information and moments to connect with others. Conferences like these are important for our profession. What was your favorite part of MAEA 2012? Please share links, pictures, and information below so we can archive the highlights of this year's conference.

Gearing up for Another Year

Artists Name: Samantha V.

School: Lakeview HS

In about a month, our classrooms will be filled with kids ready to dive into projects and materials. If you are anything like me, then you have been thinking about that for quite a bit of the summer and maybe have already had a few of those pre-school nightmares (you know the one where you end up with a class full of students revolting against your lesson or you run out of a needed material and no back-up plan).

Here are a few things that ease my stress when thinking about the new year:

1. Seating Charts - It is a simple thing that always does the trick for me when it comes to easing my stress over the start a new year. If you haven't checked out The Art of Education yet, you really should. In a recent post about seating charts, there are a list of great ideas for creating and organizing them. To add to their ideas, I would also include using sticky notes for student names on the charts (as shown here). This allows you to only have to write it once and simply pull it off the paper and re-stick it to a new location when changing seats. I always have my seating charts done before the first day and greet students at my door to introduce myself and tell them where their seats are located. If there is an issue with a seating arrangement, I can quickly pull the sticky note with the student's name and easily place it on a new spot on the chart.

2. Artsonia - I have been using this free online resource since 2007. I always try to get my classes organized before the new year with their rosters function and the fact that they allow kids to "graduate" into the next grade, makes that super simple. In addition to serving as a way for my students to share their work with the world, Artsonia does so much for helping raise funds for my classroom, supply ideas and tools for lesson planning, and documenting student growth. With the expectation of documenting student growth as a link to teacher evaluations, there's a lot of questions about how to do that in an art classroom. With Artsonia, documentation of growth is more manageable through the evidence of student artwork and accompanying artist statements. Artsonia has also added a lot of new features this year, as explained by Suzanne Tiedemann here.

3. Twitter - So, this is a new one that I am adding to my back-to-school regimen this year. I have been using this resource since Tricia Fuglestad urged me into it and I am so glad she did. I have been able to connect to teachers and artists from around the world that have enhanced my growth as a teacher. If you are on the fence about it, just check it out and see for yourself. Here is a post about how twitter is revolutionizing the concept of Professional Development and one specifically about how it works in #artsed.

What are some key things that help you get prepared for school and out of the pre-school jitters? What is a tool or trick that you cannot live without? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Lifelong Learning

Artists Name: Stella Lee
School: Northview High School

I recently engaged in a relatively short discussion with @wmchamberlain (one of many teachers I follow on twitter) about lifelong learning. The discussion started with a question he posed asking what people were learning over the summer and I responded by describing that I have spent the summer teaching myself how to sew (with the immense help of both youtube and books ordered from Amazon). He shared that he was experimenting with art making. I pointed to a website that I thought might help in his journey and he gave me some encouragement, too.

Even though the "conversation" lasted a few lines back and forth, it has got me thinking about the concept of lifelong learning and how we engage students in this. It also got me thinking about how I engage in my own learning and what motivates me to want to learn new things.

I have always had an interest in how things are made. It is one of the reasons I wanted to be an artist and it is also why I wanted to be an art teacher - I also enjoy teaching others how to make things. I have had a sewing machine since 2006, but did not start using it until about a year ago. Why did I not learn to sew earlier? It might be because inheriting the machine was the result of my mother-in-law's passing, it might be because I didn't want to pay for a class when I had other bills and monetary concerns to think about, but it was probably because I wasn't ready to learn how to do it yet.

You can lead a horse to water, right? Anyway, whatever the reason is for me not wanting to learn how to sew then doesn't matter now because I am engaged and interested and as a result have not only created things that I am proud of but have been able to share those creations with others.

As I reflected on my own process of learning (and the fact that a lot of it involved failure, frustration, retrying things, research on the internet, and some help from experienced experts), it got me thinking about my classroom and how I can infuse this experience there. If I want my students to experience learning the way I did then I need to create an environment where experimentation, investigation, and following interests are important. If I want students to be engaged, then I need to be open to the fact that they are all in different points in their learning careers and even though I may lead them to water, it is up to them to figure out when they are ready to drink... I also have to give myself a break (and my students, too) when they are not and realize that just because something doesn't work out once doesn't mean they (or I) should never try it again. The most important thing I will bring to my classroom from this experience is my story. I will share with my students how I learned to sew and how I taught myself by doing research, failing, taking risks, and finally achieving my goal.

There is a great lifelong learning opportunity coming up August 5-10 through the MAEA Summer Professional Development Institute. Today is the early registration deadline and if you have been putting off learning something because you weren't ready yet, hopefully you will take this opportunity to learn in a community of experts that will guide and encourage you along the way.

If you have a learning story from this summer, or have taken a workshop in previous Summer PDI's please share your story below.

Getting Hired

I have been very lucky in my educational career. When I graduated from college in 2004, I was able to secure a job by the end of May. When I needed to make a change because we were moving across the State, I was able to find employment well before school started. And even though I was pink-slipped three times in the course of a year, I was called back each time.

Everyone who has been hired has a different story for how it happened and having been on several interview teams, I have seen the inter-workings of what goes on when potential teachers are being vetted. I am not guaranteeing that these tips will get you a job, but here are some things that helped me get mine and what I look for when we hire teachers to be a part of our team.

1. Make contact with a mini-folio. A mini-folio is a short version of your larger educational portfolio that has copies of your cover letter, resume, certification, transcript, samples of student work, samples of your personal work, and letters of recommendation. This is the highlight reel of everything you have done in under 15 pages (my larger portfolio has well over 60). Most schools post that they only want you to fill out the online application, but from my experience, if you want to stand out against the horde of online resumes, put on a suit and personally deliver the mini-folio to the specific school where you want to teach. I did this for every job I have ever applied for and once received a call for an interview within 15 minutes of handing it off to the secretary.

Diana G.

  Stoney Creek Elementary

2. Show and tell. Now that you have an interview, it is important to think about what you are going to say to the many questions. As an interviewer, I am not just interested in what the candidate says they do in a classroom. I am interested in seeing how they engage with us - are they smiling, using eye-contact, energetic, and passionate about what they are saying... How you project yourself is just as important as what you are saying. Having confidence and conviction in what you say is important and it can give insight into what you might be like in front of your students.

3. Use your portfolio, please! It always amazes me when I have to ask candidates to see their portfolios. I remember taking that class where we put it together and not being able to wait to show off the hours of work I spent curating the collection of student samples and lesson plans. It is one thing to talk about a project or lesson or idea, it is another to show it in action. Make sure when you are answering questions you are thinking about something in your portfolio that illustrates the point. If they ask about a cross-curricular lesson, have your portfolio organized in a way that it is easy to flip to and point to the answer (it might be a good idea to practice this first). As an Art teacher, Visuals are important. When I am a part of an interview team I need to see what students have done as well as the candidate's own personal work. This helps me see evidence of what this candidate can bring to the team.

4. Do your research. Usually at the end of the interview, you will be asked if you have any questions about the job. Make sure to do your research about the school you are wanting to work and ask questions to clarify any specifics not already discussed. You can ask about schedules (like grade levels or amount of buildings you are in), classroom budget, participation in outside PD, technology concerns, or even use your knowledge to comment on something you know about the school. I always ask a question about the school's vision for the future of the program. It is important to see what they think about what you are teaching and how they see that job or department looking down the road. This gives you insight into your future as a part of that team.

5. Don't forget the "Thank You". After the interview is done, be sure to send "Thank You's" to the teachers and administrators involved. It is a nice gesture that can also give you a chance to recap something you discussed during the interview. This can be done via email or by hand. If you do it online, you can also use it as a chance to send them a link to your online portfolio or professional website. Even if you do not get the job, it ends the process on a congenial note.

 These are just some ideas that worked for me and I hope will land you the job you have been waiting to secure. If you have any interview tips that worked for you, please share. This is a very exciting time to be a teacher and good luck in your search!

Flipping Assessment

Over the course of the past year, there has been much discussion on flipping instruction, moving more resources online for students to access, and really changing the way teachers connect with kids through technology in the classroom. But what if we do more than just flip instruction? Recently I came across this tweet from a consulting firm that also applies to education:

Often times when teaching, we are putting on a performance that tries to engage students in new concepts, skills, and ways of thinking. Unfortunately, as dynamic as that performance may be sometimes just because we did it doesn't mean it reached all students. One idea I think is interesting in addressing this issue is the concept of flipping assessment. Instead of solely focusing on assessing students through projects, tests, and quizzes, turn the tables and have students assess how you are reaching them as a teacher.

This is something I have done informally on the last day of class so I can adjust and reflect on my performance as a teacher. Students write a response to the following: 1. What was something that I should change for next year? 2. What is something that should definitely stay the same?

Sometimes there are responses like "you shouldn't mark us down if we didn't bring in a project" or "you should let us sit with our friends all of the time" which is unlikely to be something that can always change, but often there are direct and pointed critiques of how lessons are taught and what could have been done differently to help them learn the topic more. It is also nice to receive the feedback on what went well. It helps you get an idea on what made the biggest impact on students and think about the circumstances surrounding the projects or lessons to make that so.

For my Digital Arts Camp, I tried a different approach. I used a Google Form to create a survey of why students participated in the camp, what they thought about the camp, and what could be done in future camps to make it a success. By using a Google Form, I am able to compile data and use that data to drive future decisions. This is a great tool to consider using in the beginning of the school year to create student interest inventories or types of learning styles. You could also use it throughout the school year to check in on student attitudes and feelings about the class. Because you can make responses anonymous, it allows students to freely divulge their opinions.

Google Form compiled responses to why students signed up for camp.

 What do you think about being assessed by your students? Do you already do something like this in your classroom and how has it changed your delivery of instruction? Please share all related insights in the comments below.

TEDxcellent!

what now

This is not so much a question or a theme, but a call to action from those presenters and participants at yesterday's TEDxGrandRapids event downtown and the Livestream for education at Forest Hills Fine Arts Center. The day was filled with thoughtful insight into ideas surrounding education, science, technology, social culture, and design. But more importantly within all of the speakers segments, it was really a discussion about the human condition and hopefulness for "being the change you want to see."

From highlighting contact lenses that offer the ability to transmit and receive data, to using game play as a way of discovering self, clothing made of the result of feasting bacteria, and how to love those around us, the speakers of TEDxGrandRapids offered the audience a chance to imagine the future and take part through initiatives like Community Xprize and TEDed.

One of the more emotional moments of the day included the story of Linda Ragsdale, a survivor of the 2008 attack in Mumbai. Although she was shot and witnessed the murder of friends around her, including a young girl she had promised to teach how to draw a dragon, Linda does not harbor hate for those who committed such acts; instead, she challenges all of us to come from a place of love and peace when encountering others. Her story of the dragon is one that looks to blast myths and misconceptions behind what it is; that the dragon is a symbol of peace, "whose spiky scales are revealed to show he is made of hearts; all hearts have a point, each point leads to a direction" and you have to be the one to answer "which way will you go?" She chooses the path of peace, and during her 3 days in Grand Rapids will have worked with over 11,000 students in a community art project called "The Peace Dragon Project" to encourage them to do the same. Linda is an incredible person who was warm and inviting to each person she spoke with during our breaks at the Fine Arts Center. She is a genuine example of peace personified.

There are plans to continue this Livestream for education next year and I encourage you to participate. There were quite a few Visual Arts Teachers there, and it was a great time to connect and talk with others outside of our discipline about collaborative projects. Have you ever been to a TED talk or have a favorite one to share? Please leave your insights and share your "what now" moment below.

Show and Tell

Show and Tell is a concept that we all know; usually it is done with lower elementary students and they get to bring in an item and share it with their peers by showing it off and talking about it. The Show and Tell concept is not only for kids, it also happens for educators through conferences. Do you have a lesson, concept, or technique that has always worked for you and you want to share it? Consider presenting at the MAEA Conference in Traverse City, October 25-28th or the NAEA 2013 conference in Texas!

Being able to share information with my peers has been a highlight for me both professionally and personally. It is nice to connect with other teachers and show what works for you in the classroom; it is even more fun to hear back from those who have attended your sessions on how they have been able to use the information in their own classrooms. When presenting, or putting together a presentation, it is important to think about your time allotment, who your audience is, and what you want your audience to get out of what you are presenting.


The aRTs Roundable, a podcast hosted by Carol Broos, dedicated an episode to the topic of presenting at Art conferences. One tip I found very helpful was having your resources online instead of making copies for handouts; even when making it online, be sure to have a backup in case the internet is down. If you make a Prezi (which is my go-to presentation tool right now), you can download it and then show easily either online or right from your desktop. Instead of wasting papers on copies, consider creating a business card with your website or contact information on it so that participants can go to there to review the presentation again or ask follow up questions later. The biggest take-away from this podcast on presenting was making sure to focus on the kids and how whatever you are presenting on will help teachers reach their kids in new and interesting ways.

Great conferences are made possible because educators like you are willing to share your time, showing and telling the tips and tricks that make your classroom work. If you have any sure-fire presentation tips to share or are planning to present at an upcoming conference, please comment below.

No post about presentations is complete without Don McMillan's video on how not to use PowerPoint:

MACUL 2012

Educational Techies flocked the streets of Grand Rapids this past week for the annual MACUL Conference. From flipped classrooms, 1:1 computing, website building, movie making, and 22nd Century Learning, MACUL always offers teachers a space to exchange ideas and innovate for the future of education.

Some of the highlights I was able to take away included a presentation by Chresta Wright on making your Moodle class pages more organized for student learning. She challenged the audience to rethink how to build pages, making it easier for students to process information and more efficient for teaching concepts.

The use of iPads was also a popular topic in many sessions and I learned about all kinds of apps to help deliver instruction to students and involve students in creating videos and other presentation materials with this device. The student showcase offered a preview of what iPads might look like in an Art classroom.

Examples from Shashabaw Middle School's use of iPads in the Art classroom.

 If you are looking to add iPads to your curriculum, Tricia Fuglestad and Suzanne Tiedemann expand on that idea with their website they created as a part of their NAEA 2012 Conference presentation on the topic. Theresa Gillespie also has a great site about using iPads to make Art. If you currently do not have an iPad, consider creating a Donors Choose project to get one for your classroom. They are going to be starting a matching donations campaign for this month, which can help you get your project funded even faster!

Steve Dembo gave a spectacular presentation on the future of education as he challenged the audience to ponder what it will look like in 100 years. He proposes that creating is not enough for our students; instead of just creating, they must also share, collaborate, and connect using the physical and digital realm. After sharing valuable sites like Kickstarter and ScholarMatch, Steve challenged us to rethink how our students are going to function in the future with a world that is growing ever smaller and becoming a place where "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen people." 

I also had the opportunity to present at MACUL this year. My presentation was about the MACUL funded grant so I could enact a project for student created videos. It was really fun to share experiences in my classroom with others and learn more resources from them, too.

If you are not currently a member of MACUL, sign up because not only is it a great community to be a part of, it is also free! As a member, you can apply for one of their grants to purchase technology for the classroom. View more details here: http://www.macul.org/grantsawards/

Did you go to MACUL? What are some highlights and take away tips we should know about from the sessions you attended?

2011 MAEA Conference Recap and Reflection

It has been a few days since the 2011 MAEA Conference has ended and I, like many others, still have loads of papers, products, and ideas to sort out as a result.

It was an exciting time to meet teachers, artists, and share ideas to help better serve the students of Michigan. As a result of this multiple day endeavor, I was able to meet new people and learn all kinds of tips and techniques that will help enhance the way I deliver instruction to my students.

One topic that has come up in our facebook group as a result of the conference is the cost. In times where many districts are downsizing budgets, it can be very difficult to find funding to allow for experiences like this to occur. The reason I was able to attend this year was through the MEEMIC professional development grant. I was thrilled to use that grant to attend this conference and also present on various grant opportunities available to help bring additional experiences to our students.

Some of the noteworthy workshops include the following: 

• Presentation by Professor Guey-Meei Yang about the work being done at Eastern Michigan University with their Art History and Art Education Departments collaborating effort resulting in a Wiki we can all contribute to and use
• Book-sigining and workshop led by James Warhola about his children's book "Uncle Andy's Cats"
• Performance by book Artist Susan Share
• Presentation by Kristyn DeMint about how to use Skype to interview artists in the classroom like she did with James Rizzi
• Collaborative lesson plan share by CSI (College of Secondary Instructors) whose ideas can be seen on our Flickr page.You can also join and upload your pics to the group.
• Technology integration ideas presented by Molly Marshall
• 10 contemporary artists you should know, presented by  Roy Reynolds
• Receptions showcasing the Art Education programs at Western Michigan University and Kendall College of Art and Design
• Great keynote presentations about Innovation by Mike Schmidt (showing the connection between strong Arts education and innovation in the private sector) and Creativity by Marvin Bartel
• Great Hands-on learning experiences from the vendors at the conference and artists at the Park Trades Center
• Conversations with Visual Art Teachers from across the state to discuss important topics like assessment, featured in the blog post by Claudia Burns

If you were unable to attend this year's conference, I hope you can make it to the 2012 conference in Traverse City, October 25-28th. If the issue is cost, you can try to advocate for yourself by sharing the resources in this post with your district administrators as the example of the types of learning experiences and reason for them to help provide this professional development opportunity. You can also find grants to help pay for the experience or you can also keep updated on current topics and resources by following this blog or the facebook group. If you have a resource that you presented or saw and would like to share the link or concept, please comment below.

Turn PD into a PLC

One of the biggest teaching challenges can be finding the time and resources to participate in meaningful professional development. Since there are often only one or two Visual Arts teachers within a building (sometimes even within a district), it becomes difficult to find opportunities to connect and collaborate with other teachers who share your content.

Hopefully your district allows you release time and financial support to participate in the annual MAEA conference. Unfortunately (as seen on recent Facebook posts), that is not always the case.

This is when a PLC (Professional Learning Community, also known as a PLN or Professional Learning Network) comes into play. Why wait for release time from your school or district initiatives to give you the opportunity to plan, prepare, and collaborate curriculum? The time often does not come and when it does it can be scrunched in, overwhelming, and without follow through. 

PLC's and PLN's offer teachers an ability to connect with other teachers both within and outside of their content area about topics they decide and coordinate. This revolutionary concept can enhance and expand the walls of your classroom because you have a team of teachers invested in you, wanting to share with you, and offering to help you succeed in the teaching endeavors you face.

One of the most helpful PLC's for Visual Arts teachers is the Art Education 2.0 Ning. This group (brainchild of Craig Roland) is now over 10,000 members strong. Through social networking, it offers Visual Arts teachers an opportunity to connect, share, and collaborate globally.

It is not unusual to see teachers swapping student work across continents, to see teachers offering help through video tutorials and commentary about what methods work best, or to see the offering of advice through the many difficult situations we find ourselves in as budgets are cut and teachers are pink-slipped.

The same can be said about the possibilities found through Twitter and Facebook. Both sites allow quick sharing of resources and topics that can lead to collaborating ideas and promoting educational growth.

We are teaching in a changing world, and we need to be at the forefront of that change with ideas and methods to help our students succeed. One of the best ways to do that is to be collaborative partners with others in our field.

Through the participation of a PLC, you will not only find yourself growing as a result of the interaction, but you will also allow your students to benefit from the learning and resources gained as a result.