Art People Unite: Following

Ready to built your Twitter #ArtsEd #PLN?

Surround yourself with good people!

It's important to remember who you follow is what you get.
To get the most out of your feed make sure you follow people who are interested in similar things and post ideas that are inspiring and helpful for others. By being selective your Twitter feed should be hard to scroll through with out seeing something that peeks your interest and encouraging your "favorite". If you start seeing things you don't like you can easily clean up your feed by unfollowing. 

I typically find people to follow based on identified similar interests through chats, hashtags, projects/materials, or good articles and images shared by other people I follow.

This is a list of 30 awesome art educators I follow on Twitter who are already enjoying the perks of being a connected educator. There are way to many amazing art educators and arts advocates on Twitter to name them all.
I scoured my #PLN to bring you 30 PEOPLE TO FOLLOW who will help you build yours! 

Twitter

Sure to post something worth reading
@theartofed
@artrendering
@coolcatteacher
@jamesreesart
@craigr
@incredartdept
@ARTschukel
@ThesmARTteacher

Art Teachers who's class I want to be in
@ArtWithMrE
@Jobaker9
@Kreyus
@stacy_lord
@cassiestephens
@joycschultz
@twoducks
@DcpArtED
@im4art_linda
@EvansArtHouse
@missjaybar

If you are interested in Technology Integration
@timneedles
@fuglefun
@jamie_wardley
@art_cathyhunt 
@shoshyart

Art Ed focused chat leaders
@Grundler_Art
@Artguy76
@campbellartsoup
@artwithbailey
@atragg 
@ArtLadyHBK

When trying to build your #ArtsEd #PLN, in addition to educators, try searching for your favorite museums and galleries, professional organizations, artists, apps, magazines, authors, illustrators, designers, publishers, and more.

The best advice I have when searching for people to follow on Twitter is... 
don't go into it looking for people to follow you back, instead, go into it looking for people who's posts are going to encourage and inspire you to grow as a person and as an educator.

look from me once your connected! 

Precautions for Posting

So far I have posted solely on the benefits of social media. It can be a collaborative tool and resource for professional developments, a source of inspiration and information, a means of sharing progress as well as product, a way to celebrate student success and communicate with parents, and a means of advocacy. While these examples just begin to tap the surface of the positive experiences possible, for the art classroom/teacher, through social media, we have to keep in mind that all posting should be done using caution and good judgement.

THINK BEFORE YOU....
I love this poster (and all the others on her blog) by Shannon from Technology Totally Rocks as it can server as a great reminder to both students and adults alike about the importance of posting with care.

KNOW YOUR SCHOOL RULES RULES!
Before starting classroom social media sites be sure to talk about it with your principal and/or other administration. If they are not on board, it will be hard for it to succeed and be viewed as a valuable tool. If your district is still fighting against social media in schools, don't get down! GET CONNECTED!!!

Make a personal account for professional development and stockpile examples of how others are successfully and safely incorporating social media and take it to your administration to have an educated and professional conversation on the topic.


GET PARENT SUPPORT
Many schools have photo permission and other release forms that go home at the beginning of the school year.  Check it out, and make sure you know who you are aloud to take pictures of and where you are allowed to post them. Keep a list of students who are not to have photos taken somewhere easily accessible. Mine is right next to my computer.

MAKE GOOD CHOICES
I love Instagram because my students and their families can follow our art classroom and I don't need to follow them back. My focus is to keep the art conversation going at home and build excitement about art in our school and community. My goal is not to better get to know my students. Yes, I want to get to know them but social media is not the place. Applauding a students good work or answering a question about a sketchbook assignment is different than asking a kid about their soccer game. If you want to know about the game ask at school, not on social media.

REMEMBER THE WORLD IS WATCHING
Sadly everyone likes a social media slip up.  Take every precaution to remain professional. When we choose to be educators we choose to be role models, I want to make sure I'm one worth looking up to.

Social Advocate for the Arts

It seems like every conference I go to and every graduate course I take, people are always talking about the need to advocate for the arts.

But, what does it mean to be an advocate for the arts?
Many suggest contacting your local or state legislatures and encouraging funding or special programs. That sounds great, but I guess I'm curious how many art teachers take time to do this, and how far the action carries? Will anyone actually read my letter?

Advocating for the arts is so much bigger than that and it doesn't have to be hard!

Being a good advocate doesn't mean sending a letter with a list of facts to government officials in hope of seeing a change come from the top. It means sharing the value of what you believe in, all day, every day, with the right people. Instead of hoping for change to occur from the top down, we need to start encourage change from the bottom up. That's right I just called myself the bottom... I humbly admit that the fate of my profession is in the hands of those in my community. Now, one could let that scare them... or motivate them! I believe that if we, as art teachers, are really passionate about what we do, we would want to share it with others. We should want to share with students, other teachers in our buildings, our administration, our community, and most importantly our students parents. 

We need to get support from those who matter most!

Parents are some of the most important people you can have on your side, but you won't have them unless they know you and see the value in the creative education you are providing their child.

You can be the art teacher that always stands up and complains that you don't have enough... or you can start saving every found material you can get your hands on to make something really great.

Next, Go where the parents go!

Pinterest & Facebook are great places to post student achievement to advocate for the arts. Recently in polling parents though my personal Facebook page, I had a number of parents tell me that they think it would be nice to have and art room Facebook. Knowing this, I think I will have to get one up and running!

One way I reach out, is though Instagram. @GWDES_Arts is currently the social media extension of our art classroom where the doors are wide open all day, every day and everyone is welcome to stop by and check out what we are creating. As you scroll though the square pictures and video clips you can see our progress, success, and excitement fort art. I think it's important for others to see the 21st century learning, integration, inquiry, challenges, and perseverance that goes into our artwork, rather than just the finished project.

Social media is not just great for posting daily art action, but also for telling parents what your up to in class, advertising art contests, reminding students to bring in art smocks,  putting out a plea for fabric remnants, or to promote the school art show. 

Poster from Bar Rucci: Art Bar
http://www.artbarblog.com/teach/art-class-poster/

Social media makes advocacy easy! Take this image for example. This awesome art advocacy poster from Bar Rucci of Art Bar has appeared in front of my eyes, over and over through social media and is now hanging in art classroom across the country, including my own.

I love how social media encourages me to think of new ways for doing things I've always done. Next week at our school art show I am going to try something new, encouraging parents to post pictures of their children, with their art, to social media using a specific hashtag.  I am going to do random prize drawings for those who post. It is my hope that this will allow more people to enjoy the art show experience than ever before. How cool will it be for a grandparent 3 states away to share in the creative success of their grandchild though social media.

If you are looking for a way to reach out and advocate for the arts, look no further than the social media platforms you are already using. Inspiring change is only one post away!

Social Professional: Talk All You Want!

All my life I have been told that I talk... a lot. I think I spent at least 5 minutes of recess, every day in first grade, on the line, because of talking. My Mom will even go as far as to say that my husband and I get along so well, because he has lost some of his hearing (too many years in a punk band:)

This brings me to the next reason I love social media. I can talk all I want!

Talk all you want, of course, doesn't necessarily mean everyone wants to listen to what you have to say, but through social media, you can connect with people who want to talk about similar things.

Many of my friends are also teachers, and when my husband and I go to meet them for dinner, we don't get out of the car without Nate lovingly reminding me that I don't need to talk about school the whole time. I know I'm not alone in this.... What can I say? I love what I do and I get excited.

Through social media I have the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about art and education everyday if I want to. I can share posts and pictures that demonstrate my ideas about art education and things happening in my classroom. I can pose questions about my lessons, materials, and educational philosophy. I can follow other art educators and see what they are doing, get inspired, and even collaborate.

Twitter is one of the best places to be for anyone looking to grow professionally!

On Twitter the people you connect with for professional reasons are called your #PLN or professional learning network. My #PLN is made up of working artists, educators, educational leaders, galleries, art classrooms, authors, illustrators, animators, inventors, app creators, art suppliers, local businesses and more.

You can also participate in Twitter chats related to specific topics of interest. Some of the best professional development I've ever experienced happens in these chats and it's totally FREE!

Now, I know what your thinking... that's not hard! I teach art and PD at my school almost never applies to me.... 

My question to you would be, if you're not getting it at school why not seek it out elsewhere?

Some topics of discussion for chats I've participated in include, but are not limited to, assessment, choice based art education, teaching empathy, stop motion, painting stations, teaching art history, youth art month activities, and school art shows.

What art teacher wouldn't want to talk with 10-20 other art teachers about how they make their art show special? We're always looking for new ideas and Twitter has them.

You may be wondering how these chats work when you can only post 140 characters...

The chats work by following a hashtag, such at #artsedchat, #edtechchat, or #K12artschat. The hashtag designates the group and allows you to connect with people talking about or interested in similar things.

Wondering how to find a chat? 

I've been there too. You can find chats on various topics of interest by following other art educators and seeing what chats they follow or you can do it the easy way and resort to this official mega list of all chats education created and kept by Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1). Not only will you find hundreds of education focused chats local and global organized by day of the week and time, but also a list of educational hashtags and detailed tips for participating in a twitter chat. There is a reason this guy has over 50 thousand followers on twitter.

Each chat will have a designated start time and a moderator. While people can post to the hashtag at anytime, during this designated time, the moderator will post questions in an Q1:A1 format.

When the moderator posts a question they will include the label Q1, Q2, ect, to designate the questions number.

When responding to the question it helps to respond using A1, A2, ect. It makes it easier to follow the conversation.

Don't forget the hashtag! Anytime you respond you should include the hashtag so that others following the group can see what you are saying. Without it few people will see your response, questions, and ideas.

Can't be online when the chat is happening? That's ok, most moderators archive the conversation and post it so you can view it at a later time.

3 Major cautions for anyone considering using Twitter for professional development... 

1. You may become so connected that you grow into a better art teacher than you were the day before

2. You may become so excited about new ideas that you can't wait to go to school the next day to try them out

3. Sharing is caring: Your next tweet could inspire others, brighten a day, challenge thoughts, start a movement, influence change, or validate learning. 

Celebrate Success

"Action is the Fundamental Key to Success"
 ~ Pablo Picasso

One of the best things about using social media to share student art and classroom life, is the reaction from the students themselves. My students love when I come around with my ipad to take pictures and will even remind me saying things like "Mrs. Comp, I don't think you took any pictures today" or "Are you going to post this?" Older students often happily tag themselves when they get home from school; commenting things like "I see mine".

I love their excitement and knowing that the art conversation continues at home.

Every child child deserves to have someone take a moment to celebrate their successes; no matter how big or small. 

Though our art classroom Instagram, I am able to celebrate everything from cutting out a difficult shape to bringing home over 40 ribbons from the county art show. 

My students never cease to amaze me with their ideas and creativity! 

I can't tell you how many times I have told a story about something that happened in my art classroom and I have been told "oh, you have to write that down". They may be right, but posting is a lot more fun! 

When I post images of students working in the art room and the things they make, I am sharing it because I think it is something worth celebrating with family, friends, and community. 

Likes and Share's motivate us and validate our learning. 

Here's how other art educators are celebrating student success through social media...

Jo Baker (@jobaker9), shared with me that she, started her blog and Facebook page because she was inspired to "share her day visually". By celebrating student creativity and artistic experience with 9 pictures a day she inspired others. Now many are posting, using the hashtag #artcubed, on Twitter each day. 

Passionate art educator Laura Grundler (@GrundlerArt) and creator of #K12ArtChat, started her hashtag #FabArtsFri to get tweets of great art circulating social media every Friday. When I messaged her to share about her inspiration Laura said "I thought it would be a fabulous way to end our week and great Advocacy".

My Social Media Rundown

There are so many social media platforms out there to choose from and I am pretty sure trying to keep up with them all could easily drive you insane; at least it would me...

So how do you choose?

Now, I do not pretend to be an expert here, but I do know that I am happy sticking to the basics.

My Social Media Rundown starts now:

The History: 

I joined Facebook as a college freshman at Kutztown in 2004. For almost 4 years it served as a simply addictive waste of time, where I shared photos and messages about my day and made plans with my friends. Upon returning home from my first student teaching placement in 2008, I had multiple friend requests from high school students at my new school. Seeing the poor judgement of others, posting, played out on the news, It was not that hard for me to make the decision to delete the account for the sake of maintaing professionalism. It wasn't until after graduation, securing my first teaching position, and moving two hours from my family that I realized I was missing out on the events my friends were planning and the photos they were posting. I missed Facebook and created a new account.

The Now:

While I have mostly enjoyed Facebook for the social aspect, the introduction of groups and pages, one can like or join without committing to a "friendship", has encouraged my professional use. Here are some of the groups I follow and pages i like...

GROUPS I Follow

PAEA Pennsylvania Art Education Association (look for State NAEA Chapter)
STEAM Art Educators

Pages I LIKE

The Art of Autism 
PAEA Special Needs in Art Education
The Art of Education
Kutztown University Department of Art Education (many universities have pages like this)
The Helpful Art Teacher
Judy Chicago Art Education Collection

Pinterest is the first Social Media platform where I became truly addicted to being good at my job. For so long I had followed a ton of art educator blogs, printing, starring, and bookmarking, in hopes of remembering a great idea. Pinterest is perfect for visual people! Totally enamored by the pins of others; my classroom, home, an life were changed.

10 Reasons to have a classroom Pinterst...

Classroom storage and organization solutions

Project inspiration boards

Visual reminder of good ideas

Virtual Gallery 

Find classroom friendly video clips 

Classroom wish list 

Connect with other Pinners 

Stay up on current trends 

Parents are there

Show your space 

Follow our Boards: Greenwood Arts 

Twitter was the first social media site I joined seeking professional development. There are a lot of "school friendly" social media sites, but I wanted to be where the people were. I tried Edmodo and some Ning sites, but it felt forced and as if I really had to go out of my way to engage. At first I thought Twitter was a bit awkward. I felt a little showy posting and expecting others to follow and favorite what I was doing or saying. I didn't even know if anything I had to say was really that important. As I learned how to use the hashtags and participate in Twitter Chats all my anxieties subsided. Now I can honestly say that I have had more meaningful professional development on Twitter than I have had in some graduate courses. Why is this? The answer is simple; to give up time outside of your school day to willingly participate in chats about education related topics shows passion and dedication. The people actively seeking growth can find it though Twitter.

Art teachers try following some of these hashtags...#artsed #artsedchat #k12artschat #tabchat #dtk12chat #fabartfri  #artcubed  #artsedpln

Some educators have classroom specific Twitter accounts, I do not. I think if I were teaching high school I would get one right away, but most of my students are not old enough to have their own accounts. While I do post student work and classroom updates. I really feel Twitter is my space to grow as an art educator.

Follow me @MComp_OliveART 

Most recently I have been trying my hand at video creating both Vimeo and Vine pages. I am not that far into it, but it is my hope that Vimeo will allow me to share videos created in class, with parents and families without needing to email individuals, burn disks, or load onto flash drives.
Vine has been great for fun interpretation activities in class and I am hoping to use it to have students engage in sharing what they have learned.

Now I realize this post is getting a little long but I have to share just one more!
Instagram is my favorite social media platform for sharing classroom happenings and student work. It is so easy and fun! Like other social media sites, you can like, comment, and share, but this one is all about the visual and in art we are always telling stories through images. Instagram tells the story of my art classroom through square pictures and fifteen second video clips, to parents, artists, educators, and anyone else who may be interested. Again most of my students are not old enough to have their own accounts, however families can follow our page and meaningful discussions about art and school are easily encouraged. 

Follow our Classroom @GWDES_Arts

When I think back to how easily I deleted my first Facebook account, I can't believe how far social media has come. It is no longer and addictive waste of time but instead a meaningful means of growing professionally, connecting with those who share your passion, and making inspiring others one post at a time.

Why I chose Social Media

5 Reasons I Chose Social Media

1. I wanted to really showoff what my students could do!

As you may have read in my first post, I was in search of a new way to share what was happening in our art classroom beyond our school building. We are a really small school in rural PA and while we do get the opportunity to participate in a few annual art shows, entries are often limited and only final products are exhibited. I wanted to show others the day-to-day creative thinking, discovery, and success.  The learning and making occurring in our little classroom is just too special to keep behind closed doors. 

2. My time is precious 

We currently have frames hung at five local businesses, which I call the GES Community Art Gallery. I change the art every other month or so. I love it. It is well worth doing, but it is also a lot of work. I have to select the work, send home letters, label and mount the work, and then go to each business to change the art. You may have also read that I started my first blog Olive Art! Do You??? . If you check it out you will notice that my posts have been sparse. Upon starting my career as an educator, art teacher blogs were fresh and relevant and an amazing resource, but upon starting my own I quickly realized how much time goes into one. Posting on social media doesn't take hours or paragraphs; it's brief, spontaneous, and instant. 

3. I like to try new things

When you are the only Kindergarten though sixth grade art teacher, in your district, it would be easy to become stuck in ones ways or in an old school of thought. I could be asking questions that require memorization v thought and wonder or be introducing the same projects I did last year, giving my students little choice in what they create. I could be selecting artists of study based on what I know rather than what they want to know, but this is not me. I like to try new things. I like to test out new trends in art education and be inspired by popular culture and current events.

4. My Principal told me to...

I too, once thought Twitter a space where people posed short, random and useless updates throughout their day. My principal kept sending me these awesome articles about STEAM and other amazing projects created in classrooms around the country, each one coming from Twitter.  He told me day after day of the professional potential until I finally gave in and gave Tweeting a try. I made and account, followed a few people, joined a few chats, and was instantly hooked. Through Twitter, Facebook groups, Instagram, and Pinterest, I am now connected to educators that challenge me to grow. The short, sometimes random, posts are seldom useless and inspire me every day.

5. "Everyone" else is doing it

Authors, artists, athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs, app developers, art suppliers and more... are all using social media. So why shouldn't I. You can't even watch tv, without a stream of favicons lining the bottom of each commercial, asking you like, follow, tweet, or share. Even the local farmers market is on Pinterest and Facebook. It only makes sense for art teachers to be in the mix. You don't go to an empty restaurant hoping to make a new friend... you go to the party! Using social media professionally is like attending the best "office" party ever. All of your colleagues are excited and passionate about what they do and want to share it with you!