There is a month left of freedom until I spend my days dictated by alarm clocks, hourly bells, and brief bathroom breaks. As I continue to plan for the upcoming year, I am spending quite a bit of time figuring out the activities for the most important day: the first one.

Since you can only make a first impression once, it is important that students get a clear understanding of what the class is going to be like and who I am. How I behave and what activities I plan sets the tone for every day that comes after. Instead of falling back on safe measures that bore students into complacency, I put forward a vision and challenge to my students to "Elevate to Excellence" as we dive into the school year. 

I have been lucky to have given presentations on this at the NAEA Convention andMACUL Conference and shared many of the ideas and reasons behind why I do what I do and how I manage it all. In case you missed it, here is a quick breakdown envisioning the best first day ever: 

Be Brave: 
Being a teacher is an act of bravery in itself. Anyone willing to put themselves in front of children every day and engage them in a way that helps learning stick despite all obstacles, is brave. The bravery that I am discussing for the first day of school should be a piece of cake compared to that. A few years ago, I threw caution to the wind and took a chance on my students and myself to do something on day one. Instead of doing the safe rules and expectations speech, I decided to engage students with the materials I know they long most to use each year: clay and paint. In order for this to work, I had to have faith in myself and move beyond the initial worries about messes and misbehavior. Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, I lead by living my vision of Art education with my students. We still went over rules and expectations; I just did it as students worked through activities like making collaborative paintings for our school and clay bowls for our annual Empty Bowls night. It has been five years since that first act of bravery, and I cannot imagine going back. 

Be Bold:
A student once told me that I was the second weirdest teacher in the building. I am not sure if it was the dancing, the rapid arm movements as I fast-talk, or what that got me that place, but I would like to think that my bold vision for my classroom and my students helped. As the Art teacher, I have the distinct opportunity to show learning everyday. Because I work with visuals, my students learning is evidenced through drawing, painting, photography and more and shared almost instantly with others; because I post and share online, it is archived, distributed, and can take on new forms and interactions that are both unplanned and offer deeper connections for my students. My students are shown this from the start, even before they enter my classroom. Using Artsionia (which automatically updates grades from the other building to my gallery - so AMAZING), I send out newsletters to parents and even invite students to participate in a summer upload. It has been awesome to see art coming in and for students and parents to get a glimpse of what the Art class is going to be like before they enter the classroom. When they do arrive on that first day, I share our activities and even get responses by artists we are already inspired by in class. By sharing my vision for my classroom in this way, students enter with a sense of purpose and are ready to be a part of the bold vision I have planned.

Be the Bearer of Possible:
It can be easy to be a Debbie Downer. The world is a tough place with a lot of scary things going on every day. I am not advocating forgetting that in place of a know-nothing mentality, but I think it is important to act as a light of opportunity for students so they can see what is possible. Art is the act of making the unseen seen. It is my job to help students reach within themselves and figure out what they want others to see so their voice is heard. I start the year with the motto "Elevate to Excellence," setting the tone for what is expected when they become a part of the program. Each year, the k-12 program does a presentation for our Board of Education, highlighting the accomplishments from the year. I use that video to finish off the first day, right after we have cleaned up our paint or clay. I am proud to say that many of my former students who have taken that challenge have been awarded various recognitions at the local, state, and national level. I want my students to leave my class on the first day of school with messy hands and their heads full of ideas for what they are going to do next because they were inspired by those that came before them.

If you are interested in hearing more, I am excited to talk about this and more on Tuesday with the guys from AOE Live:  

Now, the Give-Away: 
I have some back-to-school goodies to send your way if you leave a comment below about your favorite take-away from Tuesday's AOE Live, featuring even more ways to make this school year your best one yet. 

Congrats to Katherine, from the last give-away - check your email and I will send your FIA goodies post haste. 

Thanks for reading and I will see you on the internets! 

I am still not fully recovered from all of the learning, laughing, and dancing while conferencing it up in The Big Easy this past weekend. It was an amazing time and I had so much fun with the more than 4,000 other Art Teachers who headed down South for the 2015 National Art Education Association Conference. 

I have a lot take-aways from the conference I plan to share, but if I do it all at once, this post will be forever long. 

So, I am breaking it down into five parts, part one can be found here, part two here, and here is the third: 

Every conference I attend offers something that I can bring back to my classroom and help improve learning for my students. There is something extra special about the National Art Education Association Convention, though. It is so strategically placed in lively cities where visuals grab a hold of me constantly, leaving me wondering how I might adapt them in my classes. They also somehow manage to bottle that energy inside the convention in the excitement and delight that is the exhibit hall of vendors! 

I was particularly captivated by one group in the exhibit hall this year: Ymm Art Education

The picture above is from their booth. If you did not get a chance to see their combination of large sculpture, small installations, and fashion design, you missed out on an opportunity to be blown away with the attention to detail and beautiful craft. They start offering fashion design courses to students as young as 6 years old, and continue offering programming through the age of 18. It was incredibly inspirational to see the work from students and hear from their leadership; it made me rethink some of the ways I could bring this back to my own classroom and how we consider the way art is offered to our youngest of students. 

I would never think to start fashion design with such young ones, but now that I have seen what is possible, I wonder why I would ever deny a child this type of expressive opportunity at any age! Conferences like this one push my thinking and help me reconsider notions I have about art, education, and what it can look like in any classroom. I have already started talking with the STEM teacher on how we can collaborate on a large sculpture and an architecture unit based on the work I saw there.

In addition to having a great time with the other vendors and getting my super cool Artsonia shirt, I also ventured out into the city with my #artsedpln (which I will talk about in part 4 of my #NAEA in NOLA series). There was so much to do and see and I am so excited to share all of it with my students in hopes they will be as inspired as I am by all of the things I witnessed. 

Check out some additional images below:

This was the third time I have had the privilege to attend the annual MACUL conference. The first time was in 2010. That conference ignited the idea that I could do more with technology when I was willing to rethink how I wanted my classroom to function and how I wanted my students to think about their role in learning. I am walking away with the same feeling I did those years ago - an empowerment that I can make a difference in the lives of others, fostering positive change through the connections I make as a result of technology use both in and out of the classroom.

 In addition to hearing inspiring and thoughtful keynotes and sessions from Adam Bellow, George Couros, and Dean Shareski, I was invited to participate in some fun with the staged photo above resulting in the following tweets: 

I appreciated my time with them as they definitely practice what they preach. They find the fun in anything and take moments to say kind words and give their time to others they impact. Not a bad way to start a conference or spend your lunch. The Seinfeld references didn't hurt, either (the soup counts). 

This was my second time presenting at MACUL, and I got to do it three times! Each session offered a slightly different aspect of how I use technology in my classroom to blend learning, engage students, connect with others, and provide opportunities for my students to think beyond our classroom as they share their work with others. I was incredibly flattered by the positive energy and response from each presentation (especially to the dancing). 

It was awesome to finally meet so many people I connect with online and share what I do in my classroom face to face. I am really proud of the work I am able to do because of the support I am given from the place where I teach. I was also really excited to present with Tricia Fuglestad from Illinois, who was at MACUL for the first time! 

The presentation I am most proud of is the one I got to do with the people I work with everyday. Even though it was not the biggest session, it was the one that I felt offered others the full picture of what a school can look like when they have passionate teachers and leaders who understand and utilize the potential of technology in the classroom. It was powerful to see how learning can look when everyone is focused on student success both in school and beyond. 

There are so many things I could go on writing about, but instead I created the storify below that includes some of my highlights from the conference and what others had to say about my presentations. Thanks again for everyone who connected with me and I am excited to continue on those connections until we can all meet again at the next conference. 

Over the summer I have had a lot of time to reflect and plan for the upcoming school year. I have also had the chance to stumble upon some pretty amazing TV shows that I did not have time to catch earlier in the year. One of them is "Call of the Wildman" on Animal Planet. I have a particular fascination with the show because of my own run-in with an unwanted critter living in our defunct hot tub - both removed as a part of a birthday gift to myself once school was out in June. 

If you have not seen "Call of the Wildman" it is a show about critter capturer Ernie (aka Turtleman) and his adventures helping capture and release various wildlife from unwanted places. He not only captures the critters, he does so with his hands which provides the "Live Action" he is known for in each episode. As I find myself completely enthralled with this show (although each episode is very similar: person calls with a critter problem, Ernie tracks it using a variety of methods and his dog Lolly, Ernie finds the raccoon/possum/fox/rat/whatever and after much chasing is assisted in the catch by his friend Neal (and sometimes Squirrel)), I cannot help but be entertained by the lengths this guy goes to get the job done. Of course, this got me thinking about my job as a teacher and the lessons I can learn from the Turtleman. 

So, here are some pointers I hope to bring from this show into my classroom: 

1. You do not need fancy tools to get the job done. Turtleman will use a stick, bucket, and a bag for most of his jobs. Often times he only really needs his hands. Whether he is trapped in an old car with a raccoon or a saw mill with a porcupine, he is able to get most jobs done with the use of his quick reflexes and able hands. I am super fortunate in my district to have access to computers for all of my students as well as some awesome materials and equipment for making art; what I know, though, is that I don't always have to use the newest fad or tool to get across the lessons I need to teach or to have my students to produce quality work. Often times success comes from getting your hands dirty and involved with the materials and the Turtleman is a testament to that. 

2. It is okay to rely on your friends to help you. On most jobs, it seems that the Turtleman is able to get it done with his simple tools and friend Neal (you need someone else to do the Tornado to the bag once a critter has been captured). Sometimes, for the bigger and more complicated jobs, there are additional people called in to help. In my training and professional development as a teacher, I have acquired the knowledge, skill, and research to help me get through most challenges that I face. However, when I am trying something new or come across a situation that is new to me, I know I can turn to my PLN and they will be there to help me. Turtleman always knows when to call in a friend; knowing when you need help and how to ask for it can be important to completing any job.

3. Don't be afraid of the "Live Action" moments, embrace them. The most intense moments of the show are the "Live Action" ones. This term seems to be used whenever the Turtleman is about to get into a tight situation with a critter he is about to capture with his hands. Whether it is having a nest of rats fall on him in a crawl space or being swarmed by pigeons in a town hall attic, the Turtleman never loses his cool when these crazy moments take place. He stays focused on the job and gets it done. One thing I admire about the Turtleman is his tenacity to do almost anything to get the job done and I hope to bring some of that attitude when I approach teaching my students. I want my students to walk away from my classroom with a better capacity to create and understand art and rather than shy away from the chaos that can happen when learning takes place, I hope to use that energy to bring excitement and engage students in the process. 

4. Take time to celebrate and share a job well done. At the end of every job, there is a reward earned for completing the capture of the critter (and all are safely released into the wild elsewhere). In addition to the reward of baked goods or nominal amounts of money, the Turtleman celebrates his captures with a very distinct yell of "Yi-yi-yi-yi! Live Action!" This is often followed with hugs from his friends and the patrons who have called him in on the job. Knowing when to celebrate a job well done is important to completing any task and sharing those accomplishments with others can be just as important. Whether it is a placement of a competition or successful display in our school, I plan to take the time to celebrate the accomplishments of my classroom with students and share them with our community through our class blog and online gallery space. 

These are just some of the lessons learned that I hope to adapt to my classroom, but I am sure I could think of a few others as soon as I hit publish on this post. I am super excited about the start of school in a few weeks and hope to bring the same positive energy Turtleman brings to his work to my own as I start up the term in September! 

I am not an avid fan or regular watcher of the TV comedy skit series Portlandia. I am, however, a huge fan of the "Put a Bird on It" skit. When I first saw it earlier this summer, I laughed out loud at the repetitive suggestion that the simple placement of a bird would make anything into instantly whimsical or beautiful art. Maybe it was because I have seen this "birds on things" phenomena for years at craft shows and independent shops, or maybe it is because I have even resorted to similar solutions in my own work as an artist and teacher. 

Ever since the NAEA convention in March, I have been doing some major rethinking of how curriculum shapes what students learn and how I pretty much have complete power to turn that into anything I want it to be. If I wanted, I could instruct my students to put a bird on it and all of my students would put their birds on things in the same exact way. Now, as whimsical or beautiful as that might be to an outside observer, it really isn't what Art Education should be or should teach students that it is. The "artists" in the skit have great intentions with their placement of birds, but in the end it all goes terribly wrong; if I provide the art solutions to my students by using the same old symbols and methods, then I am taking away their ability to creatively solve it in their own way and making them rely on me for the answers to questions that have indeterminate solutions.

I also recently participated in a conversation on Twitter that led to this exchange that seems to reinforce the feelings I have been having towards teaching Art for a while:

It was once Ian Sands posted this article by Nan E. Hathaway  on Facebook, that I decided to write this post. This article is a good springboard to conversations that are really asking what Visual Arts classes have been teaching vs. what they should be teaching. I am still working my way through how to give my students instruction without overriding their own creative inclinations. I am working through how to provide quality production of works for competition, exhibitions, and displays that is student-centered, student-directed, and in the end looks "good." It is tough to give up control, but in many cases it was when I was willing to give students options that the best work was made. 

How do you structure your curriculum to avoid the "Put a Bird on It" solutions? How do you avoid the same old solutions and instead promote divergent thinking in the classroom? I am foraging for ideas and would be interested on how you address this in your classroom.

The picture above is a digital image of an analog image I took and made this week to demonstrate creating a print the Dual Enrollment class I teach for Kendall. Half of the class is spent creating digital images and the other is spent in the darkroom. 

After spending the last seven weeks evaluating digital images, I am really excited to move onto working in the darkroom. There is something so magical about taking black and white images, developing your own film, and then creating a print from one of your negatives. I was as giddy as any kid about to open a gift when it came time for me to demonstrate developing film and enlarging prints. I cannot describe the feeling I get when I first see the images, realizing everything was exposed at the right rate and that all steps worked along the way. 

It was funny when I came across a John Spencer post expressing a similar vibe this week. I love technology and working with digital images and blended learning has become a large part of how I teach. For all of that love, though, it will ever completely replace or supplement the joy I feel when I draw or paint or sculpt or develop a print with chemicals. 

Saturday morning was spent with other Art Educators from around Michigan at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. As a panelist for this PD, I shared my experiences with using technology in Art Education and gave examples and methods for integration to others. One great thing that the GRAM Educational team set up prior to the event was the hashtag #gramteachertech to help organize and archive ideas and resources gleaned from the event. 

Several key questions emerged that I wanted to address in more detail now that I have had some time to digest the whole conversation: 

I look at the use of technology in the art room in three ways: 
1. Teacher Tool 
As a teacher I use technology for creating presentations, screen castings, research for projects, gradebook/attendance, and PD. I use technology to stay up to date with information in my field and also use it to give demonstrations through my ELMO, projector, and other digital tools. I have recently transitioned into a blended classroom model through the use of Moodle to house information and also receive student assignments. You can find more information on this on the Blended Learning tab of my website. 
2. Student Tool
 I also use technology as a tool for students to create with. They make videos or digital collages to express ideas and visually communicate messages - but this is not ALL that they make. My most successful lessons either start with a traditional method and end with a digital tool or visa versa. Just because we use technology to create with does not mean we forget about painting, drawing, sculpture and the like. For a well-rounded program, there needs to be time for both (especially at the lower levels). One thing I had to rethink as a teacher once I started teaching, was that Art isn't just drawing. Drawing is one form in which Art is made, but there are many different ways to visually represent ideas. If I only focus on one task or skill or genre, then I am doing my students a disservice.
3. Classroom Tool
The most important way I use technology is as a tool for organizing the classroom. My blog, Moodle page, and online student gallery help me stay organized and my students stay informed on what is happening in class. One of the easiest first steps to incorporate technology in the classroom without feeling like you are losing any traditional methods is to start an online gallery with Artsonia. This also allows for your students to have a broader audience for their work and can be a great advocacy tool with parents and the school community.

I strongly feel that if we approach technology integration in the Art classroom as a way of doing business, then we will see a shift of the Art class as being a marginal thing that could be cut to a central need of every school. 

Not having the resources to incorporate technology is something that I think every teacher struggles with at some time in their career. When I was looking to add a Digital Art component to my curriculum 6 years ago, I started by finding exemplar programs from around the country and researched how using technology in their classrooms had impacted student learning and growth. After putting together a proposal and working with both teachers in my department and administrators, I was able to acquire equipment and resources to get started. I also wrote multiple grants (one of which you can read about here) to help build resources for my program. The result is multiple local and national awards for Digital Art and Video projects that my students have made due to the investment. If you are serious about wanting to incorporate technology, talk with your administration about being a pilot teacher with iPads, or iPods, or Macbooks. Write out a proposal and look to other programs as models. If you hit a roadblock with your administrators, check out potential grants or partnerships. The big thing is to not get discouraged if you hear a "no" the first time. Change doesn't always happen fast, but it can happen if you are willing to be patient with the work. 

Ian Sands' video How Technology Helped Me Paint With Mud explores how students can turn in their work digitally rather than giving the teacher a paper in hand. He uses blogs and dropbox to help organize student product (as well as show process) for this. I use Moodle to help me stay organized with students turning in work. One benefit from this is that it solves the no-name paper issue. It also helps the process of posting images online and I am no longer dealing with piles of papers on my desk. It can completely change the workflow in the classroom and streamline many aspects of the job.

I want to thank the GRAM and MAEA for holding this type of PD for teachers. Technology is an important component to education and I think having these kinds of discussions with teachers is important. Here are a few other reflections from participants from the day: 

Ever since our school moved to a 1:1 system a few weeks ago, my classroom has changed. I have been a strong user of technology for the past 5 years with my students, so I didn't think it would change so much once students got their Macbooks, but I was wrong. It has changed dramatically. 

As we are all still figuring out the best way to incorporate these devices into the everyday, one thing that I am pretty excited about is what I was able to do for a day like today, when I am unable to be with my students. Usually sub plans are the worst to deal with as a teacher. You know that no matter what you try to write down, nothing is going to substitute the expertise and ability of you as the teacher being there (that is why many teachers say it is just easier to be there than to be away from the classroom). 

With the help of our 1:1 system, I am feeling a little more at ease today. Instead of just writing everything down for the sub, I copied the plans for my students and emailed them what needs to be done. Instead of relying on a sub to try and figure out what they are supposed to be doing with their watercolor projects, I created a screen-casting of the demonstrations and posted on our Moodle page. I also encouraged students to email me with questions so I could help them if they get confused. 

Even though this is no substitute for me being in the room and helping kids in real-time, it is way better than what I had to rely on before. I am also able to see the kids work as they are handing it in through our Moodle page and give them feedback where needed. 

Technology has the capacity to do amazing things and this is one that seems obvious, but one I really wasn't expecting. 

How do you handle having a sub in your classroom? Have you used screen-castings to help the sub?

Today is the last day of the marking period. On Monday I will be greeting a whole new batch of students. It will be like the first day of school all over again. 

Before I move onto another semester, I want to reflect on something unexpected from this one. 

Last year, giving a test was unusual in my class because everything is so project-based. The whole pre-test/post-test thing was something I struggled with at first. I started by using Moodle to create the tests (this allowed me to access instant data and keep track of student scores) and tweaked them as I became more confident with the format. 

I learned a lot from the experience that I feel has made me a better teacher. I learned how to use technology to document learning and how to formulate questions that demonstrated both retention and application. I also learned from that process how much wording matters when you are creating questions for a test. I finally feel like now I have a test that covers the material taught and will show whether students retained and can apply information learned throughout their time with me in class. 

I am happy to report that students did grow. I am proud of the difference in scores from the start of the year to now. What I didn't expect was how much students would care about it, too. 

When I gave my pre-test, I kept the scores hidden from students because I didn't want them to freak out about the scores. When they finished up their finals, however, I did give students the option to get their pre-test score so they could compare. Now, if it was me, I am not sure I would have cared much about it. But that is not how my students reacted. 

Soon after I offered, there was a line at my desk with roughly half of the class wanting to know with one student simply saying, "I want to see how much I have grown." 

It is a moment of teaching gold that I hope to keep with me as we finish out the rest of the year. Kids care about how they do. They want to grow and learn and I sometimes forget how exciting it is that I get to be the one to help them do that. 

How do you handle pre and post testing results in your classroom? Do students show interest in finding out their progress? 

When I was in college, I used to get pretty excited about the juried exhibition that occurred at the end of each semester. I am a competitive person (mostly with myself) and I was always striving to get as many works in as possible.

It seemed, though, each time the professor selected work for jury, I ended up disappointed. Not because I missed out on having work chosen for the show, but because it seemed inevitable they would always choose the piece I disliked the most. The moldy corner painting from my painting class, the misshapen ellipses from my drawing class, the silly plant assignment from my color course... I could go on and on with how there were other, more noteworthy works in my portfolio that could or should have been selected, but there is no changing the past.

That is why when it comes to displaying student work, I will not select pieces. I leave it up to the artists. If they ask my opinion, I try to stay out of it. I remind them that they are the artist and have to make that choice. The students are the ones showing off their works to an audience and I want them to feel happy about what is selected for display. I am also interested in what they believe to be their best work. It helps me learn something about their aesthetic and what trends occur with the projects I teach.

I am not sure if it is the best way to get work ready for display, but I think it offers my students the option if having a say in how they are represented. I think that is always a good thing. You can check out student work at The Van Singel Fine Arts Center now until the 21st.

How do you go about getting work ready for shows and exhibitions? Do you let students choose, or do you pick for them?