Hard to believe that by this time next week, #NAEA15 will be over and we will all be heading back to our classrooms after experiencing big fun in the Big Easy! I am extremely excited to attend again this year and learn, share, and dance with all of my art teacher friends! 

If you are interested in dancing along side me, check out when below: 

12:30 PM - 1:50 PM: Middle Level Division Awards: Celebrating and Connecting
Award Function / Convention Center / Meeting Room R05/Second Level
I am going to give a little presentation titled "Hedgehogs, BHAGs, and Purple Cows: Turning the Flywheel to Your Best Year Ever" as I get recognized as the NAEA Western Region Middle Level Educator of the Year. 


4:30 – 5:50 PM: Conversations with Colleagues 
Convention Center/Meeting Room R05/Second Level
(Attendees attend 2 out of the 4 sessions within the time frame)
1 | Nikki Kalcevic: | TAB / Choice Based Art Overview 
2 | David Watt, 8th grade science and Sarah Goodall, Art: Integrative STEAM Design: A Four Year Journey
3 | Pamelia Valentine: SLICK & QUICK! Implementing the National Standards in a REAL Classroom
4 | Janine Campbell: Navigating the Digital/Traditional Continuum through Technology Integration

1:00 – 1:50 PM: TEAM Middle
Convention Center/ Meeting Room 205
Stacy Lord, Holly Bess Kincaid, Theresa McGee, and I will share how we work our magic in the middle level art room to provide quality instruction to students with great results! 
** I plan to share how I use technology to blend learning with Schoology and Artsonia, how I incorporate writing and assessment in classroom practice, and how my classroom has transformed into a space of working Artists through the incorporation of TAB methodologies.  

11:00 – 11:25 PM: Dancing on Chairs
Clay on the first day of school? Of Course! Dancing on chairs to learn vocabulary? Why not! Students evaluating teachers? Definitely! These are just a few strategies to help foster a caring and creative environment that allows for students to be silly and have a say in their learning. In this session, participants will walk away with resources and ideas to design enduring and engaging experiences. Lesson plans, examples, and dancing will be shared in this action-packed session designed for all! (This is a repeat of last year's packed presentation with some fun updates for all!)

I had quite an end to my week, as we wrapped up a major community project at my school and I rushed to Detroit to learn and share for the 2015 MACUL conference. 

I love March. Basketball is all the buzz, Youth Arts Month is being celebrated, and it is major conference season. One of the conferences I have made a habit of participating in is MACUL. I started going about six or seven years ago and it opened my eyes to the potential of technology integration in my classroom and in turn, opened many doors for my students and myself to learn, grow, and share. 

This year was no different. Although I was only able to be at MACUL for one day, I connected with a lot of great people, learned some great new things I hope to use in my classroom, and shared some ideas that I hope open some doors for others as they return to their districts and classrooms. 

In my first presentation, I shared how I use various tools like CheckThis, Schoology, LiveBinders, Camtasia, Artsonia, and PBS LearningMedia to Flip, Blend, and Remix my classroom. It was fun to get everyone up and dancing to start (thanks again for playing along, even at 8:30 in the morning) and then get down to how we can rethink our classrooms to engage students in content that allows them to work at their own pace and share their voice with others in authentic ways. If you were unable to make my presentation, please check it out below: 

I also was able to learn about some great tools and take away key ideas that I know will help me improve my classroom craft. 

One session I attended was about Sketchnotes, with Karen Bosch. I have had the pleasure to get to know Karen online for the past few years and I was really excited to hear her talk about her process of creating images like the one below of the MACUL closing keynote: 

Karen was so generous with explaining her process, sharing her resources, and inspiring so many to take a hold of that pen and doodle their way to understanding! I am so glad I finally got to hear her present! 

The other presentation that really got me thinking was given by a fellow Art teacher, D'Andra Clark and her colleague, Steve Weller, who co-created a course that delves into using the Design Thinking Process to explore computer technologies. 

They did a great job offering their take on Design Thinking using the DICE model (Design, Ideate, Create, Evaluate) and giving specific examples of both the success and failure they experienced as they ventured on this new journey together. They were genuine and sincere in their presentation and really have me excited to get to work with my STEM counterpart on how we can incorporate some of these ideas in our curriculum. 

I feel honored to be a part of the Lightning Talks this year and sharing how we use clay on the first day to get students going for the school year. It was fun to share what makes me passionate about my work and hear the other speakers share their passion for teaching, learning, and big ideas. 

Although I had a shortened time at MACUL this year, it was still as impactful and I am ready to implement new concepts in my classroom. I also enjoyed spending some time in Detroit at the Detroit Institute of Arts exploring the special exhibit of work by Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo and the stunning views from my room. 

This school year has been an adventure. I moved to a new LMS, changed my curriculum, and have learned a lot along the way. In some ways I feel like I am at the top of my craft, in other ways I feel like I am a first year teacher again. The self-doubt and questioning creeps in as second semester is around the corner and I have to take a moment to regroup before I can move forward with a new batch of kids.

The one thing that has been churning in my brain as I reflect on these changes and is something I suspect happens with a lot of teachers: the want, no more like the need, to be better. 

This can manifest in a lot of different ways. It can show up as a Green Eyed Troll (GET), coveting what others have and tearing them down with snarky remarks or quick judgements; it can turn into a pity party that is demoralizing and often debilitating; or it can morph into something positive. I am not going to claim that I haven't looked at what other teachers are doing and have that nagging voice from the corner of my mind telling me that I should have thought of that first - or worse - they did that so much better than I did. It happens. I give myself a second to dwell, take a deep breath, and then push forward. Wasting time worrying about what other teachers are teaching in their classroom does not make me a better teacher in my own classroom.

It can be easy to forget that this is not a competition of what classroom is the best or which teacher has it right (because there is no such thing). We are all working towards the goal of learning for our students and I would guess most every teacher out there is trying different methods to reach their learners and propel them towards success. Some things work, others don't, and a lot of it can be in flux depending on the climate of the classroom and make-up of the learners. To be jealous of that, or make yourself sick thinking you are not doing enough is counterproductive and will not get you or your students where you need to go. 

I am excited that I work in a profession where I am learning things all of the time. I am motivated by those who push my thinking and inspire me to try new methods and reach all of my students. I feel so proud of the recent accomplishments my students have made and continue to make. 

But even with all of that, I know I am not done being better than myself. 

I had a great time last week facilitating an MAEA Summer PD workshop on Technology in the Art Classroom. We were very fortunate to have the wonderful facilities of Byron Center High School to demonstrate what is possible when you effectively employ technology in the classroom and allow your students to interact and document their learning through various tools. As you can see from the pictures above, there was plenty of hands-on messiness for this workshop and proof that more technology does not lead to less hands-on learning! I have to give a HUGE thank you to Schoology and TechSmith Education for helping me put together such a great workshop. I got a ton of positive feedback and their help was crucial in making that happen! 

This was my second year as a workshop facilitator for MAEA Summer PD - I hope to do it again next year! 

I had an awesome time at WGVU Studios last Wednesday for the PBS LearningMedia Summit. As a 2014 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator, I had the opportunity to share my experiences with using this resource in my classroom and some insight on why it is SO valuable. If you have not checked it out, you really should. Like now. Stop reading this and go sign up for a free account. You will be wondering why you hadn't sooner, I promise! 

In addition to sharing resources, it was great to meet other teachers and the members of WGVU Studios. Their passion for helping teachers and bringing opportunities to students is something that left me extremely pumped for the upcoming school year. 

I feel that these learning opportunities have helped me feel more prepared to enter my classroom after a long summer of hiking, travel, and making art. 

What has helped you feel more prepared about entering your classroom this Fall? Any tips, websites, or new ideas you can't wait to share? Feel free to comment below. 

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of being a featured presenter/speaker for the Connected Educator Un/Conference in Jackson, MI. It was really fun to share ideas on technology in the classroom and learn from others on how they implement strategies to engage all students and push them beyond any limits set. There was also dancing, which is a bonus anywhere I go.

When reflecting on the people I met and things I learned, I keep thinking back to how the day started. Andy Losik gave a fun opening to the conference with his keynote on "making your teaching an excellent adventure and not a bogus journey." Even though I think I am more a child of the 90s, having two sisters 7 and 10 years older than me fostered an appreciation and understanding of all things 80s. I easily understood the references made throughout his talk. I am also a huge movie junkie, so that helped, too. 

One of the movies referenced in his keynote that I always make sure to stop on when flipping through the channels is The Breakfast Club. During Andy's presentation, he talked about the choices and actions we make and take as educators. He went through his own teaching journey and the moment he realized that we can totally create and nurture an environment that reaches students where they are, instead of forcing them to be versions of ourselves.

The following image was used in his keynote to discuss students, but as I have been reflecting over the past few days, I think it has a broader use.  

One of the pitfalls of living in a world full of labels is that we can fall into the trap of categorizing things and not seeing the overlap that occurs. This can happen with students; it also happens with teachers and subject areas.  

My subject area is a casualty of this all of the time. I get strange questions from teachers in other content areas wondering if we have Standards. Yes, the Arts do and they are being rewritten with a role out this summer. Wha??? I know! 

One emphasis in Arts education is showing the overlap of other content through creating. performing, presenting, and responding in the Arts. Life doesn't happen in isolation and I think the Arts make it a point to highlight that. When I am making Art, I am not just thinking about the object being sculpted or image being drawn so I can make it "pretty." I am thinking about how it is going to make sense in the world and what purpose it serves myself or others. I might be creating for a personal outlet or to send a larger message, but I am using all of the skills and ideas learned from all areas of my life to do so. I try to do the same overlap when I am designing lessons or selecting works or artists to present to my students. I want them to understand that creating and working through ideas can be messy. It is not as easy as just sticking a label on it and calling it done. 

I wonder what other subject areas are struggling through misconceptions of what they teach. Are they a victim to a label on a schedule and preconceived notions of what others think? If your subject area was a character from The Breakfast Club, which would it be based on how others view it? What can we do as teachers to demonstrate that it is more complex than that?

Today was a pretty exciting. Not only did a student greet me first hour with an affirmative statement declaring that I am a good teacher, I was also able to give another student their copy of SchoolArts Magazine that features their work and spend some time with Dan Spencer to talk about my upcoming session at the Connected Education Unconference in April! 

If you are interested in hearing how I have navigated my classroom through the digital/traditional continuum and learning more about how you can, too, please come to the Unconference April 26th. If you are on the fence, here is a little preview of what you might expect to explore more about: 

I will also be presenting at MACUL on March 13th at 2:30 on the topics of blended learning and March 14th on Video Production at 11:30 and 1:1 classrooms at 1. I will also be presenting at NAEA in San Diego at the end of March. I look forward to sharing ideas and learning at MACUL and the Unconference this Spring! 

The last day of school before Holiday break is always a most exciting one. We usually have a host of activities for students to do as we celebrate the end of the calendar year and the promise of great things to come in the next. It is also one of my favorite times because it is the day the Scholastic Art Awards are announced for my region and I get to share with students which were selected and recognized by professionals in the field for Gold or Silver keys and Honorable Mentions. 

You see, the Scholastic Awards are unlike other programs out there. They are not a place where everyone gets a ribbon for just showing up. They are a competition where student work goes through a process of a blind jury and awarded based on skill, voice, and originality. The program also carries with it the prestige of past winners who have gone on to be movers and shakers in the industry (like Truman Capote (1932), Richard Avedon (1941), Andy Warhol (ca. 1945), Sylvia Plath (1947), Robert Redford (1954) and Zac Posen (1998)). 

So, it is kind of a big deal. 

I have submitted student work for the past 7 years and have been fortunate enough to spend each Friday before break sharing the exciting news of the selections with them. I feel like this year, though, I also have to include my PLN in the mix. Without their help, some of these entries would not have been possible. They helped push me as a teacher and spur ideas that inspired my students to go beyond the usual solutions and allow them to shine with award winning pieces. 

From Katherine Douglas' encouragement to put choice at the center of curriculum, the wacky and wonderful Photoshop ideas from the creative mind of Ian Sands, the captivating ways Tricia Fuglestad gets her kids to collaborate and tell stories with new media, to the traditional methods with a twist from Colleen Rose, there are countless ways these educators and many others through Facebook and Twitter have pushed me to push my students in new directions which has yielded award-winning results. 

I want to thank them for their help as I celebrate the winners from BCWMS. I hope they share in the success as much as we do when they look at the work below and find their influence: 

Life of a Fish, by Hallie Baker and Kiersten Woudstra

Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Cody Boogaart, Tyler Wall, and Tyler Toren

I had the great honor of being the closing keynote for the Ohio Art Education Association Conference in Toledo, OH. I was invited to speak at the conference after meeting their conference coordinator, Sarah Danner, at the NAEA Conference in Fort Worth. 

We were sharing a shuttle bus back to the airport and I started talking about some of the things I was doing with technology in my classroom and she quickly offered me the invite. Every time I have had the opportunity to share my story with others, I hope they walk away with their thinking stretched of the role technology can play in their classrooms and how it can offer students authentic audiences for sharing their work. 

The 2013 OAEA Conference Theme was "Reflecting the Standard." When I heard the title, I started thinking about what the "standard" is and who gets to decide that. As I started preparing my presentation, I decided that the standard can be something we all set through our expectations and outcomes in the classroom and it can evolve over time. It is also something that as Arts professionals we can help educate others on through research and practice.

As a part of the Michigan Arts Education Instruction and Assessment project, we created a blueprint that outlines the "gold standard" in Visual Arts education. Part of the issue when doing this, is the Visual Arts is a subject area that is so used to being cut and diminished, when it came actually outlining what the standard should be, we had to do so without all of that baggage of what has been done in the past to cloud our vision. Students deserve quality Arts programs - and that means that the standard must include certified teachers with quality contact time and sufficient resources to provide that. 

In the Visual Arts, we are poised in a unique position because we get to be the place where all other subjects come and play; we create learning opportunities that make those concepts have meaning through application. When we fuse technology to that mix, we can truly reflect the standard of not only what quality Arts education looks like, but what quality education looks like, period. Many look to the STEM to STEAM movement for this, but I think it is just something we need to start embracing as a part of how we interact with Art and share with the world. After giving my presentation this weekend, I began to think of how I integrate technology and created the chart below:

This chart based on the most recent project I did with my students dealing with printmaking, but it can be used in almost all of my lessons. When we started, students worked digitally using the presentations they were provided and the images they selected. They then took those images that were either generated through searching online or pictures they took and transferred them to their plates for the more traditional means of art making. After creating their prints, students then turned back to digital means to share online on Artsonia with their family and friends. And it might seem like the process stops there, but in many cases, students then mashed up their project with others in Photoshop for their Photoshop Priday pieces and uploaded them again. These type of processes for meaning making allows students to demonstrate understanding in a multimodal manner and participate in complex transliterate tasks. Before deciding you do not have time for that, or that digital art is not "real art," I would challenge you to first ask: Who would want to cut a program or limit the access for students to Arts programming that is demonstrating the skills and tasks that is offering those methods of teaching and learning? 

I had a great time sharing this past weekend and hope that it demonstrated what is possible when you integrate technology into the classroom and allow your students more ways to communicate their vision and share with others. The video below is a condensed version of my presentation that was originally created for the 2012 k12online conference.  You can also find more resources on blended learning and technology integration throughout my site. 

How do you blend learning or integrate technology in the classroom? 

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.