T E A C H I N G T H R O U G H T H E A R T S

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VIAThe ezine for educators, administrators and advocates of arts integration

Building a School Culture of BloggingDiscover how to go beyond communicating and extend to collaborating with a school blog.Page 3

A Quarterly Ezine Issue No. 4 - October 2011

Arts in the CloudCreativity in a Web 2.0 Culture

Roll Call! The latest websites and resource list for arts integration topics and ideas.Page 11

Web 2.0 Resource GuideOnline tools for connecting the Arts to the 21st century classroom.Page 10

Face Your Fears Head OnAcknowledging and pushing past the fears that are holding you back in your classroom.Page 5

10 Simple Ways to Integrate Art into your ClassroomPage 8

Join Us!Join the conversation on

Twitter

Education Closet

Have an Idea to Share?Contact me to submit a piece for a future issue

All About ViaFind out about the vision for this ezine and the authors behind it.Page 2

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W E L C O M E !

Welcome to VIA - the ezine that is designed for arts integration teachers, administrators and advocates! This monthly ezine will strive to provide you with useful resources, updated programs and conferences and a multitude of activities, programs and networks that can further arts integration in your school, district or state. You will find so many wonderful teacher, administrators and artists converging throughout these pages - it’s hard to contain it all! Each article will also feature the writer or organization contact information in order to further our outreach and community with one another.

So....why the name VIA? The best simplified definition I can find for arts integration is “teaching the content areas through the arts” and when you look up synonyms for the word “through”, via is an accurate portrayal. We use the arts as a lens for filtering content knowledge via connections, via technology highways and via teaching artists and educators alike. “Via” is a thoroughfare through it all and so it is fitting that this ezine be a way to gather this information through our multitudes of research and resources.

This issue is all about Professional Development. It’s about how we grow, connect, develop and personalize the meaning of our own professional learning. I am delighted to be able to highlight and share 3 new guest authors with various perspectives and insights into what it means to grow as a professional. Because we never stop learning!

Susan Riley, editorwww.educationcloset.com

October’s AuthorsSusan Rileywww.educationcloset.com

Susan Riley is an author, editor and distributor of VIA ezine. In addition, she writes regularly on arts integration and current education topics at her blog www.educationcloset.com where she advocates for working together to educate together. In

addition to her blog, she also had written an ebook “The Keys to Making Arts Integration Work” which can be purchased

from her website. Susan is the Arts Integration Specialist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Annapolis, Maryland and uses these experiences to influence her ideas and research. In addition to her education expertise, she is also a family portrait photographer, wife and mother to 2 year old Emma. You can contact Susan through her website or via email at sriley81@hotmail.com for more information.

Melissa Edwardshttp://mwedwardstechnology.blogspot.com/

Melissa Edwards is the founder of the website Technology: Figuring Out how the Pieces Fit. Melissa graduated from Meredith College as a NC

Teaching Fellow. In addition to a Masters Degree in Reading Education from Appalachian, she also has her

Gifted Education licensure from Western Carolina University.

Each week, Melissa collaborates with

Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom) to do a podcast where they talk about things related to instructional technology. They talk about tools, ideas, resources, and a little bit of everything!

Melissa currently serves as District Instructional Technologist (Instructional Resource Specialist) for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Winston-Salem, NC. You can contact her @mwedwards on Twitter or through her website.

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Andrea ErinsGet a Masters in Education Degree.

Andrea Erins has been a college professor for 13 years and likes to write about various topics related to education. She is the owner of the site Get a Masters in Education Degree.

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Lots of times, I see teachers and administrators get tripped up over the word “blog”. Many aren’t familiar with what a blog is, what it can do and how it can be used as a powerful engagement tool with our students. Instead, what they hear is “Too Much Information”. They see visions of MySpace, Facebook, Online Journals, and then they generally turn pale and say “no, no no!” before giving a blog a second glance.

Blogs are in essence a vehicle for information. They can look just like a “regular” website, or they can take on more of a journalistic appearance.

There can be places for discussion groups, chats, paper submissions, tutorials, or more. If you’ve visited my website, EducationCloset.com, then you’ve visited a blog. Yes, these blogs can contain too much information, but if used responsibly, they can provide a direct “wired” way for students to interact with each other and with their instructor outside of the classroom on ideas that are being developed WITHIN the classroom.

A Place at the Table

We know that our students are the most connected generation ever to

arrive on this planet. They use social media, websites, and other online tools more than printed materials. In 10 years, they won’t know what an encyclopedia looks like. If we are to teach these students, we must use the tools that they know and work with. A blog is simply a tool. Therefore, it must have a place at the table when it comes to educating our children.

Educational blogs take on many forms. Often, they are simply a way for the teacher to communicate with parents and students on a regular basis. These blogs are fine if you are looking for yet another way to send

Building a School Culture of Blogging- Susan Rileywww.educationcloset.com

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home information about that upcoming field trip or to list your homework assignments. However, a blog has so much more potential than as just another house for class announcements!

Blogging to Collaborate and Extend Learning

These are the most exciting kind of blogs for use in the classroom. They are also the most work to put together at the beginning. However, once you get it set up, it’s very easy to maintain because the students do most of the work! This blog includes opportunities to communicate information, share resources, submit work, assess student projects, and have a dialogue with your students. These are all important in the 21st century classroom; one way that we know we are engaging students is by knowing the learners that sit in front of us. What better way to get to know them than by engaging them in conversation? Of course, you need to use measures to keep students safe in this online environment so that the blog is a fruitful and positive learning portal.

First, you’ll need to set up clear guidelines for this type of blog. In addition to a mission statement, you’ll need a “Blog Rules” post on the front page. Set up the expectations right from the start! You can do this alone, or with your student if you really want to make it a joint project. Remember....the more that students have invested into a project, the more they are willing to police themselves. Create rules that protect students, such as:

Use first names only

No explicit material can be sharedLanguage must be school-appropriateStudents must stay on-topic when engaging in dialogueNo personal information can be shared

This is not an all-inclusive list, but it definitely gets you started. You can explain to your students that as the teacher, you will be the moderator and as such can delete anything that doesn’t follow the rules.

Once you set up your guidelines, the sky really is the limit for these blogs. You’ll want to organize it well, just like you would in the Blogging for Communicating Information section. However, your sections might look a bit different. Here’s a few ideas:

Classroom information (homework, policies, events, information)Student portfolios (scanned student work samples, essays, art, music, etc)Class forum (great for engaging students in dialogue about current events or things that happen in class)Student rubrics (Student and/or teacher designed assessments)Homework submissionInteractive tools for learning (websites from your tech resource list that students and parents can use)

There are many plugins and widgets to help you facilitate these ideas and I’ll be going over those step-by-step at the end of this lesson. Just know that your blog is only limited by your own imagination.

Blogging for Reflective Practice

In this type of blog, you store ideas, share experiences, and collaborate with other educators as a best practice for reflective learning. These types of blogs are not directly connected with your school or classroom, but it has a direct impact on your teaching style and ideas. You can truly grow leaps and bounds through this method of blogging. I have learned more in my years of participative blogging than in any grad class. The wealth of knowledge to be gathered by other educators is vast and rich. Best of all, educators are known for their willingness to share and work with each other! By keeping a blog of your own experiences, frustrations and triumphs, you are joining a group of support, mentoring, coaching and cheering like you’ve never known.

You can organize this type of blog any way that you feel works best for your own reflective practice. You can make it private, public or parts public and parts private. You can choose to share these thoughts or not and connect with others who have similar experiences. Make sure you include the disclaimer we talked about earlier, and always be aware of your web presence just as you would with any social media. Use this type of blogging responsibly and if you need to say something that might not be professional, then I strongly recommend keeping that private.

Blogging for reflective practice is a wonderful way to reach beyond the bounds of your classroom and school and gain techniques, perspectives and support from a wide array of fantastic educators!

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Do you like change? Do you like to try new things? Do you like to do things the way they have always been done? Do you follow your inspirations?

Elizabeth Peterson shares lots of great ideas and resources on The Inspired Classroom blog. Her goal is to inspire you so that you will go and inspire others. Most of the things on her blog are related to Art Integration, and as someone who works in and supports Technology Integration, I find inspiration in many of the things she shares.

Now you may wonder what Art Integration and Technology Integration have in common. Well, both phrases share the word "integration" for starters. Her Art Integration FAQs page does a really good job explaining that "arts integration is a way to incorporate the arts into your already existing curriculum." I think you could very easily substitute technology integration in that same definition.

I enjoy reading and being inspired by lots of things on Elizabeth's blog, but one article in particular has really stood out. On January 13, 2011,

Elizabeth had a blog post called Face Your Fears of Art Integration. In that post, she listed four common fears about art integration that she hears from teachers and her suggestions for overcoming or dealing with those fears. • Fear #1 – I’m not an artist. • Fear #2 – The TEST is what I

need to focus on. • Fear #3 – My administration/

colleagues will think what I’m doing is foolish.

• Fear #4 – I will make mistakes.

—Melissa Edwards, image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamsfamily-summergreens/sets/72157622825131402/detail/

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The more I read and thought about these fears and ways to deal with them, the more I realized that I hear many of the same fears from teachers when considering attempting technology integration. • Fear #1 - But I don't do

Technology ... • Fear #2 - What do we really

need to focus on? • Fear #3 - What if it gets

messy? • Fear #4 - I am afraid to fail

Fear #1 – But I don’t do Technology

I can't count how many times teachers have looked at me and basically said "Technology is not my thing." I can relate to that statement because technology was not really "my thing" in the past either. In fact my husband who is an engineer thinks it is pretty funny that I am so involved with educational technology. Hint: It is the EDUCATIONAL part that makes sense to me. Technology may not be my thing but teaching and doing anything possible to encourage student learning is ...

Although I can relate to the above comment, I don't really understand it. Start small with technology. Come up with an idea or think of a lesson that you want to try in a new way and then just try. You don't suddenly have to flip a switch and go to using "technology" all the time.When I started using technology in my class, I began by making powerpoints to go along with my writing lessons (very teacher-focused, but it was a way to start for me). A few years later my students began responding to blog posts centered

around Problem-based Learning. We (the students and I) got to where we felt pretty good about the blog posts and comments we were writing, so we decided to work together and try out some other technology tools. I remember showing my students how to leave typed comments on a VoiceThread project. I was planning to wait a little while before introducing the audio comment feature.

My students did not know or follow my plan. They saw something that was possible and went for it. I did not want to try that at first since I wasn't exactly sure how to do it. My students and I learned together. They were proud of our creations and showed them off. A few students even showed their parents how to leave comments on those projects.

At one time I was the teacher who wanted to be in control of everything that happened in my classroom. I wanted to know things were going to work before I tried them. I came to realize that I learned more from the things that did not go exactly perfect in my classroom that the things that did (I think students did too). I guess those could be called "teachable moments" or "learning experiences" for the students and the teacher!

There were times in my classroom when I chose to use technology and times when I chose not to use technology depending on what I thought would best support student learning. For me that is what teaching is all about ... doing whatever is needed to help students learn ... even if that means using some technology.

Fear #2.- What do we really need to focus on?

As teachers we know our students are going to be tested, and whether we agree with the testing or not ... it is going to happen. The focus of my classroom was not to train good test takers. The focus of my classroom was promoting student learning and thinking.

When we talked about the test, which was not very often at all, I told the students that it was just another chance for them to show off what they knew and how well they could think.

Teachers need to use various instructional strategies and materials to reach and teach students. There are multiple types of learning and multiple types of instruction. If I need to include Art to teach my students, I am going to. If I need to include Music to reach my students, I am going to. If I need to include hands-on activities to reach my students, I am going to. If I need to play games to reach my students, I am going to. If I need to use technology (even if it scares me), I am going to. As a teacher committed to student learning, I am going to do whatever is needed to engage my students and encourage their learning.

Again, I think this goes back to not using technology just of the sake of using technology ... use technology as a way to promote student learning/thinking ... and student learning/thinking is what matters (and it even shows up on the test).

Fear #3. What if it Gets Messy?

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Learning is a messy process. There are some pieces that fit nicely together, but I think that part of the learning process involves being able to make the connection to make things fit together that don't seem to fit in the first place. Trying to make those connections may appear foolish to others. To have that foolish appearance means you are willing to take chances and not be afraid to fail. Failure is a learning opportunity.

When one sees "failure" as an opportunity to gain something (like knowledge) rather than a losing process, he or she is more willing to try. I think the fear of failure has stood in the way of great ideas and inventions for many people and many teachers. In order to grow and support the growth of others, you have to be willing to take chances. Start small because doing something new or in a new way is not always a bad idea. And even if the idea does fail at first, you will learn something (even if it is just not to do that in the future). You will never know what might be possible until you follow through to see what happens.

That is how I got started with technology. I saw things in my classroom that were not working. I felt many learning opportunities were being missed. I starting searching for ways to make some of that learning possible. I had two old desktops and one laptop in my classroom, so using technology had its challenges. In my mind, the potential learning benefits far outweighed the challenges.

It wasn't until college that I really started using the computer. I remember in college when I asked

someone how to add effects to my powerpoint slides. He took the computer, hit a few buttons, looked at me and said it was done. I wanted him to show me how to do it and not just do it for me. From then on, I really tried to figure things out for myself rather than asking since I could learn better that way. When I used technology tools with students, I gave them a few instructions and then let them figure things out on their own if possible. They were building their own learning (constructivist model). While I was typing this paragraph, I realized the connection between those events (me wanting to learn instead of it being done for me and how technology use was in my classroom).

My way of doing things may have appeared foolish to some, but appearing foolish to other is not necessarily a bad thing, since doing things the same way will not get different results.

Fear #4 - I am afraid to fail

Let me just start off by saying that when you start using technology, YES you will make mistakes. We will just state that fact so nobody has to worry about it anymore.

I have been known as a perfectionist, so knowing that I was going to make a mistake could have stopped me from even trying, but it didn't. I have figured out what to do when I make a mistake ... I make whatever happens seem positive. I adjust the plans and go with the flow (now as someone who liked to have everything well-planned in advanced and things go

according to schedule, this is a major step for me).

Sometimes I hit the wrong button, but hitting the wrong button could make something happen. Nothing may happen when I may try to open a file or project I have attempted to save, but I will either learn how to save those files in the future or come up with a different way to complete that assignment that does not require those files. A little creativity and critical thinking can help me see the positives in most situation.

We learn a lot more by things not going right than perfectly. The changes that are needed for success broadens our learning. It is helpful to remember that when realizing all the new possibilities that may be too overwhelming to even think about trying. If you never attempt to change to do or learn something, you will never know what you might have been able to learn from the success or the potential failure of that attempt.

Don't get me wrong, it is frustrating to make mistakes, but the fear of failure would prevent me from ever feeling the enjoyment of success.

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10 Simple Ways to Integrate Art into the Classroom— Andrea Erins, www.mastersineducation.com

Looking for a way to incorporate art into your teaching curriculum? Here are some easy ideas thatcan be tweaked for almostany subject or age range.

1. Put on a Play – Have your students write a short play about something they’ve just learned – it could be an event in history, a story they’ve read, or even a science concept. They can even design the costumes and set pieces.

This would be a great presentation for a parent’s night, or you could video the play and put it on YouTube (with parents’ permission).

2. Sing and Dance – A great way to get younger students to remember a concept is to get them moving. Have them make up a song with movements related to a newly-learned concept. You may want to use a song they already know, such as “Happy Birthday” or a nursery rhyme song.

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3. Publicity Stunt Students can makebrochures, posters, or even commercials promoting something they’ve learned about. You could break them up into teams to encourage competition (for example, igneous rocks vs. sedimentary, or Patriots vs. Loyalists). Older students may even be familiar with design software like Photoshop.

4. Mini Art Museum – Introduce students to works of art that line up with your curriculum. Many famous scenes from mythology and literature have been portrayed in art, and it’s also a great way to see how people lived at different times in history.

5. Artsy Social Studies – Integrate art, music, or theater history into your social studies lessons. For example, you could listen to some jazz from the 1920s while discussing the Harlem Renaissance, or look at WPA posters as you teach your students about the New Deal.

6. Tessellations – It seems more difficult to think of a way to integrate art into a math lesson, but tessellations are a fun way to do it.

Introduce the tessellations of M.C. Escher and then challenge students to make their own. There are many tutorials about tessellations online to help get you started.

7. Take a Trip – While a trip to the local science or history museum is always valuable, continue taking an art-related trip too! An art museum may have a certain section or special exhibition that goes along perfectly with something you’re learning about. You could also see a play related to your curriculum at a local college and community theatre.

8. Writing Prompt – Use a piece of art, a photograph, or a musical selection as a writing prompt. This lets students’ imaginations run wild and will definitely provide a spectrum of responses.

9. Soundtrack – Have students put together clips of music to illustrate a story, a historical event, or even a scientific cycle and have them explain why they chose each clip. They could also pair the music with a slideshow of photographs, works of art, or abstract images.

10. Collage – This is a wonderful way for students to create art even if they can’t

draw. They can make a collage representing any number of topics, such as a time period in history, the culture or environment of a geographic region, a certain family of animals, or a work of literature. The possibilities are endless.

Andrea Erins has been a college professor for 13 years and likes to write about various topics related to education. She is the owner of the site Get a Masters in Education Degree.

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Web 2.0 Resource Page

Creativity/Innovation

http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/ - Create your own Apps!

http://www.zimmertwins.com/ - Make movies with animation - elementary school

http://www.doink.com/ - Create animations

http://artsonia.com - Create your own works of art and publish to the museum

http://www.littlebirdtales.com - Create story with voice overlay - great for special needs students.

http://www.aviaryeducation.com/ Create music, mixes, visual editor for pics and vectors

http://www.pixton.com/overview#video - Creating comics online with motion

http://www.storyjumper.com/book/create - Create stories with maps, from scratch, or using templates.

http://magicstudio.com - Create interactive presentations

http://storybird.com - Use master artworks to create stories

http://www.glogster.com/ - Pop art posters - be like Andy Warhol

http://www.brainpop.com/educators/home/ - Animated movies for teaching materials and assessing students

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/ - Create flashcards for students or by students

Looking for some new web resources? Maybe you’re looking for some web-based tools to make your teaching easier. Or, maybe you’re looking for some tools to engage your students. Here’s our list of the top websites for Creativity and Innovation in 2011!

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NAEA National Convention

Emerging Perspectives

March 1-3, 2012New York, NY

Make it happen! Join thousands of colleagues from around the world for this epic exploration of visual arts education. Choose from over 1,000 opportunities for professional growth and be inspired by one of the most culturally rich cities in the world. Engage in diverse and dynamic sessions exploring the shared vision of visual arts education through teaching, learning, and research; and apply this knowledge in the classroom immediately. Discover new perspectives with inspiring keynotes, hands on workshops, tours, sessions, and events with visual arts education professionals representing all teaching levels.

Visit http://www.arteducators.org/news/convention/welcome for more information!

ISTE Conference 2012

The ISTE 2012 Exposition is your chance to see, touch, and learn about products and services from more than five hundred top ed tech exhibiting companies in the world! Themed to the NETS, these companies and organizations share ISTE's mission of providing information, service, or tools to help teachers and students expand their horizons in the 21st century.Registration for ISTE 2012 provides you with access to nearly 700 sessions and informal learning environments, exciting keynote presentations, admission to one of the most exciting ed tech expos in the world, and much more.

Not currently an ISTE member? Your full registration to the conference will automatically enroll you as a new ISTE member! Find out more about ISTE membership!

Visit our fees page and keep the important dates handy to take advantage of discounts including the Super Early-Bird rate (by March 31) or the Early-Bird rate (by May 1). Don't forget to secure your housing early via our online reservation system, available after November 2.

Resource Links

Please visit some fantastic resources to help guide and inspire your arts integration movements.

Technology: Figuring Out How the Pieces Fit

http://mwedwardstechnology.blogspot.com/

Teacher Reboot Camp

http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/

Arts Edge

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators.aspx

Arts Education Partnership

http://www.aep-arts.org/resources/integration.htm

Arts Every Day

http://www.artseveryday.org/Educators/detail.aspx?id=212

The Teachers LoungeResources, Links and Upcoming Events for Arts Integration