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Saturday, April 25, 2015

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






Connect with other Pinners 

Stay up on current trends 

Parents are there


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.


Follow me on Twitter @MComp_OliveART and Instagram @GWDES_ArtsOriginal Post April 25, 2015 To See the original blog post on Art Classroom Experience to Like, Comment, and Share



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