AOE Summer 2015 Online Conference Recap

 
Another conference is in the books! On Thursday, July 16th, the live event of the AOE 2015 Online Conference took place, with nearly ~2,000 art teachers registered! It was an honor to work with so many talented and innovative presenters and companies to put together this one-of-a-kind event for art teachers!
 

If you attended, or if you missed it, you can catch up on some of highlights in this recap.

Location is Irrelevant – Inspiration is High

 
The great thing about an online conference is your location is irrelevant! If you have a busy day, a child to care for, or happen to be on vacation, you can still squeeze in some PD. Many teachers told us this is SUCH a fun way to learn and interact without leaving home.
 
Here are some of the interesting locations of the attendees and the photos to prove it!
 

 

• PD by the pool. What could be better?! -Rachel
• Just got off the lake, watching and chatting in my sweats! Love it! -Molly
• 5am in Hawaii…Coffee, sleepy puppies, a million pens and Prof Dev in my PJ’s. Yes please! -Jennifer
• It’s about 7pm and this is my first AOE conference from Germany. -Jacquelyn
• Enjoying a ridiculously relevant conference while sitting on my back porch! -Kari
• Watching lakeside in Maine! -Elke
• My kids connected my laptop to a TV screen, so I’m comfortably laying on my bed and enjoying the wonderful presentations from Costa Rica. – Patricia
• 36° C degree outside, I’m waiting with an Italian coffee! -Miriam Paternoster

Conference Companions at their Best

 
Online conference attendees don’t conference alone! There were many companions cheering on these motivated art teachers who were taking control of their learning even on summer break! Because everything is more fun when shared with a friend!
 

 

• I got up for break and came back to this – even my pup is enjoying the day! -Kerry

• Enjoying the conference from home with my baby girl in the woods of East Texas near Huntsville. I’m getting great ideas for my 3rd year as the “mighty art department of 1 teacher” at tiny New Waverly High School. I love traditional conferences too but with a newborn and being a first time momma, finding online workshops and other opportunities was key this summer 🙂 – Leslie
• I’m at my house looking out the window and enjoying my granddaughter while watching my conference. -Denise
• Kitty in the window, dog on the ground and husband working from home next to me! The family is all together and I am learning so much at the AOE online conf. -Heather

Art Teachers Layer While they Learn!

 
In my presentation on productivity, I talked bout the idea of “Layering” –completing two tasks at once that don’t conflict cognitively with each other. Art teachers are good at layering! Many were learning and layering the entire conference by creating art, getting household tasks and projects done, and sometimes relaxing, too, all while getting in some PD hours!
 

More painting while listening to #aoeconference but may need to break soon for food. pic.twitter.com/VQ7e1MKKGQ

— Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) July 16, 2015

@jessicabalsley My wife was layering during the #AOECONFERENCE today. She is teaching herself to sew small bags 🙂 pic.twitter.com/34QWW0WMG7 — Mr. Post (@UCSArtTeacher) July 16, 2015

Learning, Notes and BIG Takeaways!

 
Of course, teachers come to a conference to learn something new. SO much information was jam packed into each of the 10 minute, TED Talk-style presentations.
 

 
Teachers were taking notes like crazy to review in the upcoming year. The After Pass allows teachers to view everything for up to 6 months, so re-watching any presentation is no big deal.
 

 
Here are some of the favorite highlights from the presentations from attendees:
 

SWAG-Tastic: Art Teachers Share Their Favorite SWAG!

 
The first 1500 participants received a SWAG box in the mail. This was arguably our BEST box yet, featuring over 10 products from companies in Art Education. The box included a full length DVD from Crystal, a complete project kit from Blick, a full tissue paper package from Pacon, a Gelli Printing plate from Gelli Arts, Gel Stick and Oil Pastel samples from Faber Castell, Art History goodies from Teacher’s Discovery, a coaster from Square 1 Art, A sketchbook from the Educational Sketchbook Program, a coil bracelet kit from Twisteez Wire, a mousepad from Art to Remember, Artist Trading Cards from Strathmore and Blick, a Magazine Sample from Arts and Activities and a sample from Sticky Putty!
 

 
Here are some reactions from both the SWAG box and the Digital Swag package, which contained tons of discounts for all attendees.  
 

Coming home to this box from @theartofed eased the pain of returning from vacation! #aoeconference pic.twitter.com/AUrUKoYsuz — Kathleen Cigich (@BVSDVisualArts) July 12, 2015

AOE summer 2015 conference swag box arrived! #aoeconference @theartofed pic.twitter.com/3QvSDG7T6f — Shelly Hardin (@ShellyMedlock) July 11, 2015

Tissue paper staining on #TERPart #K12ArtChallenge while watching #aoeconference Spectra tissue #swag pic.twitter.com/6hom7jtgM3 — Tery Castrogiovanni (@TeryArtTeacher) July 16, 2015

I’m so excited to play around with my adorable little @GelliArts plate from the #aoeconference – thanks! #artteachers #artsed #printmaking — Julia Forsyth (@wowartproject) July 16, 2015

• Thoroughly enjoying this PD. Loved my SWAG! Looking forward to reviewing several videos later as well, as some of them have such excellent tips and techniques I want to see them twice. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXISTING, ART of ED! – Paula Jean
• My box showed up 20 minutes before the conference started!! Timing is EVERYTHING!! -Linda M.
• Shannon Bass Kerscher Each conference keeps getting better!!!! Hard to pick just one. My son was all ears for all the raffles. He would shush us and then “oh man!” With dramatic flair when I didn’t win. -Shannon

Hands On with Blick’s Start with a Circle!

 
Julie from Blick encouraged everyone to ‘play along’ with her presentation entitled “Start with a Circle: Geometric Art.” The first 1500 participants had all the supplies needed to get started.
 

 
By the end of the conference, there were some pretty great products being produced!
 
Here are some of our favorites spontaneous pieces of circle art:
 

 

Creativity Chat with Cindy Foley

 
The featured presenter of the conference was Cindy Foley. She talked about the importance of defining creativity and being the leader and champion for creativity in your own school and community.
 

 
Known for her popular TED talk, she elaborated on this topic just for art educators at the conference. The discussion was lively!
 
Here are some quotes from Cindy, and below, what attendees were saying about her keynote after.
 

 

• Art Skill does not equal Creativity! Great statement to spread for student confidence! -Dawn
• Hate when other educators tell me that Art is Fun and that is why kids like it. We are not about just fun -Kim
• Thinking can be viewed through 4 lenses: Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration. (Paul Torrance) Make these words transparent to students, as they become aware of how they are thinking they will be able to articulate the importance between generating many ideas and elaborating on other good ideas. -Cindy Foley

Empowered Art Teachers: UNITE!

 
This day was about YOU, the attendee. It’s about taking yourself seriously, knowing what you want, and going after it. This day was about growing professionally on summer day not because you have to, but because you want to. We are the modern art education generation! The possibilities are endless.
From all of us on the AOE Team, our technology crew and customer support team who worked behind the scenes for months to prepare for this event, the presenters, and all of the partners who helped make this conference possible – thank you!
 
Who ever thought 10 years ago we would be learning this way? It’s so motivating to know we have more options when it comes to our PD. AOE is excited to be one small part of this powerful movement.
 
See you at the next one!