Professional Development #Crush

February 12: Professional Development #Crush

I have to say online conferences are my #Crush for professional development this year.  Why?? They are so accessible.  This year as a school we did not receive any new funds for teacher professional development. I energize with professional development.  Meeting with others and talking about my passion of education and even more... my passion of Art... feeds me.  I have been able to attend the past 3 National Art Education conferences and they were all life changing.  This year, as it's in New York and I will tell you, I'm going to be so sad to be here as the rest of you celebrate Art Education together in the Big Apple. 

One place that I know I can find connections and afford it is online.  I have been honored to be a part of Art Ed Now for several conferences in the past.  It's such a great way to connect with teachers and become reenergized for class.  Another great conference that I recently 'attended' is the STEAM Conference by Education Closet.  I was not able to be part of the life streaming of the STEAM conference but the great thing about these online conferences is you have them on demand after the fact.  I will be setting aside some time to watch the amazing line-up of educators for the STEAM conference in the next couple of weeks.

This weekend is the Art Ed Now conference and I will be joining life.  Online conferences are best when they are experienced live. There is an explosion of online connection.  People post their sketch notes and pose questions that can be answered in real time.  In a way, it's almost more personal because you can 'talk' to the presenter as they are sharing their information and you have direct connection to them after the fact as well. So this year, my PD #Crush is online conferences.