Harnessing Social Media for Educational Significance - The OATK12 Model with Dr. Trina Harlow
Education initially resisted social media as the negative possibilities outweighed the known positives. Today, many educators, art programs, and schools extensively use social media, with some being required to have social media accounts – yet, many are reluctant to harness current social media potential. While the COVID-19 pandemic threatened education, social media may have saved thousands of school art programs across the world, revealing the immense potential of social media in art education. This lecture will discuss efforts of Online Art Teachers (K-12) and implications for future emergency teaching as well as the future of art education.
Merging Art and Tech in the classroom setting with Laura and Matthew Grundler
In today’s classroom educators are working to find balance: the balance between analog and technology, between consuming and creating media, and the balance in their own work, professional learning, and personal lives. Laura and Matt will demonstrate how technology can be used to deepen critical thinking and ideation, improve assessment through documenting and reflecting on process, and build community for all stakeholders. We will be discussing the power of technology in an art room to help extend learning and push creativity, alongside the essential need to unplug.
Dr. Trina Harlow is the founder of the art education service project organization called Online Art Teachers (K-12). The international organization is comprised of 28,000 members who have worked together sharing curriculum resources and providing technological assistance for each other. Dr. Harlow has lectured around the country on the efforts of Online Art Teachers (K-12).
Dr. Harlow is the recipient of the National Art Education Association Gilbert A. Clark and Enid Zimmerman Leadership Advocacy Award. She was also the recipient of the NAEA Western Region Higher Education Educator of the Year Award for 2021 and the NAEA Education Technology Group’s Community Service Award. Dr. Harlow has been an art educator for more than 28 years and she currently teaches graduate art education courses as adjunct faculty in the Department of Art Education in the College of Visual Art and Design at the University of North Texas. Dr. Harlow is the Higher-Education Director-Elect for the National Board of Directors of the National Art Education Association. She is editor and author of Journey to Refuge: Understanding Refugees, Exploring Trauma, and Best Practices for Newcomers and Schools and co-director of the documentary Refuge in the Heartland – both the book and the film are resources for teaching students with asylum or refugee students. Dr. Harlow is a fiber artist, painter, and her research interests include social emotional learning, storytelling, and biography driven instruction in art education. She is dedicated to teaching and preparing future art educators as an important contribution to society.
As creative collaborators and arts advocates, Laura and Matt Grundler strive to help connect the dots for educators by building a professional learning network infused with art. They understand the power of creativity to transform learning and work to empower educators to leverage this power. The Grundlers are art educators from Plano, Texas. They are also proud parents, bloggers, and founders of the popular Twitter Chat #K12ArtChat and “The Creativity Department” podcast. After teaching middle school and high school art, Laura received an MA in Educational Leadership and worked as an assistant principal before moving into the role of district Visual Arts Coordinator. Matt started as a graphic designer; however, after finding the commercial side of design to be unsatisfying, he soon found his niche as a K-5 Art teacher and now teaches middle school art.
Both Laura and Matt are passionate about raising their three creative kids, sharing their love of art education with their professional learning network, and continuing to grow every day. Their school district has recognized their work. It has been featured in the local press and honored by Texas Art Education Association with the 2nd ever Lone Star Advocacy Award for their commitment to arts education. They have also been recognized by the National Arts Education Association with the Art and Technology Community Service Award. Laura and Matt consulted with and wrote for the Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM, Scholastic Arts Magazine, Adobe Edu, and Davis Arts. Their latest project is K12ArtChat, the Podcast in partnership with Davis Publication and School Arts magazine. The Grundlers have a passion for working with creative educators, consulting and presenting about creativity, arts education, and STEAM locally in Texas and throughout the United States.