During the fall semester of 2020, I joined the Virginia Art Education Association (VAEA) and the National Art Education Association (NAEA). Each year, the VAEA puts on a big conference where art teachers all around the state sign up to do presentations and workshops for other members of the VAEA. However, the 2020 conference had to be virtual, due to the pandemic. It was held November 13-15, and again the next weekend, the 20-22.
I signed up for 17 sessions over the course of the six days that the conference went on. Being virtual, there was a big spreadsheet with the Zoom links for each conference session. I referred to my document with my schedule, then used the links from the spreadsheet to join the meetings.
The conference was full of exciting topics and speakers. I attended sessions where teachers spoke about their favorite lesson plans, others about art in the community, and still others about the standards in schools. Each one was interesting and informative. I took notes on them all, so they can be beneficial to me for years to come.
The most interesting session I joined was about eMediaVA, an online database with tons of teaching resources. The source holds documents, videos, lesson plans, and images that are all based on Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOLs). This resource allows you to search for content based on the SOLs, so you can create lesson plans with the proper standards. The site also allows you to save the content and materials, creating units for your future teaching.
This conference, while being virtual, was a great opportunity for professional development. No matter if you are still in college or if you have been teaching for 30 years, this conference is a great way to keep up to date on new and traditional teaching practices, what works and what does not, and how to collaborate with others.