Social media as a tool for arts teachers

WeAreTeachers blogger Hannah Hudson offers ideas for using online communities like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to spark classroom conversations about the nature of art and its audience, as well as inspiring students in their own creative projects. For example,

Invite students to respond to social media in a creative way.

At its essence, social media is about conversation: “Here’s what I think—how about you?” Other people’s Facebook posts, YouTube videos and blog entries can often stir a deep emotional or intellectual response.

Try challenging your students to choose a post, video or pin as inspiration for their own works of art, whether it’s a drawing, piece of writing, graphic or short film. You might encourage students to share their responses on a different social media platform than the original posts with the goal to broaden the conversations and their reach.

You can read her full post, The Teacher Report: 5 Ways Social Media Can Inspire Young Artists, at The WeAreTeachers Blog.

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WeAreTeachers was founded in 2007 by Sandy Fivecoat, a former teacher, administrator, researcher, policy director and executive coach. She felt that teachers know their own students’ needs and challenges best, so she wanted to put money directly into educators’ hands, resulting in a community-based grant program. Fivecoat also saw a need for a one-stop destination where educators could find resources, and that’s what WeAreTeachers aims to be today. WeAreTeachers offers lesson plan ideas, expert strategies, professional development resources and opportunities for educators to win cash and prizes for their innovative teaching strategies.