How to Follow the 2016 NAEA Convention from Home

The NAEA 2016 convention will be taking place this year in Chicago, Illinois from March 17-19. For the past two years, I was unable to attend the annual convention and I sat on the sidelines reading Facebook and twitter posts on all the fun activities I could not attend. This year, the convention is in my home city and I am totally excited to finally attend again!  

For the past few years, I've shared ways for those who could not attend to follow the convention and still have takeaways from your own home.  Even though many are stuck at home, there are still ways to keep up with the national convention.  Thanks to the awesome superpowers of social media, live streaming, and online resources, we can keep up with our professional development the best way we can!  

#1 Twitter

If you follow #NAEA16 on twitter, you can see all the posts from the many art teachers attending the conference.  They will be adding photos, details, and online links to help followers catch a glimpse of what will be happening during the convention and what they have learned from their experiences.  There will even be  "Tweet-Ups," where you can see the fellow tweeters in this year's shirt design of popular landmarks of Chicago!  Can you name them all?

Look out for the following hashtags to view the convention on Twitter or Instagram:

#NAEA16
#ARTSED #PLN
#K12ARTCHAT
#NAEAELEM

#2 Watch for Articles from the Art of Education

The Art of Ed will be in Chicago!  They will be posting articles with the sights and sounds throughout the convention on their site and through social media.  Please visit The Art of Education to view their updates!

#3 Download the NAEA Chicago 2016 App for Your Phone or Tablet

So you can't go to the convention, but did you know that many presenters will have their resources within the app?  In the past few years, I did notice that presentation handouts were available depending on the presentation through the app.  Maybe this year?  Just go ahead and download it from your app store or google play to view what resources are available!

#4 Follow the #NAEA16 Tagboard

NAEA's tagboard is the quickest way to gather all the #NAEA16 tags from different sites.  Just go to https://tagboard.com/naea16 to view all the posts and follow what's happening!

If you're staying home this year and you know other ways to stay involved from the comforts of your computer, let me know how you plan on following the convention!  

#5 Make a Flat "Art Teacher"

When I missed my first convention in San Diego, a dear friend took a "Flat Heidi" around the convention and took pictures with all my friends and colleagues in attendance!  If you have a friend who's attending, but you can't go, consider asking them to take around your "Flat Art Teacher!"  It's like you're there in spirit, and you have great photos for memories!

If you were not able to attend #NAEA16 in Chicago this go-around, we hope to see you in NYC in 2017!