I started using Artsonia three years ago and have never looked back. In one word, the site is "AMAZING."

So, why I think Artsonia is amazing?

1. Students get to have their artwork published to a global audience. They feel proud of themselves and their work when this happens. A huge part of my philosophy as an art educator is to help increase student's self-esteem. Artsonia lets me show off their artwork to the entire world! It doesn't get much bigger than that.

2. Their work is saved FOREVER on this site. They will be able to look back at it years from now and remember what they created in middle school. I wish we had this technology back when I was their age. All I have is a folder that is falling apart with a handful of pieces in it.

3. Once a parent registers with the site, they receive an e-mail every time their child has a new piece of art that has been published. As a teacher, I don't have to remind parents about checking in with the site.
4. Parents can stay engaged with what their child is making in art class as it happens. I usually don't send home actual artwork until the end of the semester. Some children never bring it home as it gets left in their locker or even "lost" on the way home. Through Artsonia, parents can view all of their child's work for the year as it is being created

5. Additional e-mails can be added as part of a students "fan club." This allows grandparents, aunts, uncles and other far away family members/friends to see the amazing artwork students create. The more family and friends see a child's artwork, the more encouraging comments they receive. When this happens, my student's self-confidence increases and they become even more interested in art! It’s a win for everyone.

6. Parents can purchase products with their child’s artwork on them with 20% going directly back to the art room. No other website that I know of like this will automatically generate funds for your program directly. You can get a check made out to your school, a gift certificate to Blick Art or Artsonia and new this year is a fund for iPads!

7. It makes your program very visible to not only parents but also administrators and community members.


I know that most of us in the field of education have very little free time. It’s hard to think of adding another task to our to do list. However, I can't say enough about Artsonia!  Once you get into the routine of taking photos of students work and uploading them it goes quick.  You can check out the Coolidge Artsonia gallery here.

So, why do you love Artsonia?

Photography in the middle school setting can be tough in terms of logistics.  What can students take photos of around the school when all of the other students are in classes that can't be disturbed and we live in New England where the weather is not always conducive for going outside?  One answer that has produced pretty interesting results is a photography scavenger hunt!  The scavenger hunt list could revolve around any type of theme or be a random list of ideas.  As a teacher I like that it promotes creativity as I don't see photos of the same things over and over again.  Students also seem to like the challenge of checking each item off the lists.

My students recently did a scavenger hunt with photos that showed off their interests and personality.  Here is the list we used: 1.     Your name in a creative way.
2.     Capture your reflection in an unusual way.
3.     Spell a word that is meaningful to you with objects or people on the ground.
4.     Something with your favorite color.
5.     Something you are wearing or have on you.
6.     An object that is interesting up close.
7.     Something fun or funny to you.
8.     Something you couldn’t live without.
9.     You favorite thing about school/being at Coolidge.
10.   Something that shows off one of your interests.

Students then used Animoto to produce a video showcasing their photos.  We had a video day where we watched them all on the SMARTboard and had some food to go along with it!  Overall it was a very fun project!

I'm very behind on posting to my blog, but wanted to share some photos that my 7th grade students took a few weeks back.  For the first photography assignment I had students try to find hidden letters of the alphabet around the school.  This was a project that I did in my Intro to Photography course at Syracuse University many years back.  Since the assignment is still memorable to me all these years later, I thought my students might also enjoy it.  You can also buy custom gifts using photo letters at sites like this.
To begin the project, I have them watch the commercial below.  We discuss how the images are interesting because they make you look at everyday objects in a different way.  This ties well into introducting students to be creative with both their subject matter and how they take their photography shots.

Students worked in groups of 2-3 with one camera.  Their goal was to walk around the school looking for hidden letters in their everyday environment.  While it was mostly an exercise in being creative with their photography, I did also encourage them think about their composition and perspective of each shot.

Here are some of their letters!