Share Fair 2019

The rain did not damper the enthusiasm of the presenters and attendees at the fifth annual Share Fair on February 20!  Special thanks to both for not only braving the bad weather, but for their willingness to volunteer time after a long school day to learn and share their knowledge. As usual, we had educators outside of our district come to visit, and that is always a source of pride for us to provide sessions worthy of the trip.

And now, be prepared for a repetition of the word "first."  While we have had principals, teachers and even students present in the past, we now have had our first classified employee co-lead a Share Fair session. This is Seth Reinhart's first year as a building tech at Martha Layne Collins High School, and he's already made news for launching a student e-Sports team (the first of its kind in Shelby County) and coaching them into championship play from the get-go.   Seth was instrumental in helping Collins art teacher Matt Cockrell connect via Twitch for "art throwdowns" with classrooms as far away as Oregon and Cambridge, Ontario.  (Speaking of getting your name in the paper, Matt's efforts made international news recently in several places, including at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation!)  That's what I love about the Share Fair -- it's a place where you can hear stories on how technology and new pedagogical strategies can truly transform teaching, and it showcases how ALL of our Shelby staff and students can be leaders.

Matt Cockrell and Seth Reinhart (l. to r.) checking their archived Twitch video as they wait for Share Fair to start.

This also marked the first year for the new Share Fair website.  Even if you couldn't come, be sure to check out the session descriptions and email the presenters for more information; for now, that Doc is still on the Event Page before it will eventually move to the Archive Page.   Check out the Multimedia page which is updated with new pictures from this year's Share Fair.   And of course, you can still catch up on (and add to!) the social media conversation by following #SCsharefair.

In closing, I was flattered recently when a Kentucky district reached out to me, interested in potentially holding their own Share Fair later this year.   If any district or school is curious in doing the same, please reach out.  I would love to answer questions and share helpful resources.