Share Fair 2022

 After a year off because of COVID-19, Share Fair came back!

Last weekend, we held Share Fair 2022 and had several firsts, which included ending with a "campfire reflection" (attendees sharing takeaways and gratitudes for what they experienced that day) and door prizes donated by DreamBox Learning and Sixth and Main Coffeehouse.  But the most important "first" was a keynote presentation panel of Shelby County students that I moderated around the theme of "My Shelby County Personalized Learning Story."  I really have to thank Kerrigan Aldridge, Bryce Applegate, and Regan Ross for their poise, insights, and demonstrating such effective communication!

Last but not least, thanks to all who attended or presented on a Saturday morning.  If the comments during the campfire reflection was any indication, the Share Fair was worthwhile.

As I've done previously, I've documented the event via Wakelet, linked directly here as well as embedded below.

Share Fair 2022 Tickets Now Available!

Our seventh annual Share Fair (#SCsharefair) will be on SATURDAY, February 26, 2022!  (Nope, Saturday is not a typo.) This FREE professional development conference, which is also open to educators outside of Shelby County, will have sessions on edtech as well as competency-based education successes and strategies.

Not familiar with Share Fair, or how it is a unique opportunity to learn and grow?  The Share Fair website  is chock full of resources.   Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (recommended for first-timers in order to understand the conference structure), Multimedia (pictures and video from previous Share Fairs), and an Archive for press clippings and past presenters/sessions.  In order to register for your free tickets, check out the site's Event page. 


We have a few "firsts" to celebrate!

• The Share Fair will be on a Saturday morning.  We are hoping this gives attendees an easier time to come instead of at the end of a school day as we've had it in years past.  (Plus, friends in districts who have to drive a little further have a better opportunity to attend.)
• We will be having some door prizes for those that stay to the end!

Our sessions span multiple contents and include presenters from elementary, middle and high school. For a complete list of sessions and presenters, go to the Share Fair site's Event page or click here; this will be added to and revised as we get closer to February 26.

Mark your calendars, get your tickets, and I will see you in there in February!

Share Fair 2020

Our sixth annual Share Fair is now in the rearview mirror.  Thanks to our teachers, students, librarians and building tech who led fantastic presentations!

While I must give special thanks to all of our attendees, I feel it necessary to point out a group of educators who likely win the contest for "longest distance traveled to come to Share Fair."  Principal Shannon Treece and her team from Babcock Neighborhood School traveled a thousand miles from Babcock Ranch, Florida in order to attend our sessions.  (Well...in full disclosure, they also visited several Shelby schools earlier in the day!)  Not only did they appreciate what our presenters discussed, but they were also so inspired by the Share Fair format that they have already started work on hosting a Share Fair of their own this fall.  It is beyond flattering to think that the first (known!) Share Fair outside of Kentucky will soon be happening.

Speaking of firsts: This year, I used Wakelet for the first time to create a Collection for Share Fair 2020, capturing the story of the event -- in particular, the #SCsharefair tweets.  It is embedded below or available directly here.

Thanks again, and we can't wait to see you next school year!

Share Fair 2020 Tickets Now Available!

Our sixth annual Share Fair (#SCsharefair) will be on Thursday, February 20, 2020!  This FREE professional development, open to educators outside of Shelby County, will have sessions on edtech as well as competency-based education successes and strategies.

Last year, I launched a new website for Share Fair that is chock full of resources.   The site has pages for Frequently Asked Questions (recommended for first-timers in order to understand the conference structure), Multimedia (pictures and video from previous Share Fairs), and an Archive for press clippings and past presenters/sessions.  In order to register for your free tickets, check out the site's Event page. 

We have some "firsts" to celebrate!

• Gi Boylan is our building tech at Heritage Elementary who will be discussing robots and coding.  While this is the second time we've had a building tech present at Share Fair, this is the first time a tech is leading a session alone!
• We have not just one, but TWO sessions with students presenting!  Rachel Kinsey and her Marnel C. Moorman K-8 students will talk about how they are using single-point rubrics to self-assess their competencies.  Kelly Hudson will be facilitating some East Middle students, discussing how Empower and their advisory schedule structure is helping them become self-advocates for their learning. 
• And speaking of Empower . . . we have a Physical Education teacher presenting for the first time!  Billy Smith from West Middle will discuss how he's using Empower to provide feedback to students on their mastery of P.E. and health standards.

Our sessions span multiple contents and include presenters from elementary, middle and high school. For a complete list of sessions and presenters, go to the Share Fair site's Event page or click here.

Mark your calendars, get your tickets, and see you in there in February!

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.

Share Fair 2019 Tickets Now Available!

Our fifth annual Share Fair (#SCsharefair) will be on February 20, 2019!  This FREE professional development, open to educators outside of Shelby County, will have sessions on edtech as well as competency-based education successes and strategies. 

To celebrate five years, I have launched a new website here.   The site has pages for Frequently Asked Questions (recommended for first-timers in order to understand the conference structure), Multimedia (pictures and video from previous Share Fairs), and an Archive for press clippings and past presenters/sessions.  In order to register for your free tickets, check out the site's Event page.  The Event page also has our upcoming presenters and session descriptions.

Mark your calendars, get your tickets, and see you in there in February!

Edtech Share Fair 2018

The fourth annual Edtech Share Fair (#SCsharefair) is in the books!  THANK YOU to all the attendees and presenters who volunteered valuable time to become learning partners.  Interestingly, while it was not the highest number of tickets "sold" compared to past Share Fairs, this year had the highest amount of people actually show up.  And what a great mix!  Not only did educators register from eight school districts outside of our own, but we also had more than a dozen future educators attend -- both college students as well as from our own Shelby high school student teacher pathway.

This was the first year we added an additional PD strand for Competency-Based Education, and those sessions were as full as our edtech ones.  Food for thought on how we will organize in 2019.

A few months ago, I received a sad notice that Storify is shuttering by the end of this school year.  So while I'll skip making a Storify for this year, I'll still share a sampling of our social media tweets below.   If you want to revisit information about this year's presenters, the Share Fair FAQ, and more, be sure to visit the event Smore.

Last year, STUDENTS presented for the first time at #SCsharefair. Hear @EastMSMissiles Ss share WHY you should come on February 21! FREE tix! (Thanks to @MsRachelKinsey for recording the video!) https://t.co/JTB50hdrTZ #kygodigital #kyedchat #kylchat #INeLearn #SCthinksbigger pic.twitter.com/RqsIzvRrd4

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) February 7, 2018

The #SCShareFair in @shelbycountysch is about to kick off! House is packing as we speak! pic.twitter.com/9C3a6J6duD

— John Leeper (@JohnR_Leeper) February 21, 2018

EdTech Share Fair #SCShareFair Edrising students attend PD with teachers& college education students. What an exciting exchange of knowledge and new connections #SCPSThinksBigger @shelbycountysch pic.twitter.com/cD0iu3RaKs

— scpseducatorsrising (@scpsedrising) February 21, 2018

#SCsharefair Kickoff!!@watsonedtech opens the Edtech Share Fair @#SCthinksbigger pic.twitter.com/wHBs6rl11D

— Lora Shields, NBCT (@loratshields) February 21, 2018

Learning more about using Hyperdocs with elementary students with Matt and Lynn! #scsharefair Matt Arledge pic.twitter.com/u8rCm5sYF1

— Angie White (@AmpEdUpToday) February 21, 2018

Students at @EastMSMissiles (along with Adam Floyd and @MsRachelKinsey) use small group presentations to discuss edtech tools that help with their learning. #SCsharefair pic.twitter.com/ROaDnX6GLs

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) February 22, 2018

The fourth annual Edtech Share Fair is now in the history books! THANK YOU to all that presented and attended. #SCShareFair #SCthinksbigger

A post shared by Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) on Feb 21, 2018 at 7:51pm PST

Today’s #edtech #scsharefair found teacher leaders from across @shelbycountysch leading PD that can immediately impact student learning. Special thanks to @watsonedtech and @shields.lora for their work in coordinating this event (4 Years in a Row)! We had guests from Bullitt, Oldham, and Henry as well as U of L, Midway University and Educators Rising! #scthinksbigger

A post shared by Shelby Co. (KY) Schools (@shelbycountysch) on Feb 21, 2018 at 7:58pm PST

Thanks to Adam, AKA @watsonedtech, for putting together the 4th annual #SCsharefair @shelbycountysch. pic.twitter.com/RvegGGmFRw

— Zachary Ramsey (@EducatorRamsey) February 21, 2018

Thanks again for making the Share Fair so memorable and successful!

Edtech Share Fair 2018 tickets now available!

Happy New Year 2018!  Although I (barely!) blogged more in 2017 than 2016, the number of entries was still lower than I had hoped it would be.  Chalk it up to busy work days and priorities.  One of my New Year resolutions is to at least average two entries a month for 2018 and get closer to the amount of blogging published when I first began Edtech Elixirs.

That aside, today's short blog entry is for promoting the fourth annual Edtech Share Fair on February 21, 2018! There are several firsts this year: the most sessions total (16), principals leading sessions for the first time, and more.   However, the most significant is adding a second strand of sessions concentrating on competency based education (CBE).  As a district, we are transitioning into just such a system, and we'd love to share what we've learned and accomplished so far.

You can read more about our presenters, their sessions, and more Share Fair information here or in the embedded Smore flyer below.     Tickets are FREE and we enthusiastically welcome educators from outside our district to attend.  The link for tickets is in the Smore, or you can go directly to our Eventbrite page here.

Hope to see you in February!

Edtech Share Fair 2017

The third annual Edtech Share Fair is now in the books!  I sincerely thank all of the attendees and presenters who make the event what it is: a collaborative opportunity to share and learn about edtech tools.

I was able to successfully record Facebook Live videos of two presentations: Google Keep (Dan Edelen) and Bee Bots (Penny Bland).  Check out my Edtech Elixirs Facebook Page to view them.

As in the past, I've done a Storify to capture the social media posts from the event, embedded below.

See you next year!

Post-KySTE 2017 Reflection and Upcoming PD Opportunities

Last week was the biggest edtech annual conference in our region, KySTE 2017.  I presented on the SAMR model as well as game-based learning, and participated in the demo slam.  But I wasn't the only Shelby County staff member to attend and present!

• Sloan Burroughs presented on how her students videotape and share their ukelele performances through a Schoology Group.
• James Wampler discussed various strategies for using tech to engage with students.
• Caytie Burgin talked about being an instructor via Shelby County's Virtual Learning Academy.

While my own presentations created scheduling conflicts and I couldn't see everyone, I know from others and from Twitter that they did great:  

Proud of the great representation Shelby County showed at the @kystetech conference. pic.twitter.com/jNwCmRsFSN

— Shelby Co Schools Ky (@shelbycountysch) March 10, 2017

Here with Sloan Burroughs learning about Ukelele (Super) Heroes, utilizing @Schoology and YouTube! #kyste17 pic.twitter.com/u3wbERTBwe

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) March 9, 2017

Best 🏆 #KySTE17 presentation with Mr Wampler

— P.Forbes (@PForbes81) March 10, 2017

One example of an attendee coming back and being a leader in her building is Amy Frederick-Cooper, a science teacher at East Middle School.  During yesterday's faculty's learning time, Amy used a tool she just discovered, Classkick, to share some edtech tools she discovered at KySTE.  It was a wonderful "meta" and inquiry-based way for her fellow teachers to explore edtech and gain from her experience.

Here learning w/@EastMSMissiles faculty. @amyfredcoop is sharing what she learned from #KySTE17. In love now with @Classkick! #shelbyedchat

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) March 14, 2017

It was, as always, great to talk at KySTE with my non-Shelby colleagues that I unfortunately see much more often in Twitter chats and Google Hangout rather than in person.  And . . . as always . . . I brought home intriguing and useful tidbits, tools, strategies and information.

*****

The Edtech Share Fair is rapidly approaching next week on Wednesday, March 22!  If you haven't gotten your FREE tickets, be sure to visit our Eventbrite site to get yours.   More information on the Share Fair and its presenters below.  Remember, the event is open to Shelby parents and community members, as well as educators outside our district.

*****

Last, but not least, I have previously tweeted about Innovations for Learning, another great local learning conference in Lexington I have attended and presented at for the last few years.  It's free and open to all.  The conference itself is on June 1, and registration will begin next month for those who want to attend; however, the window is currently open for presentation proposals.   I highly encourage both my Shelby peeps and other readers of my blog to consider submitting your presentation ideas.   The deadline is April 18.

Looking for inspiring sessions for the IFL Conference. Apply now! https://t.co/MhvAAUYzQm. #KySTE17 @ItsAboutKidsFC pic.twitter.com/NFd5qsb565

— FCPS Inst Tech (@fcpsoit) March 10, 2017

Free Tickets for Edtech Share Fair 2017!

Our third annual Edtech Share Fair is fast approaching!  Mark your calendar now for March 22, 2017, from 4:15 to 5:45 on the Southside Elementary campus.  Tickets are FREE but you do need to order them via our Eventbrite page.  We enthusiastically welcome educators outside of the Shelby school district to come.  In fact, we also welcome parents and other community members to see the innovative tools that students are integrating into their learning.

We may also have some Facebook postings on the Share Fair courtesy of my new Edtech Elixirs Facebook page.  (Hint, hint.  Follow and Like, my FB Friends.  End of hinting.)

Since our first Share Fair in 2015, the event has steadily grown and expanded. We have a few highlights to celebrate this year:

• We have our first student-led panel discussing a web-based math learning tool, facilitated by East Middle School's Rachel Kinsey.
• We have two library media specialists presenting!  (We had one present in 2015 and none last year.)

Already a third of the tickets are gone, so hurry and reserve yours today!

Here is our Smore flyer for the event:

And here is a widget where you can order the tickets directly:

Powered by Eventbrite

Be sure to tweet and let others know you are coming by using the hashtag #SCShareFair!

Edtech Share Fair 2016

Last Wednesday, we had our second annual Edtech Share Fair.  In terms of sheer numbers, we were successful: nearly double the presenters and attendees.  We also had a large contingent of people outside of our district visit; educators from six different districts got tickets, and we even had a U of L professor bring his entire class of students!

Ashley Sutter from our local newspaper the Sentinel News did a story on the Share Fair, which you can read here.

Last but not least, I did a Storify which contains a select sample of the tweets using hashtag #SCsharefair:

Special thanks to all of our presenters and helpers, as well as all those that attended!

Edtech Share Fair 2016 Tickets on Sale!

Just a short post to announce that the FREE tickets to our second annual Edtech Share Fair are available now!  (You can read about Edtech Share Fair 2015 here.) The event is Wednesday, March 23, 4:00 to 5:30 pm EST, and is open to educators both inside and outside of our district.  The Edtech Share Fair will be held at Southside Elementary; we will start in the campus's Blair Center and move into the school itself for the presentations.

More information on the Smore flyer below.  To order tickets, you can go directly to the event's Eventbrite page.

Mark your calendar and we'll see you there!

Edtech Share Fair 2015

There are two things I can say about March.  One is that it has been extremely busy...KySTE and the snowmaggedon.....ASCD in Houston....and last but not least, our first ever Edtech Share Fair.   The second thing I can say about March is that I have way too many "Post-.... Wrapup" entries.  So just to be contrary, I'm just calling this one "Edtech Share Fair 2015."  I know, I know.....the educational world is trembling at my non-conformity.

The Share Fair story lends itself well to pictures and tweets; more on that in a moment.  I will say how extremely pleased I was at the turnout (over 50 attendees, including visitors from Henry and Nelson County!), the modern facility (the newly christened Blair Center next to Southside Elementary) and of course, the presenters themselves.  All nine deserve acclaim, so I'll list them now: Makenzi Hunter, Mindi Keiner-Rummel, Maddie Meyer, Adam Hicks, Lindsay Ricke, Karen Falkenstine, James Wampler, Bart Roettger, and Eric Miracle.  (Congrats also to Adam Hicks and Lindsay Ricke for just being named Teachers of the Year at their schools!)  We were also fortunate enough to get written up in our local newspaper, The Sentinel News. The article by Ashley Wilkins is here.

From the website.  Grab a copy on the newsstand today!

I run the risk of sounding like an Oscar speech, but I want to publicly thank several people that made the Edtech Share Fair a success.  I was blessed with the support of our superintendent James Neihof and deputy superintendent Lisa Smith, who encouraged me to run with the idea and think as big as possible.  Our CIO Tommy Hurt and his IT team made sure the tech was in place to ooh and ahhh the crowd.  Our staff developer Lora Shields helped out behind the scenes and at our Share Fair check-in desk, making sure everything went smooth.  Our Instructional Coaches worked tirelessly these last few months, from getting teachers to put in a presentation proposals to getting attendees to the event; in particular, a huge shoutout to Fox DeMoisey, Maggie Terry, and Robyn Marcum for being part of our Share Fair committee who sifted through proposals, gave good advice, and were there to help as the event was running.   Last but not least, thank you to anyone that came. Without an audience, the presenters would have had a looooong afternoon staring at each other.  I truly hoped you had good takeaways!

And now the promised tweets and pictures!  I put together a Storify that captures the event well.

Did you go to the Share Fair?  Feel free to leave your Comments about the event below.

KySTE and our first Edtech Share Fair!

As I desperately try to thaw out, I look ahead to March, which will bring warmer weather and some busy times with it.  Today I want to highlight two events that happen next month, KySTE's spring regional edtech conference and our inaugural Shelby County Edtech Share Fair.

(Quick side note:  both of these events are on Watson's World under the "District PD Opportunities" page.  I update this page periodically.  Here's a link.)

KySTE

KySTE is the local regional chapter of ISTE.   Every spring at the Galt House in downtown Louisville, KySTE hosts the largest Kentuckiana edtech conference of the year.  I have had the privilege of attending as well as presenting at the conference several times.

This year's March 4-6 conference theme is "Welcome to the Future."  I am attending all three days and presenting at two sessions: one on augmented reality (Thursday, March 5, 10:30 am, Coe Room) and another about the construction of Southside Elementary (Friday, March 6, 10:30 am, Coe Room).  Southside just opened in August 2014 and features some of the most sophisticated intelligent classrooms in the district. The Southside presentation will be a group effort, and features Tommy Hurt (Shelby CIO), Kerry Whitehouse (Assistant Superintendent of Operations), and Susie Burkhardt (principal of Southside).  Several Shelby County instructional coaches and teachers are attending the conference as well, and I can't wait for us to share what we will discover at the sessions.

For a list of #KySTE15 session topics, click here.

Edtech Share Fair

This week, we began to officially beat the drums for our first ever Edtech Share Fair on Thursday, March 26 from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the district's new Learning Center next to Southside Elementary.   I'll share our "press release" with links to more information; I will embed our Smore flyer and our ThingLink page underneath.

Be sure to get your tickets ASAP!

Step right up, step right up!  Our inaugural Edtech Share Fair is coming to the new Learning Center at Southside Elementary on March 26, 2015, 4:00 to 5:30 pm.  Nine teachers from around the district (elementary, middle and high school in several different content areas) will set up their “station booths” and give short presentations on various tools, as well as lead mini-discussions with audience members.  Hear how they have integrated their edtech into their classrooms and impacted student learning, while getting a chance to visit our newest district space.

But this is no typical PD!  With Adam Watson as your carnival barker, be prepared to rotate through only the stations you select in the order that you want.   There may even be some popcorn on this midway of learning.  So come one, come all!  Help make our first Edtech Share Fair a success!

To get your FREE ticket, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edtech-share-fair-spring-2015-tickets-15803660173

To take a virtual tour of our Edtech Share Fair, explore this Thinglink page: http://www.thinglink.com/scene/626833573361483778

For a Edtech Share Fair FAQ and a preview of the nine presenters and their tools, see this Smore flyer:  https://www.smore.com/dgk17

Be sure to follow our event hashtag: #scsharefair   twitter.com/hashtag/SCsharefair