VanWeekly
May 6, 2020
Important: End of Year Survey
Response Required – Intent to Return and Member Satisfaction Survey
Greetings FCS Vanguard!
As we begin to wind down the current school year (only 4 weeks left!!!), it is time for our annual intent to return and member satisfaction survey.
This essential survey provides us not only with important information going into the end of year, but also with critical feedback as we begin to shape the next year of the Vanguard Team. I am asking every member to complete this survey at their earliest convenience.
Please complete the survey here.
Thank you for your hard work and support for the Vanguard Team!
Join us for the remaining Remote Learning Series Events! All sessions from 1:00-2:00 pm.
Continues through this Friday!
These events are open to all FCS Employees, so please consider sharing with others! Previous topic videos and slide decks can be found here at www.tinyurl.com/RemoteLearningSupportSeries20
Vanguard Birthdays
Vanguard Wishes A Very Happy Birthday to
Cheri Mills 5/6
Leigh Wagner 5/6
Cheri Mills 5/6
Marisa Williams 5/7
Kelley McAlhany 5/23
Jill Fears 5/30
We want to celebrate our Vanguardian family. If you would like for us to recognize your birthday, please click this link.
Celebrate Your Vanguard Team!
We have so many amazing people in the Vanguard Team and it's so gratifying to hear about all of this amazing work you're all doing. We are truly making a difference and doing our part to make a difference during our new remote teaching reality. Keep up the game-changing work everyone! #FCSRising!
Please help to celebrate the amazing work being done by you and your colleagues at this form: bit.ly/VanBrag!
A selection of them will be shared in this space every week!
School Lead Info
We are so sorry that there was an error in recording our last School Leads meeting! I think we were just too excited about our guest appearance of Leslie Fisher! You will have to rely on the slide deck for all of your information this month. Please reach out if you have any questions! We are here for you!
Next & Last Meeting for 2020 - May 7th at 7:00 PM
Agenda:
- What's coming up!
- Spotlight On Lead - Angus Guberman
- Showcase of Celebrations
- Padlet Share - One Success & One Hurdle
https://padlet.com/turnert51/leiwuelho617
- Remote PD Survey Link (What are your needs)
- Special PD Series with Leslie Fisher (see banner in events section for details)
- Teams chat - All your needs (or ways to offer help or support) in one spot!
Let's See Your Remote Teaching Expertise!
Vanguard Team,
We are still in need of write-ups about your excellent remote teaching practices, but now with a twist!
Our team has shared so much good information, and now we’re focusing on your pedagogy and teaching strategies that leverage our district’s technology tools.
These will be going out daily from Cliff Jones to our district administrators.
Please complete the form at: http://bit.ly/VanBlurb.
The instructions can be found on that form, as well as an exemplar.
The big warning I have to give is that the technology you discuss has to be approved and officially supported by Fulton County. To see the list of supported technology, please go to the Employee Portal and click on the FCS Marketplace, and then App Marketplace. You can then find or search for your technology and click through to the description. Look for the "Status" line. It needs to say "Approved and District Supported." There are many programs and platforms that are in the Marketplace that are in pending status, so just because you see the technology in the Marketplace, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is approved.
If you submit a write-up of unsupported apps, we unfortunately won't be able to use it.
These blurbs should be relatively short, and are more oriented to the big picture rather than highly detailed - if you're spending more than about 20 minutes on this, then you've spent too long!
Some light editing may be done on your write-up, including removal of references to non-supported technologies.
Thanks for your support on this initiative!
Remote Teaching Write-Ups
Since our awesome write-ups are primarily being distributed to building and district administrators, I wanted to make sure that I shared them within the team as well. Since we're just getting back into the swing of the VW, I don't want to overwhelm you with three weeks of write-ups, so you'll get a selection today, but I hope to share the prior week's write-ups in future VanWeekly editions.
From Susan Brandon, METI at Lake Windward ES
Flipgrid- Online Morning News Program
A morning news program is a great way to start the day and bring a sense of community to students. This is where we share everything from the weather to important school-wide announcements. You can easily make a student's day by celebrating their birthday and special accomplishments. Being out of school provides an opportunity to get creative with your news program.
Here is one way to take your morning news program online:
- Create a Teams group for your news crew so you have a place to create and house scripts, post schedules and communicate as a team.
- Create a Wiki tab in Teams so you can create an interactive schedule. Students can sign up for days to create scripts and host the show.
- Create and post a script template that students can use to update and record the news.
-Be sure students use first names only when they post their video & when sharing information such as birthdays. (Example: Happy Birthday to Susie in 1st grade)
- Use Flipgrid for your anchors to record the news show. (Be sure to set it to moderated and Have them put the title of their video as the broadcast date).
-Post a link to the morning news Flipgrid on your school website and share via email.
-Each day, students will go to the Flipgrid and click on that day's date to watch the news.
-Encourage your news crew to come up with fun weekly challenges to continue creating a sense of community among your students. (Use a moderated Flipgrid or Padlet wall for students to post evidence they participated in the challenges).
https://www.fultonschools.org/Page/17988
Have fun with your online news program!
From Jennifer Evans, Teacher at Ridgeview Charter Middle School:
Asynchronous Gradual Release
What it is:
Asynchronous learning consists of any activities where students receive instruction at their own pace on their own time. The gradual release education model has also been referred to as the “I do, you do, we do” model of instruction. This is when the instructor gives direct instruction, transitions to an instructor supported guided practice, and then culminating in a independent formal or informal assessment of what was learned.
Direct instruction (I Do):
I have used short instructional videos (FlipGrid, screen recording using PowerPoint, etc.) of guided or focused notes so that students can follow along and get the initial information. An annotated PowerPoint is another way for students to get the initial information for a lesson.
Guided practice (We Do):
There are many apps and websites that allow teachers to give questions to students that give them immediate feedback. Quizizz in “homework” mode is one I use on a regular basis. Students can review exactly what they need to review in their own time. Microsoft Forms also can allow for students to practice. They can be set up to give hints for incorrect answers and students can go back and edit incorrect answers until they are all perfect.
Assessment (You Do):
This portion can consist of either formal or informal assessments. Students can explain what they have learned in a FlipGrid which can be done at any time. Students can also just complete something as simple as a handout in Teams on their own time. In addition to this, students can complete a quiz or test in Microsoft Forms or Illuminate which would be a more formal way to assess. The main difference here being a lack of assistance during the assessment.
Vanguard Leadership Team
District Support
@hoke
Heather Van Looy -
Instructional Technology Program Specialist - New Member Support
@HeatherVan Looy
Mindy Ramon -
IT Training Support Coordinator
@fultonitdept
Executive Committee
Lead Coach - Member Support
@jeevans
Megan Endicott
Associate Lead - Events, Professional Development & School Lead Support
@endicottspot
Chanel Johnson
Associate Lead- XP & Communications
@DC_stemtastic
South Learning Community & Achievement Zone
@allisongtechie
Crystal Billingslea
billingsleac@fultonschools.org
@MathyMissB
Patricia Thomas // Evoline C. West Elementary School
@ThomasNeverStop
Northeast Learning Community
@msmorrisra
Tammie St. John
@stjohnteach
Northwest Learning Community
@MsBeardsClass
Pam Kelly
@pckelly4
Katie Pardee
@mkpardee
Central Learning Community
Fulton County Vanguard Team
Vision: Through building colaborative relationships and supporting student focused learning, the Vanguard Team will positively impact student achievement.
Pillars: Transform, Innovate, Mentor, & Support (TIMS)
Website: http://www.fcsvanguard.org/
Twitter: @FCSvanguard