On Monday, TED2016 was broadcast live to movie theatres across the country. With the theme: DREAM, I couldn't pass it up. Though there were ups and downs in the event, one talk stood out to me above the others. It came from Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder. In her talk, Ms. Rhimes discusses her year of saying "yes" to everything and finding that feeling inside, the hum, that makes work and life enjoyable.

While I'm sure it's not a constant, I hope that Vanguard and your roles at your schools brings you a bit of a hum - that beautiful feeling of pure happiness.

It's not required, but I strongly recommend that you take 20 minutes out of your busy schedules and watch this TED Talk from Monday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~ Heather

Designed exclusively for K-12 teacher trainers responsible for delivering professional development training in their districts, the MIE Trainer Academy is a 2-day in-depth training that provides you the skills and materials necessary for you to redeliver training to your teachers. This free workshop provides hands-on training on Windows devices available for this training across a range of Microsoft tools including Office 365 Education, OneNote, Sway, OneDrive, Skype in the Classroom, Office Mix, and a number of free tools Microsoft makes available to teachers and students. Participate and you will have the opportunity to apply to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator Trainer and receive complimentary Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) exam vouchers.

The Academy will be taking place on Saturday, March 26 and Saturday, April 16. Participants will receive a $200 stipend for attending and completing the workshop (on both days).

For more information, or to indicate interest in attending, contact Mindy Ramon - ramonm@fultonschools.org

For Vanguard 4B members who have just received their money, here is the Padlet wall where Vanguardians shared ideas for how to spend that money!

For everyone, stay tuned! I will be sending something out for you to share what you actually ended up buying and how you're using it in your classroom/school!

"Shark Tank: The Innovation Fund Challenge provides an opportunity for eligible current and former Innovation Fund grantees, Innovation in Teaching Competition winners and their schools, or any eligible public school K-12 teacher in Georgia to receive a tiny grant (up to $10,000) to pilot a small-scale teacher or leader development project. At the 2016 Innovation Fund Summit and Technical Assistance Day on June 2, 2016 up to four selected participants will have five to ten minutes each to pitch their ideas to a panel of education sharks (including GOSA staff and other education experts), who will ask questions about each pitch. Once each presenter has pitched his/her idea, GOSA will award one to four tiny grant(s) of up to the winning pitch or pitches at the event."

Get more information at the link below!

Be sure to complete your February coaching log. Share something that you've been working on, tell us what's been happening at your school, whatever!

If you are in Cohorts 1, 2, 3, 4A, you should be sure to have your first set of TIM-Os complete! At the end of the school year, you'll do your TIM-Os again to determine where there are areas of growth!

Question: We recently bought 30 Sphero SPK for the Stem Lab. They came in individual boxes. I need a storage bag/carrier to house them so I can easily get to them. There isn’t anything on the Sphero website or Amazon specifically for Spheros. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can buy/use?

Question: NorthWest TAG teachers want to use Office 365 to share and store documents for our units. I have set up a group email for NW TAG. I am trying it out...opened one of my mircosoft word documents, click file, share, and then I get instructions to save to one drive, I click save to the cloud and then I get prompted to sign in to One Drive but it won't take my school email and password. Currently, TAG teachers use various dropboxes but we want to have a better system of sharing. We thought about google docs but don't we all have access to One Drive? I thought this was Fulton's solution to all of the school's shared drives getting too full?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Instructional Technology Coach, Andrea Rioux, put on a fabulous mini-conference at Autrey Mill earlier this week. Check out the Smore she created to advertise this great event!

If you're doing something at your school, be sure to let us know!

We'd like to get a sense of who will be able to attend these upcoming Vanguard events. Please RSVP below if you think you will be there!

"The fourth annual Educator Showcase will celebrate educators' innovation by highlighting bold unique uses of technology that put students and learning first. STEM@GTRI, CEISMC, and IPaT will host the 2016 Educator Showcase during the May Explorers' Guild meeting on Thursday, May 12, 2016. The showcase will include a panel discussion, interactive poster session, and ongoing opportunities that will empower educators and transform learning. This is the perfect place to connect with peers, share strategies, and expand professional networks. This event helps support the missions of STEM@GTRI, CEISMC, and IPaT that focus on helping acquire and leverage instructional technology resources for Georgia's classrooms, schools, and districts, share best practices, and establish a community of learners."

Led by Ann Scott Hanks, Ocee Elementary School

Feb 25: 1 PLU Book Study How To Talk So Kids Can Learn (grades PK-5, paras welcome, great for parents too) (the Feb 18 class filled so we added a second session)

March 24: 2 hour session on Mystery Strategy (grades K-8)

Led by Cindy Poundstone, Dunwoody Springs Elementary School

March 21: 2 hour session on Compare/Contrast Strategy (it’s A LOT more than just a Venn Diagram)

To register: Edivate-->Resources-->Learning Targets-->Catalogs-->Academic Support-->Scroll to name of class-->click on the + symbol to register

Our mission as a Vanguard team is to build the capacity of FCS educators and leaders to provide innovative instruction which meets the needs, skills and interests of all students.

Email: coxh@fultonschools.org
Website: fcsvanguard.com
Twitter: @FCSVanguard