Week 8: Field Experience & Reflection

Week 8:  How Do Our Cookies Stack Up?

Oreo Cookie Challenge (Source)

 Jennifer Wagner is an accomplished educator that has a solid 45 years of experience in the field of education and technology.  Since 1999 Ms. Wagner has been sharing her expertise with teachers by conducting seminars throughout the United States and Canada.  She has proved to be an instrumental driving force in technology integration by hosting fun online projects that encourage students and teachers in grades K-6^th to share ideas, make connections, and most importantly—learn!

Unbeknownst to me at the time, I first became familiar with the Ms. Wagner's work a couple years back when I had donated a box of Oreo cookies for my son’s kindergarten class project.  My son's elementary class (Tashua Elementary School located in Trumbull, CT) was participating in a project created by Ms. Wagner--The Oreo Challenge.   Little did I know at that time that this very project was such a huge learning initiative that participants from around the world were partaking in.  Little did I know at the time that I would have the opportunity to interview its creator and discover how something so small at first glance was actually so big!

This project like others hosted by Ms. Wagner was a simple yet engaging activity that inspired fun, excitement, and cooperative learning—exactly what Ms. Wagner’s style is all about!  This project’s objective like others was simple yet effective.  Basically, each student in the class stacks up Oreos as high as he or she could then averages their individual results to achieve a class total.  The data collected from each class is then posted online and it is compared with participants all over the world! I found myself intrigued by how easy technology integration could be!  Moreover, I am amazed by how much we can learn in the process of connecting with our students and others from all over the world.  I thoroughly enjoyed the project ideas presented by Ms. Wagner integrating technology into the curriculum because it doesn't make technology necessarily the focus or a distraction.  Her projects integrate technology seamlessly to achieve a higher learning.

The following are 5 questions that I asked Ms. Wagner pertaining to technology integration and here's what she had to say:

1.  I noticed that in your online profile, you have been in the field of education for over 31 years?!!  How did you initially get started in the field of education, or more specifically technology?  Where do you derive your inspiration from (i.e. are there any particular resources or people that stand out in your mind)?“To be honest, 31 years is an understatement.  I have always loved working with children - babysitting, Sunday school teaching, etc.  So when I started college, education was my chosen field.  The campus I attended had a preschool on it - and during my 2nd year of college, I became a teacher, and with just a few walks-always, I have always been involved in education.

I had several elementary teachers that made a huge impression on my teaching style & one college professor who was a mentor and a friend.  One elementary teacher had a Genuine junk box that certain students got to pick from each Friday before school ended  -- it was not until many years later I realized it was her discipline policy.  She caught us being good -- I have always remembered that & used something similar in all my classrooms.

I wandered into technology at the age of 12 & have always been fascinated with the opportunities it offers.  I was on the campus of USC for an alumni day and spent about 2 hours in the Tech Office w/ a very kind man, who in 1972, let a 12 year old ask him question after question after question.  We watched the computer play tic-tac-toe, he taught me how scan cards work, and much much more.   Officially, in 1999, I started hosting online projects -- with no true idea why, except I saw potential for classrooms around the US and a world to connect.”

2.  Was there any pivotal moment or situation that changed your perspective, or compelled you to pursue a particular direction?  In 1999, while at a classroom connect conference, someone showcased David Warlick's global grocery project -- it was daunting to me but had a foundation I thought I could springboard from -- so I started the Oreo project and 125 classrooms joined -- decided to host it again the next year, numbers doubled.  At that time, I seriously stepped back and realized I had something that would work & started hosting even more projects.

I felt a huge necessity to keep the projects free and keep them simplistic....and I have.

When I taught preschool, my classroom was always creative, I would try new ideas -- controlled chaos with lots of fun and action -- so for me, I have been able to easily weave these attributes into my projects and showcase many options in technology to participating teachers.

3.  What would you say has been the biggest challenge in your teaching career, and how did you overcome it?"Being an island or a lone wolf.  Being the creative techie is not always the most welcoming role on a campus.  However, it is easy as a techie to also isolate yourself on purpose -- so I have had to come out of my being an introvert (at times) & make effort to really talk with other staff and be part of the team and not just a loner.  Being enthusiastic about tech also causes some to shy away-- so I am easing down my exuberance yet when someone wants to learn more, I eagerly encourage them & share as much as they will let me."

4.  What specific technological resources do you find to be the most beneficial with students?  

"For my students, the ipad has been the most transformative opportunity ever!! Though, we probably would not have devices without the Internet -- so I would have to include that as well. The availability of so many options for students to use creates an environment where there is not just one way to demonstrate learning -- and that is huge!! 

For myself, twitter has been a huge wealth of resource and I don't know what I did before it.

For students -- edmodo is a great location for students to collaborate with each other & teachers!  I am a fan of Wordle, gotta love Google docs, but I am also a huge fan of word, excel and powerpoint.  kidblogs or edublogs allows students to write, wikis allow students to share. Out newest adventure this year has been into the world of video and greens screen and we have touched just the tip of the iceberg with "what’s next."

5.  What would be your advise to teachers for effectively integrating technology into their lessons?  "For teachers "using tech", I would say keep up the good work & keep moving forward AND share what you are doing -- what works and what does not!!! 

For teachers "Not Yet using tech", I would encourage them to be brave and try 1 new idea!!   I think mystery skype calls are one of the best ways to get a teacher enthused about using tech -- and it usually swings them into even more tech.

Also. I think my projects are a very simple but effective way to take that first step into integrating tech into your classroom.

But whether you are a newbie or a expert -- you cannot do this alone -- so get on twitter, read blogs, attend edcamps and conferences, etc..    Teaching is not a closed door profession -- we need each other!!!

Having Ms. Wagner express her enthusiasm regarding iPad integration I decided to do some research and explore how classrooms are using this resource.  I found this youtube video, Project Based Learning & iPad Integration that shares their experience with project based learning.

As I reflect on my conversation with Ms. Wagner I felt that she shared some great insights not only on her experience but useful resources that I could utilize with my students.  I considered her comment to be thought provoking point when she said, "The availability of so many options for students to use creates an environment where there is not just one way to demonstrate learning -- and that is huge!!"  Her expertise and experience, combined with my research for this class has made me reflect on my skills and what I would love to bring into my classroom.  It has made me evaluate the tools that we have at our fingertips to connect with other educators.    This field experience made me evaluate how I envision my classroom.  As we enter a brave new world and are digitally aware why not embrace technology as a viable resource that will allow our young learners to express what they know?  Finding that right vehicle is an important first step in encouraging our students to achieve higher learning. According to the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET), a project of the International Society for Technology in Education in partnership with Education Support Systems and the Sacramento County Office of Education, technology can help improve student performance in six key ways.  Three are the following:

•  “Technology improves student performance when the application directly supports the curriculum objectives being assessed.” In other words, technology is most effective when integrated with curriculum content.

• “Technology improves performance when the application provides opportunities for students to design and implement projects that extend the curriculum content being assessed by a particular standardized test.” Student-created products, multimedia, and video streaming are examples of how technology can extend curriculum content."

• “Technology improves performance when used in environments where teachers, the school community, and school and district administrators support the use of technology.” In addition to performance improvements tied to administrative support for technology, findings show that integration of technology with instruction, professional development."

"This differentiated instruction focuses on teaching strategies that provide a students ranging in abilities to focus on taking in and processing information, making sense of ideas, and expressing learning. Technology tools can support good instruction and offer personalized learning environments in which students interact with software, conduct research, create products, and communicate with others outside their school. Both differentiated instruction and technology tools are important for 21st-century education, aka digital age learning. "  

My field experience made me consider the article from Edudemic Connecting Education and Technology as we examine how schools are preparing our students for the future.  We see that schools are basing their "excellence" on past reputation their past reputation of students scoring well on exams and sometimes by the count of students enrolled into a university.  No one is arguing the validity of these assessments.  However, we as educators have the ability to bridge the gap between a school that is thriving and students that will survive in a technologically based world.

As we discussed in previous blogs it isn't necessarily "if" we use technology it is how well we are using it.  Technology should comes into play when there is a balance between pedagogical knowledge with content knowledge.  This is the decision.  As Edudmic Connecting Education & Technology states,
"Technology used well in schools can offer a tangible link to the outside world--it can be a bridge in many different ways to what is happening outside of the classroom.  It could act as a link to other schools, learners and countries that will enhance the experience that students can have in a classroom.  They also offer an idea of the type of workflow they may experience when they leave school."

I had a very positive experience interviewing Ms. Wagner for this assignment.  Aside from her incredibly insightful experience and feedback she was just a great person.  I found her to be very responsive, kind, and incredibly humble.  She made time to answer my every question and email during her vacation might I add!, AND got back to me straight away.  She was very obliged to share her time and knowledge with me and with us.  Ms. Wagner was so sincere and passionate about sharing her knowledge it was very refreshing and invigorating!   I will definitely continue to follow Ms. Wagner's work, and I would strongly encourage my peers and anyone else who is interested in taking some great creative hands on projects (appropriate for K-6th) to the next level to check out her website. As I continue to make great strides in my education I will continually be reminded to evaluate my practice and see how I am integrating technology into my classroom.  My question will be, "How high do our cookies stack up?!!"