Everyone knows that STEM impacts our world much more than just inside our classrooms. Preparing our students for a STEM-filled life after high school and college is a growing concern for many future employers.

STEM has been in the workforce since our ancestors walked on land. Our brains are wired for engineering, and our community structures are built for solving problems. When we can’t find food to hunt, we grow it! When we can’t get across a vast body of water, we build boats!

How do we get our students there? I mean, how do we prepare them for STEM after High School and College?

I recently had an opportunity to talk with a few people who work in STEM fields and asked them how they got interested in their professions and about what skills they look for in their field that make great employees. I spoke with Anne Yust, a Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning professor at The New School in New York City, and I also spoke with Christ Yohe, the CTO of a small start up software company.

What do you do in your profession?

Anne Yust teaches entry level Math and Quantitative Reasoning at The New School in New York City. She loves teaching math in this fashion because the mathematics the students are learning in her classroom is all based on real-world quantitative data. Her students really respond well with this type of learning, and she feels that her walk away knowing more about how math is applied in the world as opposed to just solving problems.

Christ Yohe is a Chief Technology Officer in a small startup software company near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Grove City University and cut his teeth in the startup before the tech bubble burst. His experience with both hardware and software made him the perfect fit for his position as he knew how marry both sides of his company’s needs and respond to issues quickly.

What got you into your current position?

Anne began teaching in a Liberal Arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Her experience at this college was more of a traditional “math professor” position. Teaching calculus to entry level and senior level students was not her ultimate calling.

Chris started his love for technology at an early age. His early experience with the Internet (in it’s text-only days) earned him a reputation of the “computer guy” in his neighborhood. His expertise was called upon by his neighbors to set up and fix computers on a regular basis. Chris had a lot of experience building his own computers from scratch. He also learned a lot about hardware components with his Ham Radio. Later on, in school, he was fortunate enough to attend schools with access to LEGO’s Robotics Invention System kits. This is where his love of coding began. Learning coding languages such as LOGO and Pascal fostered that love. He also loved working with other kids in his class on solving problems, a precursor to the First LEGO League.

What other jobs could people do with your degree?

Anne feels that anyone with her math degree to do anything they want! Employees see that you earned a math degree, which implies a strong foundational knowledge of math concepts. Once people have that strong foundation, they don’t need to solely focus on the math itself. You can take a step back and any job where you are working with data, you are free to think and see patterns that might not have been as obvious before.

Chris feels that his Computer Science degree (and Business) can allow people to work with any software/IT company. The business degree can also help out in positions in Human Resources, financing, marketing, design, etc…

What soft skills do people need in your profession?

Anne believes that a strong foundation in problem solving and critical thinking is key in her experience. “Being able to take quantitative information and tie it into real information – helps us understand what the real data is showing us,” she says. “[Students should] have creativity to think of hypothesis and exploratory data – what patterns do you see?” This is great advice for people interested in math as a future career. Knowing how to do the math is one thing, but it is not enough. Breaking down the data (using your computational thinking skills) to understand it helps people form better analysis and to form better hypotheses in the real world.

Chris says good communication is best. He says, “people have lots of good knowledge, but being able to communicate effectively is important.” This is true in most of the IT world. Strong IT thinkers are great at solving problems, but communicating those problems to non-IT thinkers is not always an inherited skill. He also says, “no one has the perfect set of skills” and his company is always “looking for people willing to learn and have a thirst for knowledge.” Being willing to learn on your own is huge.

Lastly, to tie this interview with another project I was working on at the same time, I asked both participants about the need for more women in STEM professions.

How many women do you work with in your profession/department?

Anne, admittedly, works in a sort of bubble in her field. All three math professors and all three science professors in her department are women. Most of the students in her classes are also women as well. She attributes this to a number of factors. One of which being that her school is tied to the Design School at her college. Another factor may be the “style” of math she teaches. She teaches a more “problem solving” approach to math, which may appeal to more women. When she taught in her previous liberal arts college, the classes were more 2/3 male and 1/3 female. This was a more traditional math setting. As Anne was reflecting back to her experiences in school, she only recalls one female math teacher. She feels that the big part of the problem is the pressure for girls to be the best in math. She feels that teaching girls that it is OK to fail is crucial. “You don’t have to be the best in the room. There’s only one person is going to be the best. Just be cool with failing.”

“You don’t have to be the best in the room. There’s only one person is going to be the best. Just be cool with failing.”

Anne Yust, Assistant Professor, The New School, Lang

On the other spectrum, Chris works in a small company, and he estimates approximately 20% of the employees are women, and most of those are in design or HR, not on the “technical side.” He attributes this to possible demographics in the area, but mostly feels it is because of the company’s size. The job market in his sector are highly competitive. A small company such as the one he works for finds it difficult to lure diverse applicants.

Takeaways

I feel that schools today are doing a pretty good job preparing our kids for STEM beyond the classroom. Many STEM programs in schools are doing much more than teaching kids Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. They’re teaching those all-important soft skills that employees are looking for in these jobs. When our young people enter the workforce, being able to communicate effectively, critically think through problems, find creative solutions, and collaborate with others on projects will help them be successful in any career they choose. Those skills are timeless, and chances are, many of the jobs our young people will handle in the future have not been invented yet!

Going green in the classroom is just SO easy! No, I’m not talking about recycling, or global warming (although those are easy too), I’m talking about Green Screen technology! I’ve been using green screen technology in my classrooms for over 5 years now. Students love it, and if you can press “record” on an app, you can do it too!

It fits well within the Four C’s no problem! Students need to be Critical thinkers because they need to analyze what background is needed for the project to best communicate the outcome. Students need to Collaborate with one another because one will be using the camera who needs to ‘direct’ the actor. Students need to Communicate with one another as to where to stand, what to say, etc… And finally, Creativity is perfect for this type of project, because the outcomes are unlimited! You will receive many completely different videos based off the same project instructions!

You don’t need fancy technology or expensive equipment. Some easy options (in order of expense) can be as follows:

• Grab some dollar store green plastic table covers!
  • Pros: Super Cheap, easy to put up anywhere.
  • Cons: Some of the plastic covers are very transparent, so you might be able to see things behind them. Also, they’re hard to “reuse” so you might waste plastic.
• Paint a Green Wall in your classroom!
  • Pros: You don’t have to worry about folds in the fabric creating shadows.
  • Cons: Paint can range between $25 – $50. Finding an “unused” wall in a classroom can be a challenge – use a hallway?
• Purchase a Green Screen kit online!
  • Pros: The fabric is heavy-duty and can block things behind them (like other students. Comes with stands where you can set up anywhere.
  • Cons: Some kits can cost between $40 – $100. Some stands can be cheaply made, and the bolts can snap easily.

What app should you use? I recommend one of two apps: DoInk or Touchcast Studio. Both cost approximately $2.99 in the iOS store – WELL worth the cost!

Normal Green Screen Projects:

Above is a Side-by-Side comparison of two videos using Green Screen technology. The video on the left shows the students filming their scene with a green screen cloth behind them. The video on the right shows the same video with the green screen removed. The commercial was never fully finished because of the COVID-19 epidemic shutting down schools. The final piece would be to do an audio voice-over to remove the background audio. I recommend this with loud classrooms!

Another example is for students to recite poetry in front of a green screen. This is an example of a fourth grade student who had to memorize a baseball poem and recite it both in front of her class, and be published on YouTube.

Take it up a notch!

You don’t even need a giant screen! Even a small green folder can turn itself into a green screen!

The above videos showcase 5th grade students creating a video based off a Digital Citizenship lesson they learned in class about sharing personal information online. the video on the left shows the student-created characters on Popsicle sticks in front of a green folder and green paper on a table. The video on the right shows the same footage post-processing. Students used a Green Screen app on an iPad to add the background, and iMovie to add voice-over audio.

Taking it up a BIGGER Notch!

The videos above showcase students creating a Book Trailer for the Harry Potter book series. In this video, we added the green cloth over a table, which the girls sat on the table to make it appear as if they were ‘floating’ in the Great Hall in Hogwarts! Slightly tilting the iPad up and down slowly helps sell the floating feeling in the post-processing video on the right. Another student is hiding under the table ready to ‘raise’ the white Styrofoam ball once the ‘Wingardium Leviosa’ spell is unleashed!

But wait, there’s more!

All-in-all, there are many different ways you can incorporate green screen in your classroom. It is very simple to use, and can be applied to ANY subject area. I recommend following DoInk on Twitter, as they are always posting amazing lessons on how their app is being used online, and are great a re-tweeting your posts as well!

ISTE Standards

2. Digital CitizenStudents recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.

3c Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

3d Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

6a Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.

6b Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

6d Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

The Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) is a program through Microsoft that I’ve had my eyes on for a few years now. And as always, if you want to get something done, you might as well sign up for a college class during a pandemic. What better time to get started, than now!

The focus I chose to begin my journey was choosing the STEM Learning Path I. This is a learning path of ten courses all in the field of STEM education and learning tools. Through this path, if you chose to accept it, you focus first on Computer Science and its foundations. Computational thinking, contrary to most beliefs, does not mean students need to sit by computers working on coding. It is a system of learning where students learn to break down large problems into small components, or to locate errors in a process. All can be done without computers.

After learning about Computer Science, the path focuses on Physical computing. This is where it would be helpful if students had access to computers. Physical computing is where students code on a computer connected to a piece of hardware that responds to that code. Some examples focused on in this course involve Microsoft Makecode in combination with the Micro:bit controller, LEGO Mindstorms EV3 software, and to some extent, Minecraft Education.

The last part, Minecraft Education, is the largest component of this STEM Learning Path. It walks you through the beginnings of walking through the program itself, and the purpose of many of the block components.

Lastly, the journey ends with a focus on Problem Based Learning. This is where you are tasked to think about how students can use Minecraft in the classroom. There are many resources through Minecraft Education where teachers can create worlds where students plan, build and solve real world problems.

The Microsoft STEM Learning Path I applies perfectly to the middle school learner. Middle school students are great at messing things up! The whole idea with PBL’s and having students work together to work on projects enables students to learn from mistakes as there are no “true” answers to solve these problems. A great PBL will have multiple outcomes, and the path that each student takes will be different.

Next week, I will work on creating a Minecraft lesson that challenges students to complete challenges using multiple paths to get there. I have not decided on which subject area to start with, as I will be diving into the many options on the Minecraft Educator portal.

Throughout this process, I was able to earn 12 badges:

These badges certify me in that I posses the knowledge in these areas of study. I hope to continue to add to these badges to make myself a more well-rounded Microsoft Educator.

What do first grade teachers, a district administrator (and author), and technology integration have in common? Not enough time!

That was the most common answer to the “biggest hurdle” in implementing educational technology best practices: We need more time!

Today marks another new Daylight Savings Time. Thankfully, we will “get” another hour’s worth of sunshine tonight, but it does not give us more time to explore Ed-Tech in our classrooms. Teachers are asking for more time, and administrators would love to give more time. Where do we find it? Well, if I knew the answer, I would probably be relaxing with all of the other perfect EdTech teachers…

Through my online graduate course, I had an opportunity to conduct an online interview with several first grade teachers and one District Administrator. The first grade teachers wished to remain anonymous, and I will respect their wishes. The District Administrator, who I also had the pleasure of “interviewing” (read: filling out my online questionnaire) was Jacie Maslyk, an Assistant Superintendent in the Hopewell Area School District.

SIDE NOTE: Ms. Maslyk is also the author of STEAM Makers: Fostering Creativity and Innovation in the Elementary Classroom, which I have read (and loved!) and Remaking Literacy: Innovative Instructional Strategies for Maker Learning, Grades K-5 (which I cannot wait to get my hands on!).

Have you always been in Educational Technology? If not, what started you on this path?

Experience in Educational Technology varied between the four participants in the questionnaire. Ms. Maslyk expressed faith in her PLN to help support her through this journey as she learns alongside other educators. “I don’t have to be an expert in AR/VR or AI or whatever new tech tool as long as I am connected to someone who can help me grow in my learning.”

The first grade teachers are also learning to embrace technology into their classroom as well. One stated that, “I wanted to let students know that there are other areas of learning other than the typical reading, writing, math, etc.” This shows that teachers are learning to embrace EdTech in their classrooms. These teachers also are willing to learn the technology themselves: “You’re never too old to learn something new,” says one of them!

Share your opinion on how much technology should be implemented in the classroom.

Ms. Maslyk stated that, “Tech should enhance instruction but shouldn’t be the sole focus.” I wholeheartedly agree with this statement! I believe some educators think the push for more Educational Technology will replace much-needed curriculum, but instead is should be used to enhance the much-needed curriculum. I believe that the push to include educational technology is more to become infused into the lesson so much so, that it is seamless, and it does not have to be consciously added in lesson planning (i.e. we don’t have to include, “students will use a pencil to write a narrative essay…).

The first grade teachers also agree that, “Technology should be implemented in our classrooms to engage our students.” Engaging students is always a teacher’s focus in the classroom. Using technology is just one more tool teachers can use to help in this endeavor. Another comment worth noting was, “For those that do not have the love of reading a book yet, they will happily read that same text on their device.” Being able to differentiate learning styles is key to reaching students in the classroom. Applying this to the Universal Design for Learning will also reach more students effectively.

Describe your experience with collaborating with other teachers? Are other teachers receptive to your input? Do you feel it can be a challenge to get them on board?

Everyone agrees that collaboration is key in education. It does not always have to be focused on technology, but showing students that they can work with other classrooms in their community, or around the world, adults in the field, or students in their own classroom, it shows a sense of community and collaboration is a strong piece of this.

Ms. Maslyk says that, “The most effective teachers in my district are the ones who are connected both in and beyond the school walls.” Building this network of educators is not easy, and it takes time. But once it is established, it makes for both engaging lessons, and provides that sense of community mentioned above.

The first grade teachers also collaborate together on a regular basis through a district PLC program. They meet together to discuss educational strategies and collaborate on lesson planning. “Unfortunately, it’s not about technology at this point. Hopefully, we can learn how to incorporate more technology into our current lessons,” says one of the teachers. Another says, “I feel that teachers are aware tech is not going away and more teachers are accepting of it.” With more and more access to one-to-one technology, technology will eventually become a seamless integration into the lessons. It does take time, though.

What strategies do you use to help implement technology with younger (PreK-4) students? 

Our first grade teachers think, “lessons with our technology teacher are so important! [Our technology facilitator] helps guide the students on sites and apps that are appropriate for our young learners.” I feel that Technology facilitators and coaches are going to be taking on new roles in the future of education. Instead of simply training teachers on new devices and applications, they will work more in the classroom, coaching teachers in best practices and helping to guide them into a more comfortable role of a teacher that infuses technology, instead of feeling like a teacher that “has” to incorporate technology.

“Having students become familiar with the keys and typing , using district approved app- Raz Kids, Moby Max, learning resources to find out new information,” is another way technology facilitators and technology coaches can help teachers. There are dozens (OK, thousands) of ‘educational’ apps available. Choosing the right ones, and implementing them effectively takes more than one person. Working together will make incorporating technology a less painful process.

What’s your biggest hurdle in implementing Educational Technology best practices in your experience?

Time.

Everyone involved in this interview, unanimously agreed that more time is necessary for successful implementation. Teachers need more time to learn the programs, and in some cases, create the content. Administrators want more time for Professional Development and for teacher exploration of new technologies.

Money is also a factor. Ms. Maslyk would like to have more funding, “to equip students and teachers will the tools they need to be successful.” This is true in almost every school district across the country. Time and money can solve all of our problems, right??

What changes do you see happening in technology in the next five years?

Ms. Maslyk sees, “More 1:1 tech, more collaboration, greater understanding of AI.” Artificial Intelligence is one growing emerging technology in schools. The jobs of the future are going to require people to have an understanding of how these processes work. Even though most of these jobs do not currently exist today, this technology is not going away. This field of study has the ability to change our world in ways we cannot imagine.

While we do have people tackling the problems of AI in the classroom, the true reality is that first grade teachers who want to, “…find the best way to implement technology use to help engage students…” They also see a push for more technology integration inside the classroom instead of a stand-alone computer room. “Over the past year we have seen the push for tech inside the classroom and having general ed teachers implement it , instead of the tech teacher”

One teacher states, “[I] am nervous that it may be too much tech and writing such as letter formation/sentence writing/ printing will be pushed out of the classroom.” With all of this technology integration focus, we should not ignore the “basics” in the classroom – especially at a first grade level – of basic letter formation and reading and math foundations.

Conclusion

From reading these responses, I am encouraged at the progress educational technology has made in the classroom. We are moving away from stand-alone computer classrooms, and more towards full tech-integration. We see our students as digital natives, and expect them to just “know” what to do on the computer. It takes time. You lose sight of this every now and again when you see the amazing robotics competitions our high school and middle school students compete in. Take some time to go back to a kindergarten or first grade classroom and see their use of technology. Watching a student type on a keyboard for the first time, locating the letters of their name, using a track pad, all of the things we take for granted have to start somewhere.

If we keep these foundations in place, and when teachers become more comfortable with implementation, the growth has the potential to be spectacular. Don’t be afraid to take on a difficult technology-infused project because you don’t think the kids will be ready. They are more than capable to overcome any challenge. The one missing piece to bring this all together? More time.

Considering that the ADDIE Model has been around since 1975 and the spin-off version, the Dick and Carey Model has been around since 1978 says something. Even though these models have been around for over 40 years they are still relevant to educators today.

The ADDIE Model is a design process that asks learners to follow a cyclical design process where you Analyze the needs of your students, Design objectives, Develop lesson materials, Implement the lesson and Evaluate student learning (rinse, lather, repeat).

The Dick and Carey Model is a variant of the ADDIE Model. Educators first identify instructional goals by analyzing what is needed and identifying the student’s current abilities. Educators then write Performance Objectives, Develop Tests, Develop Instruction Strategy and Develop the Instructional Materials. Lastly, they form the Formative & Summative Evaluations and revise instruction as needed.

Now, if I haven’t put everyone to sleep yet, then I haven’t done my job. If you’re a teacher in the “real world,” these processes can be overwhelming. We ain’t got time for that!

The Fogle Design Process

That’s where the Fogle Design Process comes in! I’ve combined the 13 steps of the Dick and Carey and the ADDIE Models into four condensed steps that most educators will have time to implement.

• Step 1: Analyze your students’ needs.
  • Knowing your students’ needs is a basic requirement for all educators. Just “covering” the curriculum is not enough. Every classroom is different, lessons need to be designed accordingly.
• Step 2: Write objectives/Develop Lesson Plan
  • Having goals and objectives stated in lessons is a must for good lesson design. Educators are experts in designing lessons that fit the needs of their students, so this step is very natural.
• Step 3: Implement lesson using appropriate pedagogy and tools as needed
  • Implementation of the lesson using the appropriate pedagogy and tools, is also very natural to educational professionals.
• Step 4: Evaluate/Reflect/Revise
  • Reflecting on our lessons is something that some teachers fail to enact faithfully. It is imperative that we think back on the lesson, revise it for the future and re-implement as needed later.

Most teachers learn about these and other different design processes during their undergraduate days. After 10 to 20 years in the classroom, many of these design processes seemingly go “out the window.” It may appear like this on the outside, but the reality is, as educators, we are too professional to just ignore true design processes. The experience in the classroom that we carry on our shoulders makes these design processes integral to our lesson designs. They are automatic.

It has been many years since I pulled out a formal “design process” sheet and designed a lesson according to the strict process guidelines. But, reflecting back on my own lesson design process, I discovered that I still faithfully execute these steps in my own way, because they’re so automatic and ingrained into my educational well-being!

I’m not expecting the Fogle Design Process to hit mainstream, but it is here to highlight that if we keep doing what we’re doing in the classroom – especially what comes naturally to educators, we’ll do just fine in the real world.