Glenbard South teacher helps faculty members bring technology into classroom

As classrooms use more and more technology, having someone to help teachers along the way is becoming even more essential.

Stephanie Wallace is just that: a teacher for teachers.

The Glenbard South High School instructional technology specialist helps teachers incorporate technology into their curriculum.

But she does not just put an iPad in their hands and leave them to figure it out; she's there, helping teachers with their devices every step of the journey.

“I collaborate with teachers to design technology-rich, student-centered learning experiences that may be a shift from what a teacher is used to and, because not all teachers are comfortable with technology, that can be a challenge,” Wallace said. “So I'm here to support them through that process.”

A graduate of Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Wallace has worked at South since 2001.

Most recently, her job at the Glen Ellyn school has included dealing with a major shift in Glenbard High School District 87's use of technology. The district has implemented a 1-to-1 program, with every freshman in all four Glenbard high schools now using district-issued iPads. Students also have the option to use their own.

All teachers in the district already have been given iPads as well. With her counterparts at the three other Glenbard schools, Wallace helped design, deliver and teach professional development classes for teachers on how to integrate the iPads into their jobs.

But Wallace was not always a tech wizard.

From artist to techie

Back when she was in high school, Wallace said she had an “awesome” art teacher who gave her “a place to belong.” Wallace decided to be an art teacher, too, and studied art education at Illinois State University.

She graduated from ISU in 1996 and was hired to teach art at Thornridge High School in Dolton.

“When I first started teaching art, I didn't have a strong technology background,” she said. “I much preferred to not use technology, actually.”

Everything changed once she started teaching graphic design. Although she had done some design work in high school and college, it was not really her area of focus.

“So I had to learn quickly, and I really started to fall in love with it because of just the immediacy of the medium. The kids were very engaged with the technology, so I decided to get my master's in technology in education,” Wallace said.

“I was like, well, let's see what else we can do with this. If we can do this amazing stuff in graphic design, how can we impact other subject areas?

“Kids really responded to the technology. They didn't always respond to a paintbrush,” she said. “Painting can be frustrating for some students. … (With) graphic design, they felt more comfortable making mistakes and editing, whereas with a painting or a drawing, once that mark is down, they feel it's very difficult to change it and they're sometimes afraid to make the mark … because it is more permanent.”

She started working at Glenbard South in 2001 in the audio/visual department, a position she could see was transforming from a traditional audio/visual position into more of a technology coaching role. Wallace received her master's degree in instructional technology from National Louis University in 2002.

Starting at South

When Wallace started at South, part of her job included working with teachers to incorporate technology into their lesson plans. Two examples from the beginning of her career at South pop immediately to mind: helping a science teacher and an English teacher work with students to create some of the first iMovie projects ever done in the district.

In science, they worked together to implement a chemistry project in which the students had to create an infomercial for an alternative form of energy. In English class, students had to interpret “The Odyssey” into a different time period and rewrite the script for the iMovie.

“I helped (the teachers) develop the lesson plan, troubleshoot the technology, figure out how to assess the project,” she said.

The goal of the technology coach, she said, “is to be there for the whole process,” from initial planning to execution to assessment.

She said working with teachers — helping them develop professionally and make better use of technology in the classroom — is the best part of her job.

Although she doesn't have her own classes, her work still has a direct effect on students.

“I don't have a class assigned to me, but I am often in the classroom with students,” she said. “So while I am not directly teaching them, I am helping the teacher design the lesson and I'm helping the teacher deliver the lesson in some cases, depending on what kind of project it is.”

Helping others

Glenbard South Principal Sandra Coughlin said Wallace is first and foremost a teacher; not just the school's media tech specialist.

“Her creativity is amazing,” Coughlin said. “If you say, ‘I really wish I could …,' she could finish your thought and find a way for you to do that.”

Spanish teacher Sue Giffey knows the process very well.

She previously took the professional development offered to help teachers use and integrate iPads into the classroom. In that course, teachers had to think of a unit they would teach to students.

Although she had ideas, Giffey said she would make appointments with Wallace and pick her brain on whether her ideas were realistic.

“She helped me look at the objectives of what I was teaching, the task I want the students to be able to do by the time I'm finished and, of course, how we can incorporate the technology into that,” Giffey said.

Giffey ended up having kids create screencasts, or mini-videos, last school year. Students spoke in Spanish about their favorite places to eat in town and incorporated images into the project.

“Steph helped me realize that, for the performance task I wanted my students to be able to accomplish, I could use the technology by not having me create screencasts but rather having the students create the screencasts,” Giffey said.

Wallace was in the classroom through most of the 21 days Giffey taught the unit.

Giffey said using the technology “pulled in the learners who otherwise don't care about school or want to be there. I had students who normally would never complete an assignment and would not do a project, especially of that magnitude, and I had 100 percent completion on the task.”

Giffey said Wallace is a constant source of help.

“She works endlessly with all teachers, pretty much anybody, anytime, anywhere, to help troubleshoot and brainstorm ideas,” she said.

“Teachers say this all the time with all of the classes and conferences we go to: Usually it becomes an inch of guilt on the bookshelf and you don't ever use it,” Giffey said.

“In order for professional development to work, you need to have somebody here, like Stephanie, who can help you with your ideas after the class or the conference is over.”

Even for Lisa Helle, a health teacher at South who is relatively comfortable with technology, it's nice having Wallace on hand. Wallace helps Helle set up one of her projects in which students can video conference into a live open-heart surgery.

“You've got to have that go-to support person even if you feel confident,” Helle said.

A pioneer

Wallace said one of her favorite moments involves an older teacher helping one of his colleagues. The veteran teacher has been nervous about using the iPad but has been trying hard to learn and adapt.

A younger teacher had come into the school library with his iPad looking for help from Wallace regarding the school learning management system, but the older teacher stepped in and offered his assistance.

“So he was able to teach another teacher, which is exactly what we want,” Wallace said. “It shouldn't be me giving all the information to our teachers; we want them working collaboratively.”

Even as teachers learn more and more, Wallace said there always will be a need for a technology pioneer.

“As technology changes, so will teachers' jobs, and I think there will probably always be a need for somebody like me who can sort of be that pioneer and then guide teachers along that path.”

Curriculum Vitae

Current position: Glenbard South High School instructional technology specialist; also multimedia club sponsor and lighting and sound director for theatrical productions

How long: Tech specialist since 2001; previously taught art at Thornridge High School in Dolton

Education: Master's degree in instructional technology from National Louis University; bachelor's degree from Illinois State University; library certification from Northern Illinois University.

Awards/recognitions: National Board Certified Teacher; 2014 Educator of the Year (Glen Ellyn Community Award); 2008 Glenbard High School District 87 Distinguished Service Award