Hello, my name is Holly Owens and welcome to Ed up edtech the podcast that keeps you. In the know about all the latest edtech happenings. We interview guests from around the globe to give you deeper insights into the Ed tech industry, the field of instructional design, and more, we're proudly a part of America's leading podcast Network the Ed up, experience. It's time to sit back and enjoy. Enjoy the latest episode of Ed up attack.
Hello everyone, and welcome to a special episode of Ed up. Ed Tech. My name is Holly Owens and I'm your host and today we are doing an episode where we are highlighting a fantastic human being, who is on the hunt for a new role today on the show, I have with me Stephen Schaefer, who is an educator? So Stephen. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. Holly, I'm excited, you know, we know each other for my community and I'm excited to talk to you and here and highlight.
All the wonderful things that you have been doing professionally and hearing more about you and sharing that with our vast audience. Looking forward to it, it'll be fun. Yes, so let's get right into it. So tell me a little bit about yourself and how you journeying into the education space. So I've been in education now for about About 22 going on, 23 years. Yeah, 23 years ish. I actually got started actually through. I was playing sports.
And my, the first job I had was teaching tennis. And they actually wanted to develop a program for some youth that were on the verge of either dropping out or not going to college. And so that sort of led me to going down, the education rabbit hole. Little bit as I learned more and more about just different ways that I can try and connect with them.
My mentor was a 30-year math teacher and after my little run at the tennis spot he suggested that I get into education and then that took me down to you know, working with primarily what we call Idol youth who are kids who have disengaged and are re-engaging with their High School experience where I have been an administrator After where ran a school for kids, who
had dropped out of school? And I'm currently in a role where I work with students who are also read engaging in their High School experience in a project-based learning atmosphere. Oh my goodness. You're you're doing a lot of impactful work. Yeah. When it comes to re engaging the students and I just realized we have a, you know, I love sports, I used to coach as well and just met we always told the students or like you're a student athlete. So the And part of that comes first.
Well, with sometimes, sometimes they forget that sometimes they forget that. So now that you've been in this game for, you know, quite a bit and you've done some like I said some pretty impactful work and you have all the experience. It sounds like you're wanting to take a shift and get into more of like ux research ux design. So what's been inspiring you along the way? The kind of make that transition and yux. What's What's the attractiveness
there? So my entry into ux was actually through a service design Workshop. We were in covid, there was a local agency around where I live in Philadelphia called think company and they did this whole thing around service design. And I had been sort of like I had, I knew a little bit about service design and learning experience design, but I was like, oh, this was something
that seems really interesting. And then after that particular Workshop, We actually like try to solve an actual problem. It's just really like peaked and interests and sort of scratch the different itch that education sort of does as well. Right, you know, your I look at my students is like puzzle pieces, right? Or as pieces of a puzzle. Yeah. Right.
And so like, I have to sort of figure out like, okay, what piece do I need to kind of put together in order for you to get, you know, whatever it is that we're currently working on and then what ux did for me, you know, and learning experience design what they did for me was they sort of like, Oh, now I can look at this like larger Challenge and be like, oh what are the missing puzzle pieces that we need to put together for
that? I like it how you use the analogy of a puzzle because that's definitely what you do with lxd and definitely you X design. So I do want to ask you a question. Off-script about ux design. So you said, you went to a workshop and what kind of problem in the workshop where you were, you trying to solve that inspired you to kind of look at this, this industry, more? Sure. So, the problem we were looking at this is in the very, very beginning of covid.
So this was prior to like, all of the major Delivery services for psych supermarkets and things. So, you know, like when we first went in, you know, they have these like long lines and people had to stay six feet away, but local supermarket was actually trying to do a like order and
delivery service, right? Where you could go on their website order some food and then the employees would put together the packages of food, you know, the they would do your shopping for you and then you could then come and pick the food out, just to again, try and keep that in. Terms of people interacting with one another and so they were, you know, brand new to the game. And so they kept, they wanted to just sort of like, what, what should we do, what are the pieces that they're doing?
So they opened up their, you know, their doors to us to say, like okay, well here's some of the information that we have, what can we how can we make this experience, you know, simple, right. But yet efficient and, you know, cost-effective and how can we design that kind of experience so that the so That our customers are still being served and we're still, you know, sort of continuing to, you know, keep
our business up and running. And obviously a lot of the skills you have as a coach and as an educator transfer directly over into this type of research of this type of Industry.
Absolutely, absolutely, a lot of the stuff, you know, when I'm planning for any of my lessons, you know, I'm currently a math teacher so as I planned for any of my Lessons, you know, I'm always thinking about the user in terms of like, who I know I'm going to have in the room and and, you know, the various capacities that they have or the various fears that they have because I'm a math teacher, and a lot of my students are have a, have a big fear of math. I've had bad bad math
experiences. So, you know, I try and use. I'm one of those students. Listen, I was wrong. Like really just sort of thinking of it from their perspective and how can I, you know, how can you make this experience, a little less threatening, a little less fearful and a little bit more enjoyable and sort of taking those aspects and being able to incorporate them into the lxd
experience. Yeah. And you definitely do that and ux design because you want it to be, you don't want it to be. Threatening to the the end-user you want to be comfortable, you want to be in like a space. Kind of like where the product or the system itself just disappears into the background. And you don't think it's just a part of you. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was a lot of fun. You know, definitely was eye-opening because it was really my first time at that kind of level, you know.
They really broke it down for us in terms of, you know, like you need to be thinking about these aspects and you need to think about, you know, this side of the experience and that side of the experience, from both the customer. And then also from the store perspective to write and how those, how those two things get married? And so it was really, really, really eye-opening experience.
One, I was like, oh, this is a transferable skill but he's skills that I've been working on as a teacher. I can now apply this in a different way. And so that was sort of where the connection came. Well, I'm so glad you had that Workshop experience. A lot of people, seek those things out or know that those kinds of things exist, where you can kind of explore an industry before you hop into it. And I love the fact that they had you to a real life project. Yeah, you know.
That's that's really how. Patients should be but that's a podcast episode for another day. That's a whole. That's right. So, you know, tell us a little bit about yourself, what are some of the like, the main skills that you possessed and knowledge? You know, what things are you looking to do you have any current projects that you can share, you know, highlight all the wonderful things about you. Stephen tell us what is so great, like, which why should we follow you?
Tell us all the banks. Well, so, you know, like I said, I've been at this. I've been at Education, for 20-plus years. I work with a very particular population, but that population is sort of General in terms of like okay. Yeah, I'm you know, we identified students that we consider Idol or re-engaging but those are students that you see on a regular basis even if they're coming to school every day, those kids that are not
necessarily engaging. So I really have a greater understanding and I can bring a lot of wisdom to, you know, I bring a lot of wisdom and experience to that. I'm also really creative like I love. You know, this is gonna sound sort of odd but I love problems, right? I love problems in the sense that they can, they can all be solved and I feel like even that your math teacher, right? And you know, the other thing
about it too, is that not? Every problem needs to be solved the same way like a lot of the things that I work with my students around, is this idea that yes, there are certain formulas in there are certain techniques that you can use, but you can still get to the same answer. Use going in and going at it from a different approach. And really trying to embrace that. And so I've I have fully embraced that idea to it's sort
of like okay? Yep there are some traditional ways in which, you know, certain problems can get handled but there are also some other creative, you know, opportunities that are also out there too. And I think very creatively as well just because, you know, I have a, I have a filmmaking background so the idea of you know, like, oh that's fancy. And so you have to think about it from like, oh, what about this shot? What about this shutter? How can this character do this?
And this one? Yeah, But always that, you know, this message can be conveyed, whether it's, you know, but by being spoken or nonverbals, or any of those kinds of things. So I'm bringing a lot of those talents to, to the table. Absolutely. And you didn't mention the, the beta, the app that you're testing. Yeah. So there is a highlight that, don't forget that. Let's highlight the app. So in my current school, so I currently work for an organization called Big Picture film.
Delphia we are part of a larger network of schools, called Big Picture learning. And so one of the components that we have run up against sort of time and time again, is this idea of a thing called the learning plan. The learning plan is supposed to be the guide to kind of help the student sort of guide, their own learning.
And we've gone through, I've been at this school now, for seven years, we've probably gone through about twenty four iterations of this, just because it's like, oh, Going to do it on paper at first and no, that's not really working. So we're going to try it on computer and then we're going to try an Excel spreadsheet or we're going to try a Google sheet and now it's a word doc. And so I was like, you know, it's trial and error early when it comes to these sorts of
situations. And so I kind of looked at this and said, well, what is the thing that what's the constant that the kids are always using? And obviously, it's their phones and apps are obviously a huge thing, you know, that continued to grow throughout, you know, as we as we continue to Faced with
these phones. And so I was like, what if we created or what if I could create an app that could capture the things that the students need in terms of understanding the how to prioritize their learning and then also, you know really help them start to wrap their heads around time management, right? A lot of the students that are deal with both, you know, idle or non idle, you know, you know, they struggle with time management. So, the app is a A little bit prioritization, little bit of
time management and that sense. Yes. And I think it's so important to highlight, like, you came up with this, you know, basically, like on your own just thinking about the end user, what was needed, what they're using in real life relating it. To all that. Did some trial and error when it comes to like setting things up that is like project management 101. Yeah, figuring out where to start with things and how you're going to get from point A to point B and who's involved and
what's involved. I mean that's really awesome that you have this beta thing going on. Yes. Yeah, so we actually just started testing in our school. I've got about 20 students that are currently using the app were gathering data as we speak to sort of figure out. Again, it's really. I mean like I'm very, very early in the stages. It's really just like this is the fourth version of the MVP, you know, so that we're kind of working through right now.
So you know, I'm getting some really great feedback from the students some that sort of like yeah this doesn't work. And so that's good. So that means I can then take it and start to iterate as a result and as Think about it, just saying it out loud. Like I think about that initial, you know, lxd the service design experience and sort of like oh at the end of that, I thought like, oh well, how can I apply this? And so now you know a year plus later, this is what the result of that is.
Yeah, you've made progress. I think that's one thing. Two people aren't necessarily cognizant of is that you have started somewhere and it, although it does it feel like you've gotten very far, you really have? Yeah. Yeah. You gotta remind yourself of that. It's really difficult. Cult to be like, oh my god, I've spent so many hours and it's just here, but that is progress. Yeah, so congratulations to you for doing that. Thank you. I appreciate that.
Of course. So I'm going to ask another question Off Script. I want to know right now if what is your dream job, if you could describe that for the audience, you know, if what is your dream role when you're coming to transition out of Education, are you looking at like, ux research lxd? What is your dream job entail? Actually, I would love to be part of an lxd team, right? That is, whether it is on the research side or even on the implementation side. You know, I had such an amazing
time doing that thing. And again, I've done more research around, you know, just learning experience, design in general. And the more, the more I dive into it, the more I realized like, oh, that is really something where I want it, you know, like that learning experience, design and service design, like those two areas of the, the Areas really won't know that I would love to focus on.
And even if that is like designing school, you know, like, you know, I've seen some opportunities out there on LinkedIn and, you know, all these other remote job spaces and things like that, where you know, just the idea of Designing schools and trying to help in the development of that. Like that would be an ideal, you know opportunity. For me again, I'm also a very creative thinker or bring 20, plus years of experience to the table.
So it's also sort of like, oh yeah, you know, have we thought about This and, you know, here's the latest and greatest information about this because you know, I'm a researcher, you know, by Night by night kind of thing. So yeah, that would be an in an ideal world like that would be
my dream role. I love it and that's so gonna align with the creative mind that you have and all you're saying, I'm so glad that you came on and you're talking to me about all these things and sharing it out and just putting it out into the universe. Like, what year your ideal? Because you've already, you know, you've given back in the sense of being an educator South. Now you're thinking, like, what is my next step here? It's not the end of the road for me.
So, what's my next step? I love that you're doing that. Yeah, I think the other next step two is, you know, my wife has been out in California. She's been in Northern California since October of 2021. She got this amazing job opportunity with the food bank of Contra, Costa and Solano. And so when decision was Coast. Yes we're oh my gosh bicoastal. So my youngest son was a junior at the time. We have for kids, collectively and so my youngest son was a junior at the time.
He's the last one to be finishing up. He's actually will be finishing in June. Very excited about that to him. That's awesome. Yes, thankfully, so, you know, when the decision was, oh, you know, this really wonderful opportunity in California. It was also sort of like, okay, well, I knew that there was an
End date where I was. And so really thinking about that transition and then making that shift from the east coast to the West Coast. You know has really been another kind of layer to you know the search and really trying to tap into the skills and really highlight the skills that I have to you know hopefully aligned with the organization and to be honest with you I just need an opportunity.
Like all I really needed to just get my foot in the door and I promise you I will, you know, make your So much stronger. You know what I mean? I bring such a wealth of, you know, talent and energy and creativity to, you know, to a position that I just really need that that foot in the door.
Yeah just you already have like you said the vast amount of experience and talking to you and hearing your so clear and concise about where you want to go with things and your voice on top of that is just calming, there's like no sense of urgency. You know a lot of different corporate spaces. There's a lot of sense of urgency. See, I feel like you would definitely you honor the process and you take it step by step and make sure that everything is ready to go as it should be for
the end user. So it just it just is amazing where I see a bright future for you is what I'm trying to say. So I want to know, is there anything or coming up on the end of the episode here? Is there anything that we missed what's next? For you? I know you're talking about, you're going to the West Coast. Anything else that you'd like to share? I feel like the west coast is sort of the next minute. The next major step for me, and then, you know, sort of taken
the app to the next level. Again, we're currently beta testing and in one school over here on the east coast, and then I want to take that information and then do some iteration. But then possibly finding additional schools, you know, to also help with beta testing the app. I feel like that's going to be really important, you know?
And then really just thinking about you know, No plotting a path towards, you know, the future my future and attack, whatever that looks like whether it's, you know, doing the deeper dive around this particular app or, you know, working with an organization or a company or school that where I can just again, add, you know, some tremendous value to that organization. So, that's really, really what? I'm what I'm looking forward to moving forward.
I love it. I can't wait to see what you do next and I can't thank you enough for being a part of the professional. Community. You hopped in when it was pilot stages so he might have been a little messy at first. Listen, I'm glad listen. So let me give a little Shameless plug here. Okay, I'll go check her out on LinkedIn. Everybody on LinkedIn, number one, number two, she's got this incredible professional Journey community that she is building
out. It is a wondrous, wonderful thing to be a part of. Like the thing about it was I could never make the The live classes and I was like, oh, there's one day, I'm going to make a lot of class. I could never do it just because I had other things that I was working on but like the the amount of information and the and the just like connections and things that you bring to the
table are just incredible. I am like I'm so thankful just to have been a part of that because I was actually initially wait-listed. Yeah and I miss them. Not. Thank you enough. It was, oh, you're welcome. I think you're right back because you bring so much added value to the community and it's so much fun and inspiring to me people like you and other people in the community as you know, who are on the same path of finding something different, and it's just nice to have that
support there. So thank you for the shout out. I'm not blushing, I appreciate you and all that you're doing and thank you for being an education, so long. Oh my gosh. It's just, it's so inspiring to hear your story. And I can't wait to see what you do next. Yeah, thank you. Holly, I really appreciate the opportunity to be on the show. So everything about Stephen is going to be in the show notes. Go follow him and Linkedin to send him.
Ux job, send them what, you know, things in California, so he can get back together with get the family and get the band back together and everything. So Steven, thanks again. Thank you. You've just experienced an another amazing episode of Ed up. Ed Tech. Be sure to visit our website at edip edtech.com to get all the updates on the latest edtech happening. See you next time.