About the Author
Reflection is powerful. Insightful coursework strategically planned throughout the Innovative Learning journey has provided the opportunity on many occasions for my colleagues and me to continually look back on what has worked well in best teaching practices. As adult learners, we have been given the tools to discover how we can make our teaching practices better in the future. For many years I was afraid to fail. I feared that I had disappointed teachers who relied on my expertise as a collaborative teaching partner, and on more than one occasion I worried that I had damaged the learning process for my students when a technology project did not go as planned. The realization that bombing a project is not the end of the world has been liberating and exonerating! Just pick up, reflect, learn, and move on! New knowledge gained through the coursework about brain-based learning, student-centered instruction, TPAK, new technologies, and learning theories has given me the power to have more self-assurance in approaching teachers for collaborative projects, thus providing me the confidence to pursue a leadership role in my school district. Creating an atmosphere of equity for diverse learners in any school setting is important. The books I have read through Innovative Learning have provided an awareness the services English language learners and students with special needs are entitled to have, and I’m more vigilant in my practice of recognizing their needs. Reflecting back on this past year, my head swims when I think about landing a new job in a new state, qualifying for a California credential, pursuing a Master’s degree, passing the CBEST, turning sixty, and last-but-not-least, surviving an afternoon at the DMV and my driver’s test. What’s next? Good question. I’m not finished learning, and I feel audacious in my ability to pursue whatever comes my way.
As a child, I could never sit still -- and I was fascinated with fire. Throwing combustibles into the family trash burner was my idea of fun. I ran or skipped, but never walked. I found humor in things that weren’t funny to others, like people falling asleep at funerals. I was the girl who wore pants on picture day and cut my own bangs. My teachers told my mother I was bright but that I didn’t apply myself. I was in trouble – a lot, because I found out that I could get attention, good or bad, if I talked. Unbeknownst to my teachers, I was actually listening as I multitasked my way through school. When I became older and attended my high school reunion, my classmates were astounded (probably horrified) to find out that I was a teacher and then a librarian. To this day I have no idea how that happened.
What I do know is, I’ve become acquainted with a lot of kids who have similar stories to mine. My journey through my teaching career has always been about being different, because I was different. My passion is about finding ways to help kids who are tactile, kinesthetic learners like me, and the availability of innovative technology tools provides the perfect avenue. Project-based learning fits in nicely with my teaching style and I've been teaching my own version of hands-on learning for a long time.
Calistoga Schools hired me as a teacher librarian in 2013 when my husband and I relocated to Santa Rosa from Colorado. The opportunity provided to me has been a challenging, yet rewarding experience as I continue to hone my teaching strategies from what I’ve learned through the Innovative Learning program at Touro University and from new relationships and friendships with my new colleagues and friends where I work.
Jennifer Wodlinger is a Teacher Librarian for Calistoga Joint Unified School District. An educator for twenty five plus years, Jennifer became interested in technology in education in the early nineties when she pursued her certification in library science in Missouri. As a Teacher Librarian at the elementary level in Missouri, middle school level in Colorado, and now K-12 in California, Jennifer believes that schools equipped with good school libraries have higher achievement levels and better student success than schools who do not. She is an advocate for teacher collaboration and student-centered learning.
As a child, I could never sit still -- and I was fascinated with fire. Throwing combustibles into the family trash burner was my idea of fun. I ran or skipped, but never walked. I found humor in things that weren’t funny to others, like people falling asleep at funerals. I was the girl who wore pants on picture day and cut my own bangs. My teachers told my mother I was bright but that I didn’t apply myself. I was in trouble – a lot, because I found out that I could get attention, good or bad, if I talked. Unbeknownst to my teachers, I was actually listening as I multitasked my way through school. When I became older and attended my high school reunion, my classmates were astounded (probably horrified) to find out that I was a teacher and then a librarian. To this day I have no idea how that happened.
What I do know is, I’ve become acquainted with a lot of kids who have similar stories to mine. My journey through my teaching career has always been about being different, because I was different. My passion is about finding ways to help kids who are tactile, kinesthetic learners like me, and the availability of innovative technology tools provides the perfect avenue. Project-based learning fits in nicely with my teaching style and I've been teaching my own version of hands-on learning for a long time.
Calistoga Schools hired me as a teacher librarian in 2013 when my husband and I relocated to Santa Rosa from Colorado. The opportunity provided to me has been a challenging, yet rewarding experience as I continue to hone my teaching strategies from what I’ve learned through the Innovative Learning program at Touro University and from new relationships and friendships with my new colleagues and friends where I work.
Jennifer Wodlinger is a Teacher Librarian for Calistoga Joint Unified School District. An educator for twenty five plus years, Jennifer became interested in technology in education in the early nineties when she pursued her certification in library science in Missouri. As a Teacher Librarian at the elementary level in Missouri, middle school level in Colorado, and now K-12 in California, Jennifer believes that schools equipped with good school libraries have higher achievement levels and better student success than schools who do not. She is an advocate for teacher collaboration and student-centered learning.