An Exit Door is Just an Entrance to Someplace Else
Undoubtedly, people who choose the teaching profession automatically sign themselves up to be life-long learners. A teacher friend of mine recently exclaimed, “Teachers are about the only professionals who are expected to achieve additional education, yet it is at their own expense.” In any event, especially with teaching, those who enter the profession must be willing to evolve not only with the students, but in today’s world, with the technology, as well.
When I chose Michigan State University’s Master’s in Educational Technology, I did so with personal evolution in mind. I had already determined that the degree would serve me well, whether in education or outside of it. Upon receiving my MAET, I will be able to add another certification to my teaching license which would allow me to be a technology teacher. My primary goal in attaining my Master’s in Educational Technology is to become an instructional technology specialist. As a classroom educator, I enjoy the opportunities for student engagement that technology can bring, yet, I have learned that relevant use of technology is not easy to come by. My biggest complaint is the fact that teachers are expected to utilize technology in their instruction, but I mostly see teachers using it as a “tool” rather than a support for mastery of skills.
Currently, as a teacher, for as much as I want to really use technology to enhance learning, it would practically become an additional full-time job creating meaningful technology-infused lessons. Therefore, by becoming an instructional technology specialist, I would have that full-time position of creating technology infused lessons to support teachers in the classroom, and I would still have the opportunity to work with students; both of my passions would still be fulfilled.
Since I have successfully completed MSU’s “Teaching K-12 Students Online” I have realized the presence of technological tools that are currently available in most schools, and I believe that I have begun to understand how these tools can enhance learning. Most schools have websites, specifically, teacher pages that provide opportunities to blog, chat, post podcasts, webcasts, and online assessments; now, more than ever, is the time to revolutionalize teaching and learning. How are we going to use the technology that is second nature to today’s students? Students walk around with Smartphones in their pockets; how are we going to use them for learning? These are questions that I intend on answering as I evolve into my next educational position.
When I chose Michigan State University’s Master’s in Educational Technology, I did so with personal evolution in mind. I had already determined that the degree would serve me well, whether in education or outside of it. Upon receiving my MAET, I will be able to add another certification to my teaching license which would allow me to be a technology teacher. My primary goal in attaining my Master’s in Educational Technology is to become an instructional technology specialist. As a classroom educator, I enjoy the opportunities for student engagement that technology can bring, yet, I have learned that relevant use of technology is not easy to come by. My biggest complaint is the fact that teachers are expected to utilize technology in their instruction, but I mostly see teachers using it as a “tool” rather than a support for mastery of skills.
Currently, as a teacher, for as much as I want to really use technology to enhance learning, it would practically become an additional full-time job creating meaningful technology-infused lessons. Therefore, by becoming an instructional technology specialist, I would have that full-time position of creating technology infused lessons to support teachers in the classroom, and I would still have the opportunity to work with students; both of my passions would still be fulfilled.
Since I have successfully completed MSU’s “Teaching K-12 Students Online” I have realized the presence of technological tools that are currently available in most schools, and I believe that I have begun to understand how these tools can enhance learning. Most schools have websites, specifically, teacher pages that provide opportunities to blog, chat, post podcasts, webcasts, and online assessments; now, more than ever, is the time to revolutionalize teaching and learning. How are we going to use the technology that is second nature to today’s students? Students walk around with Smartphones in their pockets; how are we going to use them for learning? These are questions that I intend on answering as I evolve into my next educational position.