A Never-ending Journey
By: Amanda Atkinson
I started the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University in the Spring of 2010. I chose this program because of my passion for technology and its potential in the classroom. My primary goal was to learn about new types of technology that I could integrate in my classroom. I believe that I have grown a great deal though my experience in the program and have gained much more than I could have imagined. The MAET program has allowed me to become a life-long learner, and I have discovered a love for learning that was never present during my undergraduate work. Throughout my journey of graduate courses; I have come to love learning. At first, I was a bit apprehensive to go back to school after completing my bachelor’s degree, but I have thoroughly enjoyed every step and each course – so I do find myself a little sad to be
finishing the program. As I come to the end of my master’s degree and formal education; it is important to plan for the future and make goals for what is to come. While considering the future, I have found that I am focusing on three primary goals: my students, collaboration, and technology.
Students First
As I continue as a lifelong learner most of the learning that I do is focused on my teaching, which is reflected through my students’ classroom performance. My students are what drive my learning, because they are the most affected component. If it weren’t for my students, my learning and goals would move in a completely different direction. Ultimately, my goal is to continue to become a more effective teacher and create more engaging and real-world lessons in order to engage my students with their learning. I feel confident that with the skills that I have learned throughout my coursework, I can continue to accomplish this goal. There are two ways I plan to make this happen. The first is through collaboration and the second is through the use of technology.
Collaboration is key to future learning
With technology at our fingertips it is so easy to stay connected to a plethora of resources and people. I currently follow many technology and teaching blogs so I can collect more ideas for my classroom. Through this approach, I have been able to establish a network where I am exposed to new ideas that enhance my learning and teaching by collecting ideas and plans from my colleagues and online acquaintances. I will continue to enhance my instructional practices and my students’ performance – a critical responsibility of any educator. Sharing and collaboration are essential to lifelong learners. What is the sense in learning if we don’t share our acquired knowledge in some capacity with others? Another goal that I hope to pursue is to incorporate TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge) in my classroom. This will allow me to share the ideas that I am using with my colleagues across the district. With technology constantly changing, it is so easy to exchange ideas with colleagues around the world. I plan to start my own blog to share the cool lessons I do in my classroom. In the past, I have created a blog and posted a few times, but I hope to be more deliberate about my audience and the ideas that I share. Currently, the goal of my blog is to inform parents of the fun things students are doing in my class. I hope to change my focus to sharing ideas and lessons with other educators in order to expand my audience. I would also like to become a part of the viral teaching community called “teachers pay teachers” and share some of my lessons there as well.
Technology is ever changing
When I first started my graduate work in educational technology I wanted to learn new ways to use technology in my classroom and add tools to my toolbox. I have definitely learned about new technology and added to my toolbox, but I have also realized that many of the tools that I have learned about throughout my courses are already out of date and have been replaced. For example, when I started my masters I was focused on learning ways to engage my students thought the use of CPS (Classroom Performance System) and the Mobi (Mobile Interactive Whiteboard). These devices have since been replaced with the use of the iPad and Apple TV in my classroom. It is my goal, as I finish my degree, to continue to learn and explore in order to keep up to date with new and improved tools and ideas to use in my classroom. Through my courses I have learned to be fearless when it comes to technology and I hope to use that confidence to drive my future in learning. After all, with technology changing so quickly, being a lifelong learner is essential in order to keep up with these changes.
As I come to the end my formal education and begin my journey as a lifelong learner, I am excited about the new opportunities and the direction my education will lead me. Through the use of online resources and collaboration, along with attending conferences and personal exploration, I plan to keep with the ever changing technology and continued learning. I am excited to see where this never-ending journey as a lifelong learner takes me.
