Future as a Learner Essay:
Skill-Focused Life-Long Learning
Throughout my undergraduate and graduate learning experiences, my role as a student and learner has always been a considerable part of my identity. I always assumed that this part of my identity would be minimized upon completion of my master’s coursework. However, my time in the Masters in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University has made me recognize the importance of remaining a life-long learner. In fact, I believe that as an educator, it is my responsibility to continually seek out opportunities to expand upon my knowledge and improve my practice.
As a teacher who seeks ways to meaningfully integrate technology into science curriculum, it is easy to focus on learning the features of specific technologies without examining the role of these technologies in a larger learning context. For example, at the moment I am using Weebly.com as a pseudo-content management system for my science classes. I have invested quite a bit of time into mastering the features that Weebly offers and designing a website that effectively supplements my instruction. This withstanding, I am becoming increasingly aware that newer and more comprehensive learning and content management systems are being made available to teachers and students for free. As such, I have realized that my efforts as a learner should not be focused upon learning about specific technologies that will eventually become archaic and out-dated in the realm of public education. Rather, I have decided to focus upon key skills that will transfer to the use of multiple different technologies. For instance, my skills as a web designer can be applied when using a variety of online platforms.
In an effort to master new skills that will help to improve my teaching, I plan to seek out professional development opportunities related to technology integration more actively in the near future. I plan to attend conferences, funded by my school district, that will help me to learn new skills and connect with innovative educators to expand my professional learning network (PLN). More specifically, I plan to attend the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference in 2016. I hope to encourage other educators in my school district to also take advantage of this great opportunity. Additionally, I plan to familiarize myself with Google Apps for learning such as Google Classroom by attending a two-day Google Teacher Academy. Although Google Apps for Education are technically specific technologies, I believe that the visionary professional development opportunities led by Google will provide me with skills transferrable to many other technological platforms. This endeavor is a priority for me because all of my high school students have been recently issued Chromebooks. This makes it very easy to take advantage of Google programs and applications during daily classroom activities. Eventually, I hope that the use of Google Classroom will become more salient to me in my teaching practices. This might even involve designing hybrid courses for students who are capable of the self-regulation needed to succeed with this instructional framework.
Completing my Masters in Educational Technology will also make me qualified for roles in education outside of traditional teaching. At this point in my career, it would be irresponsible of me not to at least consider making a career change to pursue a role in education that will hone my skills as an educator and instructional technology specialist. For example, I might choose to apply to positions within K-12 public education that involve coordinating technology integration at the district level. Positions with these responsibilities are typically administrative positions that involve designing professional development for teachers related to technology integration.
Alternatively, I have considered moving out of K-12 education and pursuing positions in the corporate sector. There are many positions within corporate training and development departments that involve creating e-learning opportunities to more effectively train large groups of employees at major corporations. Given my experiences in the MAET program, I believe that my skills would transfer well to these types of positions. Before making the transition to a corporate environment, I will need to consider if I would like to be more actively involved in designing or implementing curriculum. For example, corporate training roles involve implementing curriculum and facilitating learning experiences for company employees. Conversely, roles in instructional design are more focused upon developing and designing curriculum. Ideally, I would prefer a position that combines both roles into a position that is more comprehensive. Without making the choice to enroll in the MAET program, I would not have considered positions in the corporate sector or had any interest in pursuing them. However, my newfound educational technology expertise has opened my eyes to a plethora of possibilities that I would have been too narrow-minded to explore in the past.