At the moment I am in the middle of changing careers from teaching English as a Second Language to something more focused on Educational Technology. Because I have never actually had a job in Ed Tech, and I don’t know what my specific job will entail, it’s hard for me to be specific about goals. When I have more information about my next position, I will be able to tailor my learning goals to my job. This makes it very difficult to write about future goals. However, I do have areas that I’m interested in that I can touch on briefly.
I started and never finished the Google Apps for Education training. That is something I would really like to put on my CV. The Google apps are of such high value to teaching, it would be a shame to not get full credit for what I know about it. Second, I want to join a professional organization again. I have been a part of several over that last several years but now that I’m not affiliated with a school, and don’t have the professional development money, I have let my memberships lag. The International Society for Teaching in Education is my organization of choice. I would also like go to conferences at least once a year. I am also highly interested in the Gaming certificate that Michigan State offers. Not only does that just sound like fun, but I believe there is a future in that gaming for education that can be backed-up by solid research.
Something that has just come up on my radar is the idea of a blog that focuses on the research regarding Educational Technology. That are many, many blogs out there – and good ones – about technology in the classroom but try to find an instructor that addresses current research and you’ll find a barren desert of resources. If I could integrate this into my duties at my next place of employment, that would be ideal. This idea came to me because I was looking for something like that and couldn’t find it. If you look up health related topics, there are many bloggers/professional that review the current journal articles for us. I am not able to find an equivalent in the Educational Technology discipline.
My focus on my future goals at the moment is my blog. It’s something I can carry into my next position regardless of what my responsibilities will be. I can either keep it for myself or it can likely be integrated into my duties. Outside of the blog, it’s hard to get too specific about my goals. I do love learning though, and I don’t think I could happily work in a position in which that wasn’t important and valued. I’m hoping that this position comes sooner rather than later.
I started and never finished the Google Apps for Education training. That is something I would really like to put on my CV. The Google apps are of such high value to teaching, it would be a shame to not get full credit for what I know about it. Second, I want to join a professional organization again. I have been a part of several over that last several years but now that I’m not affiliated with a school, and don’t have the professional development money, I have let my memberships lag. The International Society for Teaching in Education is my organization of choice. I would also like go to conferences at least once a year. I am also highly interested in the Gaming certificate that Michigan State offers. Not only does that just sound like fun, but I believe there is a future in that gaming for education that can be backed-up by solid research.
Something that has just come up on my radar is the idea of a blog that focuses on the research regarding Educational Technology. That are many, many blogs out there – and good ones – about technology in the classroom but try to find an instructor that addresses current research and you’ll find a barren desert of resources. If I could integrate this into my duties at my next place of employment, that would be ideal. This idea came to me because I was looking for something like that and couldn’t find it. If you look up health related topics, there are many bloggers/professional that review the current journal articles for us. I am not able to find an equivalent in the Educational Technology discipline.
My focus on my future goals at the moment is my blog. It’s something I can carry into my next position regardless of what my responsibilities will be. I can either keep it for myself or it can likely be integrated into my duties. Outside of the blog, it’s hard to get too specific about my goals. I do love learning though, and I don’t think I could happily work in a position in which that wasn’t important and valued. I’m hoping that this position comes sooner rather than later.
