My initial goal, when entering this program, was to improve my knowledge of and refine my already advanced technology skills in my teaching. I would like say that I have done this, but it is so difficult to look objectively at my teaching. What I can say definitively is that my teaching is more pedagogically sound and informed by learning theory.
As far as being a more well-rounded technology integrationist, I am more familiar with, and use, a greater variety of technology, although there are several standbys that I have. I regularly use Google Docs and have even took the Google Apps for Education certification. I also use SoundCloud for many different activities in my Listening/Speaking class. My most recent school was a missionary seminary, so there really wasn’t a lot of justification for using or exploring a lot of technology. As a result, I didn’t, but I would have liked to.
These technology tools that I use I likely would have found myself, however, I think my biggest area of growth was in learning how to be a more effective teacher. I got my first teaching job while I only had a BA in English with no teaching experience whatsoever. My other MA is in Linguistics with a certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and that is usually enough to get a job teaching college students English as a Second Language, but I only ever had one class in teaching and a practicum that I didn’t get a lot of feedback in. So, at some point in the Master’s in Educational Technology program, it became an important goal for me to learn more about teaching and learning even though this was never the original goal.
After having looked over an assignment for my Assessments class that included a story about a high achieving student who didn’t feel like they understood much of the material, I realized I had another less noble goal that I was only partially aware of: to get a perfect 4.0 in this program. I feel like too much of my identity is caught up in doing well in these classes. Part of this is because I care deeply about learning the content, but there is more to it than that, which leads to my current goal.
My current goal is not to have a goal. I’m a very goal oriented person, and it follows that once I have a goal, I work toward it and achieve it. However, more often than not, this doesn’t serve me or my happiness. I want to learn to enjoy the process of life more, in general, and specifically in this class. And in many ways I am achieving this. (Oh no! I’ve created a goal out of having no goal. I suppose a zebra can’t change her stripes.) Because I was simply taking these classes because I’m thrilled by the content, I got exactly want I wanted. I worked through these classes slowly, when I had more free time, savoring every assignment, project and new concept. And I’m not sure how, or if, I will even use this specific degree, but it has enhanced my enjoyment of life, the value of which can’t be underestimated.
As far as being a more well-rounded technology integrationist, I am more familiar with, and use, a greater variety of technology, although there are several standbys that I have. I regularly use Google Docs and have even took the Google Apps for Education certification. I also use SoundCloud for many different activities in my Listening/Speaking class. My most recent school was a missionary seminary, so there really wasn’t a lot of justification for using or exploring a lot of technology. As a result, I didn’t, but I would have liked to.
These technology tools that I use I likely would have found myself, however, I think my biggest area of growth was in learning how to be a more effective teacher. I got my first teaching job while I only had a BA in English with no teaching experience whatsoever. My other MA is in Linguistics with a certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and that is usually enough to get a job teaching college students English as a Second Language, but I only ever had one class in teaching and a practicum that I didn’t get a lot of feedback in. So, at some point in the Master’s in Educational Technology program, it became an important goal for me to learn more about teaching and learning even though this was never the original goal.
After having looked over an assignment for my Assessments class that included a story about a high achieving student who didn’t feel like they understood much of the material, I realized I had another less noble goal that I was only partially aware of: to get a perfect 4.0 in this program. I feel like too much of my identity is caught up in doing well in these classes. Part of this is because I care deeply about learning the content, but there is more to it than that, which leads to my current goal.
My current goal is not to have a goal. I’m a very goal oriented person, and it follows that once I have a goal, I work toward it and achieve it. However, more often than not, this doesn’t serve me or my happiness. I want to learn to enjoy the process of life more, in general, and specifically in this class. And in many ways I am achieving this. (Oh no! I’ve created a goal out of having no goal. I suppose a zebra can’t change her stripes.) Because I was simply taking these classes because I’m thrilled by the content, I got exactly want I wanted. I worked through these classes slowly, when I had more free time, savoring every assignment, project and new concept. And I’m not sure how, or if, I will even use this specific degree, but it has enhanced my enjoyment of life, the value of which can’t be underestimated.
