Future goals essay
Where Will the Path Take Me?
Although I have completed my Master of Arts in Educational Technology degree, the finish line is not here. There is no finish line. I consider myself a lifelong learner. This means that I will always continue to learn and improve my practices as an educator. I have three major goals for the future. One, always use technology to improve a lesson, not to simply incorporate technology. Second, continue to add to my personal learning network. Lastly, use what I have learned and the skills I have attained to take on a technology leadership role.
Before beginning my coursework for my master’s program, I viewed technology as a way to improve engagement for students. While this may hold true, it cannot be the only reason technology is utilized. Learning the TPACK framework (incorporating Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge) has been eye-opening for me. This framework considers many “knowledges” teachers should be aware of when planning a lesson. Technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge should be considered individually, but also together. My goal is concerned with the technology aspect of TPACK. I would ask myself, “how does my chosen technology affect the content?” and “how does my chosen technology interact with my pedagogy or teaching method for this lesson?” Answering these questions should lead me to decide whether or not the technology is beneficial. Technology should enrich a lesson and provide students with a deep learning experience. My resource for this goal is the website for TPACK, tpack.org/. I plan on using the articles and visuals to guide my lesson planning when integrating technology.
I have learned that the best teachers beg, borrow or steal from one another and are very willing to share with other educators. This can be seen from many levels, whether it is a grade-level team sharing ideas or gaining ideas from across the globe via the Internet. While pursuing my degree, I have been introduced to amazing speakers, writers, bloggers, vloggers, and tweeters. For my second future goal, I would like to keep growing my personal learning network. I have been following more education-related Twitter accounts, subscribing to blogs, and watching TED talks. My goal is to continue using these avenues to learn from others while also discovering more sources in the process. A resource that I will begin using is edutopia.org. This website includes articles written by educators on a multitude of topics. I can follow this website to see new articles or use it to search for a specific topic. I can also begin following the author on other social media sites such as Twitter.
Sharing my knowledge and the skills I have learned in the process of earning my Master’s degree is very important to me. My final goal is to take on a technology leadership role in my school and in my district. I would like to assist teachers in not only operating technology but guiding them on how to integrate technology in the best ways to suit their students. The key areas I feel knowledgeable in assisting teachers are learning management systems, Google products, using technology to assess students, how to make screencasts or other videos and edit them, how to upload and post YouTube videos, how to make a blog and how to create a class website. All of these skills I have obtained while working on my master’s degree. I feel that I can use these skills to not only help other teachers but all of the students that would be impacted by the teacher’s use of this technology. I will be reaching out to my Media and Technology Elementary to see how I can achieve this goal. A resource to help me achieve this goal and become a better leader are videos on leadership, like this TED Talk by Fields Wicker-Miurin.
My time in the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program is coming to an end, but this will not stop me from pursuing my future goals. Using technology following the TPACK framework will make sure that my lessons are fully equipped for my students. Continuing to grow my personal learning network will provide me with new ideas to bring to my classroom to enhance student learning. Finally, taking on a technology leadership role at my school will allow me to share what I have learned with others and impact many teachers and students in the process. I look forward to working towards these goals for the rest of my teaching career.
References
(n.d.). In Edutopia. Retrieved from edutopia.org
(2009). Learning from leadership's missing... [Online video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/fields_wicker_miurin_learning_from_leadership_s_missing_manual?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
(n.d.). In TPACK.ORG. Retrieved from tpack.org
(2009). Learning from leadership's missing... [Online video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/fields_wicker_miurin_learning_from_leadership_s_missing_manual?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
(n.d.). In TPACK.ORG. Retrieved from tpack.org