DYNAMIC GOALS FOR A DYNAMIC LIFE
Technology has always been a passion of mine. When I first began my Masters of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) at Michigan State University I was a classroom teacher and wanted to utilize technology to enhance student learning. I had limited classroom experience having taught for two years but had set my sights on becoming a future technology leader in the district. I wanted a Masters degree that would allow me to achieve those goals and also make me more marketable as an educator.
My initial goal for this program was to learn the best way to apply technology in my own classroom to affect my students. I knew that the MAET program would be beneficial to me as a classroom teacher and eventually pass on my knowledge to my colleagues so that they could benefit their students. My goal involved learning skills and strategies to differentiate my instruction to support different types of learners. I wanted to reach my students in ways that were meaningful to them and be sensitive to their needs. I thought creating a classroom environment that took advantage of technology would allow students to have the best opportunity to learn and grown. However, placing students’ learning, not technology use, at the center of my teaching has now become an essential part of my goals.
Now that I am no longer working in a traditional classroom setting, my personal, professional and educational goals have changed somewhat. The biggest factor in this evolution of my goals has been the career change. As the director of a franchise of a national tutoring company my professional goal now involves utilizing technology to enable my teachers to better serve our students. Flexibility in balancing my work as a teacher and a student, allowed me to learn a lot about myself. I also learned the true meaning of what a leader does. As I progressed through the program, my goals shifted from a focus of working directly with students to a focus on enable others to work effectively with students. My goals are less intrinsic and more extrinsic, allowing me to become a better leader.
One goal that will never change for me is to be a life long learner, increasing my pedagogical knowledge and finding better ways of doing things. I have always had a desire to learn and push myself. Throughout the MAET program, I have been challenged to try new techniques of approaching tasks with unfamiliar tools. I now have a continually growing list of tools at my disposal and will continue to educate myself on newly available technological resources. This program has allowed me to push myself professionally and challenge myself academically. Like my life, my goals are dynamic and they will continue to change so my learning will not end here.