What I’ve Tried...How I’ve Failed...What I’ve Learned
Samantha Forster
As I look back on my lofty and very general goals expressed during my initial composition for admittance to the MSU Educational Technology Master’s program, I realize that I was very new and naive to the education world. Lacking years of experience in the classroom allowed me to have a fairytale view of the possibilities regarding education and the integration of technology. The pessimism in the previous statement is not to be overshadowed; however, there is some truth the the literal statement. Without extremely optimistic goals and ideas for change, things will never evolve. I also realize that these initial goals shaped the direction of my graduate education. Much of the reason I chose this particular program was due to self-motivated research of educational technology through blogs. I have continued on this path and know that I will continue to keep abreast of the latest in the field with the help of other professionals using this avenue.
Many of my initial ideas regarding the integration of technology, including its effects on the classroom, reading, and writing have evolved. My assumptions were general and acknowledged that these facets of education have changed, but to what extent and the specific changes and effects were unknown to me. One of the things I wholeheartedly enjoyed about this program was the self-reflection combined with the content. I realized how reading and writing has changed after evaluating and reflecting on my experiences. This included observing and dissecting the way that I and other peers read information on the web. Another activity and class that corresponded with the experiences and ideas above was related to digital research and reading. Reflecting and researching regarding the digital research process and the effects on student's thought process has changed the way that I propose assignments and web research. The beneficial information gained from these activities would not have been as apparent if it was not directly related to my experience. One of my new goals is to consistently experiment with new technologies on my own before introducing them to students. This is not just for errors sake, but to also understand the learning process that my students will be asked to go through, and possibly modify curriculum and lesson to help students succeed.
A final goal for myself after the completion of this program is to get involved with instructional technology and curriculum. It seems unlikely when looking back at my lack of specific information regarding both aspects that I would’ve mentioned it in my initial goals statement, but I did. At the time of composition, I am not sure I knew specifically what “the administrative side of instructional technology and curriculum” involved, or that I would have extensive experience in curriculum during the following year of my teaching career. Consecutively, during my graduate education, Wisconsin transitioned to Common Core standards for teaching. My school district decided to implement the Common Core Maps curriculum, and I was afforded the opportunity to work closely with this new curriculum in a leadership position, including developing benchmarks and learning targets for each of the literacy standards. This is a side of education that I did not expect to have experience in, and I do believe that it has changed my approach to curriculum and technology. There is a lack of technology present with the new standards and as a leader in the district my goal for the future is to ensure that technology doesn’t get lost within the development of new curriculum in the various content areas.
Overall, I have just as many lofty goals as the pre-graduate school me. They may be more specific and directed, but a promise to myself is to not lose that optimistic fairytale vision of education.
Many of my initial ideas regarding the integration of technology, including its effects on the classroom, reading, and writing have evolved. My assumptions were general and acknowledged that these facets of education have changed, but to what extent and the specific changes and effects were unknown to me. One of the things I wholeheartedly enjoyed about this program was the self-reflection combined with the content. I realized how reading and writing has changed after evaluating and reflecting on my experiences. This included observing and dissecting the way that I and other peers read information on the web. Another activity and class that corresponded with the experiences and ideas above was related to digital research and reading. Reflecting and researching regarding the digital research process and the effects on student's thought process has changed the way that I propose assignments and web research. The beneficial information gained from these activities would not have been as apparent if it was not directly related to my experience. One of my new goals is to consistently experiment with new technologies on my own before introducing them to students. This is not just for errors sake, but to also understand the learning process that my students will be asked to go through, and possibly modify curriculum and lesson to help students succeed.
A final goal for myself after the completion of this program is to get involved with instructional technology and curriculum. It seems unlikely when looking back at my lack of specific information regarding both aspects that I would’ve mentioned it in my initial goals statement, but I did. At the time of composition, I am not sure I knew specifically what “the administrative side of instructional technology and curriculum” involved, or that I would have extensive experience in curriculum during the following year of my teaching career. Consecutively, during my graduate education, Wisconsin transitioned to Common Core standards for teaching. My school district decided to implement the Common Core Maps curriculum, and I was afforded the opportunity to work closely with this new curriculum in a leadership position, including developing benchmarks and learning targets for each of the literacy standards. This is a side of education that I did not expect to have experience in, and I do believe that it has changed my approach to curriculum and technology. There is a lack of technology present with the new standards and as a leader in the district my goal for the future is to ensure that technology doesn’t get lost within the development of new curriculum in the various content areas.
Overall, I have just as many lofty goals as the pre-graduate school me. They may be more specific and directed, but a promise to myself is to not lose that optimistic fairytale vision of education.