Technology Goals Adapting with Career Goals
When I began my Masters in Educational Technology, MAET, I had been teaching in a rural Alaskan village for 3 years. Despite being in a place that you could not drive to, as there are no roads to or from the village, we had a fair amount of access to technology. The school has a one to one laptop program, access to video teleconference equipment, SmartBoards in each classroom, and the backing of a district that strongly supported technology integration. My primary goal with the MAET was to increase the technology use within my classroom in order to increase student motivation, engagement, and ultimately learning. On top of these, I wanted to use technology to help connect students to opportunities and perspectives outside of the village. That’s not to say that I wanted to push students out of the village, but rather help them learn of possibilities outside of the village and help prepare them to be successful should they choose to leave. My final goal was to also help the other teachers within my school and district with using technology in their classrooms. In a school with a total of 4 teachers, we work together frequently and benefit greatly from what each individual brings to the table.
Today, my career goals have changed, influencing the goals of my MAET. Previously, I had intended to be a teacher throughout my career. In the past three years, I’ve had three different principals and currently don’t have a principal. As lead teacher, I’ve assumed many of the principal duties and decided that I would like to follow the career path of a principal. Adapting my previous goals to my current circumstances my primary goal is to facilitate teachers use of technology in the classroom. Rather than a secondary benefit or goal, this will now be my primary goal. Traditionally in my district, the various school sites have a day each week where school gets out an hour early. This time is for teacher professional development and group planning. This time can provide a multitude of opportunities for professional development focused on technology. Hopefully through effective teacher implementation, I can still achieve my goals to increase motivation, engagement, and learning, as well as connecting and preparing students for lives both in and out of the village.
My goals have remained very similar, but have been re-prioritized. My goals remain similar because I’m continuing to work with the same student demographic, however they’re changing some because, hopefully, my role in our school will be changing. Having taught in our school for over 5 years now, I have a good understanding of the technology resources the district has supplied to teachers. Through a MAET, I have a good understanding of many additional technologies that students can enhance their educational experience with. Combining these two sources of knowledge, I can coach teachers on how to implement technology in their classrooms and how to adapt more traditional classrooms into modern learning environments.
When I began my Masters in Educational Technology, MAET, I had been teaching in a rural Alaskan village for 3 years. Despite being in a place that you could not drive to, as there are no roads to or from the village, we had a fair amount of access to technology. The school has a one to one laptop program, access to video teleconference equipment, SmartBoards in each classroom, and the backing of a district that strongly supported technology integration. My primary goal with the MAET was to increase the technology use within my classroom in order to increase student motivation, engagement, and ultimately learning. On top of these, I wanted to use technology to help connect students to opportunities and perspectives outside of the village. That’s not to say that I wanted to push students out of the village, but rather help them learn of possibilities outside of the village and help prepare them to be successful should they choose to leave. My final goal was to also help the other teachers within my school and district with using technology in their classrooms. In a school with a total of 4 teachers, we work together frequently and benefit greatly from what each individual brings to the table.
Today, my career goals have changed, influencing the goals of my MAET. Previously, I had intended to be a teacher throughout my career. In the past three years, I’ve had three different principals and currently don’t have a principal. As lead teacher, I’ve assumed many of the principal duties and decided that I would like to follow the career path of a principal. Adapting my previous goals to my current circumstances my primary goal is to facilitate teachers use of technology in the classroom. Rather than a secondary benefit or goal, this will now be my primary goal. Traditionally in my district, the various school sites have a day each week where school gets out an hour early. This time is for teacher professional development and group planning. This time can provide a multitude of opportunities for professional development focused on technology. Hopefully through effective teacher implementation, I can still achieve my goals to increase motivation, engagement, and learning, as well as connecting and preparing students for lives both in and out of the village.
My goals have remained very similar, but have been re-prioritized. My goals remain similar because I’m continuing to work with the same student demographic, however they’re changing some because, hopefully, my role in our school will be changing. Having taught in our school for over 5 years now, I have a good understanding of the technology resources the district has supplied to teachers. Through a MAET, I have a good understanding of many additional technologies that students can enhance their educational experience with. Combining these two sources of knowledge, I can coach teachers on how to implement technology in their classrooms and how to adapt more traditional classrooms into modern learning environments.