Career Goals
Prior to beginning the Masters of Art in Educational Technology program (MAET) at Michigan State University, I had goals and hopes for what the future would bring for my educational career. My goal as I entered the MAET program was to help myself better understand integrating the advanced technology into my teaching methods. I wanted to be able to support my students as well as my colleagues as our world continues to advance in daily technology use.
The advancing rate of technology continues to accelerate in our lifetime and will likely to further accelerate during the students' lifetime. As educators, we often fall behind in technology due to the demands of the regular classroom as well as the costs of providing the students with the latest technology. Utilizing the latest technology and advancing social media communication helped support my teaching methods to be more effective and efficient. The MAET program provided me with experiences to further challenge my students by keeping pace with advancing technology of communications and offer additional materials to students who are challenged or who may be falling behind.
It turns out being part of the MAET program benefitted me more than I could’ve ever imagined. As we were living through a pandemic the only way I could teach and provide content to my student was through virtual learning. Having the resources and tools from my masters courses gave me a support system that I was grateful for during uncharted times. As we now are transitioning back to reality within our schools, it is important that we still see how useful online learning was for some students and the benefits that come with incorporating technology for learners.
Now that I have completed my masters program, my goals are to continue to use the resources and tools that I have acquired from my masters courses and implement them daily within my second grade classroom. I also strive to continue to grow with learning technology and supporting those around me whether it be my students, parents or other staff members. With the experience of heavily relying on technology to educate my students due to the pandemic, I can reflect on the importance and usefulness technology provides us. As well as, keeping up with technology as it continues to evolve and advance as time progresses. The ideas and support tools I have received from this program can be everlasting. I look forward to continuing to be an educator for young learners and continue to provide technology and positive learning experiences for my current and future students.