While working towards my bachelor's degree at Michigan State University, I had the privilege of working in the Center for Teaching and Technology within the College of Education. Through this experience, I found that I not only had a love for teaching, but also teaching with technology. As I began my own teaching career however, I learned that just because I knew how to use technology did not mean that I knew how to integrate it thoughtfully and with purpose for my students. Through this desire to know more and do better, I pursued the Masters in Educational Technology.

 

            Upon applying to the program, I identified two goals that I hoped to achieve through the completion of my master’s degree. One goal I identified was to learn how to thoughtfully integrate technology into my teaching. I knew that simply providing my students with access to technology was not enough; I needed to use it to enhance their learning. Another goal I had was to be able to help other educators understand and utilize technology in their teaching. Often times other teacher’s would describe their frustration with technology in the classroom due to the fact that it is always changing and there is rarely support for teachers in utilizing it.  Looking back, these goals seem broad but also encompass my learning over the past two years.

 

            My goals today align very closely to my original goals upon entering the program at Michigan State. Now, more than ever, I see the need that school districts have for helping their teachers to thoughtfully utilize and understand technology. More and more districts are gaining access to technology and even becoming one to one with technology, but without proper coaching and support in implementing technology schools are setting both students and teachers up to fail. As I think about my original goal of helping others to understand and utilize technology I realize that this goal is much bigger than me. However, I can narrow this goal and be successful by helping teachers within my own building by providing them access to successful modeling, planning, and integration within my own classroom space. Additionally, I realize that my goal of thoughtfully integrating technology into my teaching is a constant moving target. Not only is technology constantly evolving but also are the needs of our students. In order to create and educate individuals that can be successful in a global world, it is important to constantly be looking ahead to students future needs and asking ourselves if we are properly equipping them for success. Not only will this push our own learning and teaching, but our student’s as well. In order to achieve this goal, I must not remain comfortable with the status quo and must constantly push my own technology use and integration. My primary goal now is to keep learning and keep pushing what is best practice, so that I can best meet the needs of my current and future students and prepare them for a global world.