Growing up, I always believed in being a lifelong learner. As a teacher, I found myself gravitating toward new and exciting ideas, such as incorporating new technology into the classroom in order to better engage my students. I found this was a great way to get my students involved and motivated in their own learning. After my first couple years of teaching, I knew I wanted to go back to school to continue to grow as an educator and find new ways to differentiate my classroom from the norm.

 

In researching different programs, the word “technology” immediately caught my eye in the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University. I was thrilled at the opportunity to go back to my alma mater and learn new ways of incorporating technology into my classroom. My understanding of the MAET program was that it was going to be focused around specific technology programs and how students can benefit from their use inside and outside of the classroom. Therefore, my original goal was to find different ways to incorporate technology into my classroom to provide my students with a deeper understanding of the technological world and use that technology to enhance their learning experience. Additionally, my goal included being able to consistently develop techniques in order to better educate my students in how to use websites and forums for research and other educational purposes. Overall, I hoped that by the end of this program I would be more proficient in integrating technology into my classroom while being more up to date in current and future technological developments.

 

As the program progressed, I realized the classes were specifically tailored to accomplish much more than just integrating technology into the classroom by using computers and iPads. Instead, this program pushed me as an educator to find ways to encourage my students to become creative makers and collaborative thinkers. Now, because of this program, I strive to encourage my students to think creatively. A few ways I do this is by having my students create different circuits using a Makey-Makey kit and re-purpose everyday objects to accomplish different tasks at hand. I have also become more inclined to conduct research in order to support my current teaching practices or assist me in developing alternative practices.  

 

My original goal was focused around using new technology in teaching methods. Now, as I near the end of this program in my last semester, my goal has been slightly modified to focus more on using technology as a tool to support creative and collaborative learning, not just a tool for teaching. I realize that while there are a number of technology programs out there that have various ways of presenting information, this does not push the students to understand the material. Instead, this program has armed me with the skills of using technology to promote critical thinking.

 

I am excited to continue to expand upon these skills in order to help my students grow into collaborative, creative thinkers.