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Honestly, I heard more about the things this program taught people than what was expected in the program in the beginning. I work in a district where one of our trainers for technology is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program. At any training I attended with her she was talking about what she had learned in this program or using resources from her instructors to help us understand the information. I had always been interested in teaching with technology and her training made me feel like I was doing that with more and more fidelity. When I started doing research into a graduate program I had to ask her more about this one, and everything she said rang true. From the attitude of the professors, to the hands on minds on nature of the courses, to the content and flexibility of course speed and format, it was one of the best learning experiences I have had.
Honestly, I heard more about the things this program taught people than what was expected in the program in the beginning. I work in a district where one of our trainers for technology is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program. At any training I attended with her she was talking about what she had learned in this program or using resources from her instructors to help us understand the information. I had always been interested in teaching with technology and her training made me feel like I was doing that with more and more fidelity. When I started doing research into a graduate program I had to ask her more about this one, and everything she said rang true. From the attitude of the professors, to the hands on minds on nature of the courses, to the content and flexibility of course speed and format, it was one of the best learning experiences I have had.
I am going to be honest, when I started teaching I was a major rule follower. If the district calendar said we were supposed to be teaching Chapter 4 Lesson 2 in math on day 60 of school, that is what I was doing. I followed the directives like my career and life depended on it, whether my students were ready for it or not. Shortly before I started my graduate program I started to feel like that wasn’t best practice and I was frustrated with what I was doing in the classroom, but didn’t know how to fix it. One thing that changed with me during this program was I got a better understanding within myself as to how to best help my students. This program gave me the opportunity to make quality content that could be used in my classroom that made sense for my students and what was best for them. As I was taking courses it seemed like I was gathering the knowledge to change the way I did things in my classroom. The fact that students should be able to have choice in their learning and that differentiation can be done with technology were things that I had always felt were important but didn’t know how to implement. These courses and the work that I was doing helped me to gather my thoughts about how to make change, and that this change was ok. The more work I did in my graduate program, the more I became empowered to make changes in my classroom. I wanted to do what was best for my students, even if it meant not following the plan. This shift in mindset helped me become a more effective teacher in the sense that I started slowing down in my teaching and doing more of what my students needed, as well as giving them opportunities to choose their work and slow down. Not only did I become more effective, I began enjoying my job again and in turn my students were happier. I was happier when I was teaching and my students saw that and they took on a new attitude about learning as well.
I am going to be honest, when I started teaching I was a major rule follower. If the district calendar said we were supposed to be teaching Chapter 4 Lesson 2 in math on day 60 of school, that is what I was doing. I followed the directives like my career and life depended on it, whether my students were ready for it or not. Shortly before I started my graduate program I started to feel like that wasn’t best practice and I was frustrated with what I was doing in the classroom, but didn’t know how to fix it. One thing that changed with me during this program was I got a better understanding within myself as to how to best help my students. This program gave me the opportunity to make quality content that could be used in my classroom that made sense for my students and what was best for them. As I was taking courses it seemed like I was gathering the knowledge to change the way I did things in my classroom. The fact that students should be able to have choice in their learning and that differentiation can be done with technology were things that I had always felt were important but didn’t know how to implement. These courses and the work that I was doing helped me to gather my thoughts about how to make change, and that this change was ok. The more work I did in my graduate program, the more I became empowered to make changes in my classroom. I wanted to do what was best for my students, even if it meant not following the plan. This shift in mindset helped me become a more effective teacher in the sense that I started slowing down in my teaching and doing more of what my students needed, as well as giving them opportunities to choose their work and slow down. Not only did I become more effective, I began enjoying my job again and in turn my students were happier. I was happier when I was teaching and my students saw that and they took on a new attitude about learning as well.
One class that impacted my thinking was the Technology and Leadership course. This course really made me look at my ideas on technology and leadership opportunities that go along with that. It also helped me to figure out if leadership was something that I wanted to pursue. The course had me take a look at ways for me to help be part of change in the technology ideas in my district. In the course I had to make some decisions about what types of things might need to be done in my district and then go through the process of implementing that. It allowed me the opportunity to really think about what things are important to my profession. In this course I was able to spend most of the semester working with one problem that I identified and working steps to present to those in leadership positions. I found myself empowered by the opportunity to take an idea from start to almost finish. The opportunity to work on things that I could actually take to my district was a wonderful experience. Having the tools to make steps to positive change in something that I am passionate about is important to me and when I get to do that as part of classwork that is even more exciting. The feedback that I received from peers and my instructor allowed me to see how other people see the problem I set forth as well as how they deal with it, and what I might be able to add to help the change happen. I appreciated the way the course was set up so that I could build upon ideas from week to week and get a stockpile of ideas and items to work with. I also found it helpful to have time to tweak items as the course progressed so that if I changed something because of a new idea discussed, or a better understanding of content occurred I could adapt and adjust my thinking and vision. Having to create a vision of how I saw things going in my career and an issue to solve gave me the opportunity to reflect on what was important to me, and what would be helpful for others around me.
One class that impacted my thinking was the Technology and Leadership course. This course really made me look at my ideas on technology and leadership opportunities that go along with that. It also helped me to figure out if leadership was something that I wanted to pursue. The course had me take a look at ways for me to help be part of change in the technology ideas in my district. In the course I had to make some decisions about what types of things might need to be done in my district and then go through the process of implementing that. It allowed me the opportunity to really think about what things are important to my profession. In this course I was able to spend most of the semester working with one problem that I identified and working steps to present to those in leadership positions. I found myself empowered by the opportunity to take an idea from start to almost finish. The opportunity to work on things that I could actually take to my district was a wonderful experience. Having the tools to make steps to positive change in something that I am passionate about is important to me and when I get to do that as part of classwork that is even more exciting. The feedback that I received from peers and my instructor allowed me to see how other people see the problem I set forth as well as how they deal with it, and what I might be able to add to help the change happen. I appreciated the way the course was set up so that I could build upon ideas from week to week and get a stockpile of ideas and items to work with. I also found it helpful to have time to tweak items as the course progressed so that if I changed something because of a new idea discussed, or a better understanding of content occurred I could adapt and adjust my thinking and vision. Having to create a vision of how I saw things going in my career and an issue to solve gave me the opportunity to reflect on what was important to me, and what would be helpful for others around me.
Another course that shaped my thinking in the program, and my profession was Teaching for Understanding with Technology.This was the very first class I took in my program, and it really started my change in thinking about how I do things in my classroom and what I should be doing in my classroom. In this class we learned a lot of the different frameworks that go along with 21st Century Learning. We talked about TPACK (technical, pedagogical and content knowledge), and SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition), and just what it means to teach with technology but with an understanding viewpoint. Not only did this course give me a lot of the background knowledge I needed moving forward, it really got me back into the learning process. While I was in the learning process myself, I realized how much pressure we sometimes put on our students when they are in the learning process. This made me analyze how I run things in the classroom, and how I approach my expectations for students. Many of the assignments in this course allowed me to make changes after I submitted work. Having that opportunity took some of the pressure off being “perfect” the first time. When I didn't have that pressure of having only one chance, I felt more relaxed in completing my assignments and I think I did better work. I took this idea into my classroom the following year and the students seemed to respond so much better to assignments when they knew they had the opportunity to make changes if they needed to. I don't know if I would have come to that conclusion quite as quickly if I hadn't been taking this course, even though it seems like a logical idea. The one assignment that really sticks out in my mind that helped to change and reshape my thinking was the cooking with TPACK assignment. For this activity we had to take everyday objects and use them in a different way and it helped me realize how content and context really make a difference in the way you learn. I think about this assignment a lot when I am setting up new lessons. Do the students have all the right content, context, and knowledge for what I'm asking them to do? I also started wondering if that was part of the reason I was getting so many assignments turned in that weren't exactly what I was expecting, what piece was I missing when I gave my instructions. Overall, this course set me on the path I am currently on with my advanced learning.
Another course that shaped my thinking in the program, and my profession was Teaching for Understanding with Technology.This was the very first class I took in my program, and it really started my change in thinking about how I do things in my classroom and what I should be doing in my classroom. In this class we learned a lot of the different frameworks that go along with 21st Century Learning. We talked about TPACK (technical, pedagogical and content knowledge), and SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition), and just what it means to teach with technology but with an understanding viewpoint. Not only did this course give me a lot of the background knowledge I needed moving forward, it really got me back into the learning process. While I was in the learning process myself, I realized how much pressure we sometimes put on our students when they are in the learning process. This made me analyze how I run things in the classroom, and how I approach my expectations for students. Many of the assignments in this course allowed me to make changes after I submitted work. Having that opportunity took some of the pressure off being “perfect” the first time. When I didn't have that pressure of having only one chance, I felt more relaxed in completing my assignments and I think I did better work. I took this idea into my classroom the following year and the students seemed to respond so much better to assignments when they knew they had the opportunity to make changes if they needed to. I don't know if I would have come to that conclusion quite as quickly if I hadn't been taking this course, even though it seems like a logical idea. The one assignment that really sticks out in my mind that helped to change and reshape my thinking was the cooking with TPACK assignment. For this activity we had to take everyday objects and use them in a different way and it helped me realize how content and context really make a difference in the way you learn. I think about this assignment a lot when I am setting up new lessons. Do the students have all the right content, context, and knowledge for what I'm asking them to do? I also started wondering if that was part of the reason I was getting so many assignments turned in that weren't exactly what I was expecting, what piece was I missing when I gave my instructions. Overall, this course set me on the path I am currently on with my advanced learning.
The third course that impacted my learning during my graduate program was Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice. In this course we did a lot of work with items that could be used in our classrooms everyday. The coursework were things that either were new items to be used in our classrooms or items that we adjusted from our everyday work life. One other important thing that we did in this course was work with questioning, and questions. I thought it was very interesting how we spent a lot of time with questions oh, and the types of questions that are asked in education in classrooms. What was really interesting was that students as they get older ask less and less questions in class, because they are given more and more information. After taking this course, I started giving my students more "breathing room" so that they could ask questions about what I wanted or what they were learning. The more they questioned, the more invested they were and what they were learning. In this course we also looked at a “wicked problem of practice”. This wicked problem project lasted the entire semester and I found it very empowering to choose my own idea to look at. I was able to work on something that was important to me and my students which made me more invested in how it turned out. I took this idea into my classroom thinking and started giving my students more choice in what they were doing. Sometimes it would be a choice in what subject they were learning at a point in time in the day, sometimes it was a choice in how they were learning it. No matter what type of choice they were given, when they were given the choice they seemed more interested in what they were learning, and I seemed to get better quality assignments from them. Something else I enjoyed with the wicked problem project was being able to get real life experience and information about a problem that faces my community, that information was invaluable. This course was also one that shaped my thinking and impacted my learning because it was taught by instructors that I had had in previous classes. This was impactful to me, because there was already knowledge about me, and my work ethic, and what was important to me. they knew what types of feedback works for me, and they had an idea of what was important to me and my teaching, and my students. I found it very refreshing that building a community was something that they were trying to do, just as much as I try to do in my classroom.
The third course that impacted my learning during my graduate program was Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice. In this course we did a lot of work with items that could be used in our classrooms everyday. The coursework were things that either were new items to be used in our classrooms or items that we adjusted from our everyday work life. One other important thing that we did in this course was work with questioning, and questions. I thought it was very interesting how we spent a lot of time with questions oh, and the types of questions that are asked in education in classrooms. What was really interesting was that students as they get older ask less and less questions in class, because they are given more and more information. After taking this course, I started giving my students more "breathing room" so that they could ask questions about what I wanted or what they were learning. The more they questioned, the more invested they were and what they were learning. In this course we also looked at a “wicked problem of practice”. This wicked problem project lasted the entire semester and I found it very empowering to choose my own idea to look at. I was able to work on something that was important to me and my students which made me more invested in how it turned out. I took this idea into my classroom thinking and started giving my students more choice in what they were doing. Sometimes it would be a choice in what subject they were learning at a point in time in the day, sometimes it was a choice in how they were learning it. No matter what type of choice they were given, when they were given the choice they seemed more interested in what they were learning, and I seemed to get better quality assignments from them. Something else I enjoyed with the wicked problem project was being able to get real life experience and information about a problem that faces my community, that information was invaluable. This course was also one that shaped my thinking and impacted my learning because it was taught by instructors that I had had in previous classes. This was impactful to me, because there was already knowledge about me, and my work ethic, and what was important to me. they knew what types of feedback works for me, and they had an idea of what was important to me and my teaching, and my students. I found it very refreshing that building a community was something that they were trying to do, just as much as I try to do in my classroom.
Overall, this program was so integral to my professional life, that the way I am teaching and thinking about teaching has forever been changed. Through taking these courses and completing this program I have found a renewed passion for teaching, and for doing what's right for my students. I am much more aware as I teach now as to how the technology that I use is being experienced by my students. This program seemed to give me the permission to fight for what I knew was right for my students, and gave me the data, research and tools to make it happen. Without this program I think it would have taken me a lot longer to get to this place. This change in my thinking will impact all my classes and colleagues moving forward.
Overall, this program was so integral to my professional life, that the way I am teaching and thinking about teaching has forever been changed. Through taking these courses and completing this program I have found a renewed passion for teaching, and for doing what's right for my students. I am much more aware as I teach now as to how the technology that I use is being experienced by my students. This program seemed to give me the permission to fight for what I knew was right for my students, and gave me the data, research and tools to make it happen. Without this program I think it would have taken me a lot longer to get to this place. This change in my thinking will impact all my classes and colleagues moving forward.
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