Future Goals Essay
Continuing my Educational Technology Journey
Whenever I was asked as an elementary student what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said “teacher.” Once I became a teacher, I assumed that I reached the peak of my career aspirations. I was a well-respected English teacher and head of the English department: what more could I want? When my school district went 1:1 (meaning every student was given a computer for classroom use) it was like a whole new world was unlocked to me. I began to fuse pedagogy, technology, and content in my classroom, and found joy in spending hours experimenting with new educational technologies. Before long, I realized that there was a limit to the resources I could discover on my own; thus, I applied to Michigan State University’s Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program. Upon the completion of my master’s degree, I realized that my career goals had changed and I wanted to become an Educational Technologist. While I have now successfully met this goal by becoming a K-12 Technology Integration Coach through Sturgis Public Schools, this does not mean that my learning is over. Instead, I have three new goals that I am striving towards: continue to increase my Professional Learning Network (PLN), become a Google for Education Certified Innovator, and continue my learning to strengthen my edtech knowledge and coaching practices.
Before starting my MAET degree, I did not know the power of a Professional Learning Network (PLN). I was one of three people in my district who was passionate about technology, so I did not have many people to collaborate with. Although this collaboration was useful, I did not have a reliable way to learn what other educators in other districts were doing with technology in their classroom. This all changed when, during my first summer in the MAET program, I was asked to join Twitter and create a PLN. I came to realize that Twitter is one of the most valuable resources available to teachers because it connects educators all across the globe. Even better, most of these educators have no qualms about sharing resources: their philosophy is that the more people who know about something amazing in the educational world, the better! This discovery led to an explosion in my PLN and a desire to learn even more. Thus, I challenged myself to join a myriad of Twitter Chats to create even more connections. One of the best things about Twitter is that there is always new people to meet, and new ideas to hear. Thus, I want to continue to use Twitter to grow my Professional Learning Network by joining a variety of Twitter Chats and following new people that I meet.
Something that I learned through discussions with my PLN was about Google Certification. As a K-12 Technology Integration Coach in a G Suite for Education district, I wanted a way to show that I could assist teachers with any Google-related question that they may have. Therefore, I made it my goal to earn all four Google Certification badges. I accomplished the first part of my goal in my first year as a Tech Coach by earning my Google Certified Educator Level 1 in September 2018 and my Level 2 certification in October 2018. The next step in my journey was to become a Google for Education Certified Trainer. I spent the next year presenting at conferences, leading district PD, and assisting teachers with Google tools one-on-one. My hard work paid off when, in February 2020, I was accepted into the Google for Education Certified Trainer program. Now my final mission is to become a Google for Education Certified Innovator. I am currently working towards this goal by researching problems in education and interviewing stakeholders affected by this problems.
Lastly, I want to continue to learn to learn and grow as an educator and as a coach. This involves reading books, researching best practices, testing ideas out in classrooms, attending conferences, and learning from other educators. In my role as a K-12 technology integration coach, I know there is always more to learn because technology is always growing and changing. Besides learning more about educational technology best practices, I also want to strengthen my knowledge of coaching. I have started this journey by reading literature from Jim Knight, Jill Jackson, Diane Sweeney, Elena Aguilar, and others. In spring of 2020 I also attended several virtual coaching cohorts led by Jim Knight's coaching team. My current plan is to take what I have learned thus far and begin coaching cycles during the 2020-21 school year.
