A Change in Perspective
Kate Heydlauff
Summer 2011
Summer 2011
I began my Masters in Educational Technology in the summer of 2009. At this time, I was in my third year of teaching. I missed being a student and even though my passion is teaching, I have to admit that I still love to learn. When I applied for this program, I had two goals in mind:
- Obtain a Masters Degree and recieve my professional teaching license.
- Learn new types of technologies to use in my classroom.
As I reflect on these two goals, I can almost smirk at myself. Did I fulfill each of these goals? Yes. However, as I finish my time here at Michigan State University, I am leaving with much more than a Masters degree, professional teaching license, and new types of technology to use in my classroom. These goals that I wrote two years ago only skim the surface of what I am taking away with me.
Many of the courses I have taken for my Masters in Educational Technology have challenged, inspired and engaged me. It is true that I have learned about many types of technologies to integrate into my classroom... Wikis, blogs, discussion forums, Wordle, Geometer's Sketchpad, Audacity, VoiceThread. The options are numerous. However, as I look back, it is really not the types of technology that matter. More importantly, I have learned more about my own pedagogy and how technology can influence and enhance my teaching.
Many of the courses I have taken for my Masters in Educational Technology have challenged, inspired and engaged me. It is true that I have learned about many types of technologies to integrate into my classroom... Wikis, blogs, discussion forums, Wordle, Geometer's Sketchpad, Audacity, VoiceThread. The options are numerous. However, as I look back, it is really not the types of technology that matter. More importantly, I have learned more about my own pedagogy and how technology can influence and enhance my teaching.
As we look in to the future, it is obvious that technology will continue to be a large part of our educational system. As I have learned in many of my courses, we need to remember that technology is not the solution. Instead, it is how we use technology that is important. The TPACK model provides an excellent reference to explain how content, pedagogy and technology blend together to create an optimum learning environment.
As I continue to teach and educate my students in the future, I can only hope that I will not remain stagnant in my own learning. Instead, I hope to become a continual learning, just as I hope that my students will do the same. Learning does not stop once I leave the classroom. I am grateful for the learning I have done these last two years and look forward to the learning I will continue to do for the rest of my life.
Work Cited:
TPACK picture from http://www.tpck.org/tpck/images/tpck/b/b1/Tpack-contexts-small.jpg
As I continue to teach and educate my students in the future, I can only hope that I will not remain stagnant in my own learning. Instead, I hope to become a continual learning, just as I hope that my students will do the same. Learning does not stop once I leave the classroom. I am grateful for the learning I have done these last two years and look forward to the learning I will continue to do for the rest of my life.
Work Cited:
TPACK picture from http://www.tpck.org/tpck/images/tpck/b/b1/Tpack-contexts-small.jpg