Fusing it All Together: Part 1
The Journey
Four years ago, I set out on a journey. The destination wasn’t entirely clear to me. I knew that this journey would change me in ways I could identify and in ways of which I wasn’t yet aware. It was my hope that the path I was choosing would affect positive changes in me and help me to affect positive changes in my students. Based on what others who had chosen the same path had said, I was quite confident that it would.
The journey I was beginning during the summer of 2010 was the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program at Michigan State University. I originally came across the master's program while searching for a 9-credit planned program to earn a first renewal of my provisional teaching certificate. The three courses of the planned program I was most interested in would satisfy the requirements for the first renewal while also earning me a Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology. It just so happened that these courses, CEP 810, 811, and 812, were also the first three courses of MSU’s Master’s in Educational Technology program. After completing those three courses, my horizons were expanded enough that I knew this was not the place to stop.
It was not a difficult decision to make. Michigan State’s programs in the field of education have consistently ranked among the highest in the nation. I had completed my undergraduate degree in elementary education at MSU, and trusted the quality of the university’s courses, instructors, and programs. Furthermore, I craved the knowledge and skills that the MAET program would help me to develop. I felt limited by my educational technology experiences and knowledge, and wanted to use technology to not only change what and how I taught, but also as a tool to extend and enhance learning in ways that weren’t possible without technology.
Looking back as I near the end of this journey, it is easy to see how significantly this path has changed me, changed the learning experiences I provide my students, and changed the knowledge and skills I am able to help my students develop.
I have acquired a variety of technology skills, from website creation to podcasting, which will serve me well beyond the MAET program. However, these are only skills. While they are important, simply knowing how to use a given technology does not make a meaningful difference in the education of children. It is the expertise I have gained in the integration of content, pedagogy, and relevant technology which has made the most powerful difference in my teaching and in my students’ learning.
I now consider myself to be knowledgeable and experienced in best practices for teaching with technology. I engage students in using a variety of technologies to learn, interact with, and express their knowledge. My students use technology to collaborate with and learn from each other and from students nowhere near our school. I help them use technology as a tool for effectively communicating information, ideas, and experiences to a variety of audiences. With the help of technology, they create useful materials, apply their learning in the subject areas, and teach others.
While completing a master’s degree has been rewarding, transformative, and immensely useful to my practice, it has not necessarily been the easiest of paths. Taking classes while working full time required me to learn to effectively balance my time and responsibilities to my students, my coursework, my family, and myself. Learning in a program that is completely online has helped me to become more self-directed and independent. However, the fact that the courses did not meet in person did not mean that I was alone. The conversations and interactions I’ve had with classmates and instructors about ideas and coursework have provided great insight and support, and have been instrumental to my success.