I cannot believe that this program is coming to an end. It seems like not that long ago I was telling my family, friends, and co workers that I was headed back to school for my Masters. Everyone thought it would be a great idea to push my career forward and keep up with the new waves of education and technology. I thought that the program looked good and I would do a lot of lesson plan writing and things I have a good grasp on in my field. Boy was I wrong. Suddenly I find myself taking apart computers, download new operating systems, examining various technologies as a back ups and protections, discussing how to teach an online class, meeting with teachers already in the online field, and most important finding new web 2.0 tools that I can use easily in my classroom and share with my colleagues.
I have learned so much about myself with what I know and did not know. I also found that my confidence was a bit shattered in our stats class. That was probably the hardest part of this whole program for me. Stats math is not my strong suite, but I had a great group of peers to work with and helped me through the course, explained what I was missing and guided me through. The other great thing I was able to do with taking the course online was google terms on the net while the professor was continuing with his lesson. It took away the anxiety of it all with the simple comfort of having the computer as a reference tool right in front of me.
I have gained great confidence in my abilities to use technology as well as share the knowledge with others. I have tried to open myself up as a professional resource to my co workers and have found myself in the middle of a few "tech crisis" moments and been able to prevail with my new knowledge and know how.
Further, I feel as though I am now equipped to teach in a 21st century classroom. I know how to access tools for teaching in the classroom as well as proper ways to implement them into my units and lessons. I know where to look to find new tools and have an RSS feed that keeps me up to date on what is coming down the line with technology for the classroom. I also feel as though I am more knowledgeable and able to reach out and attempt to get more technology in the classroom. With my knowledge and degree I feel as though I may be an example for my district and school of what technology can be in the classroom.
I wrote this as my first blog post,
"In studying and working in MEIT I hope to not only learn of new programs, but also to learn of new technologies to push my teaching abilities and teaching arsenal to their fullest potential. Learning of new operating systems and programs to make my classroom management, grading, and document processing more efficient and successful is a main goal of the program. I feel that it is with this knowledge that I can take my abilities as a teacher to the next level."
I would consider this mission accomplished. I was able to achieve all of these goals I had hoped to and so much more. My vision of what this program was to be seems so limited now that I look back at my blog over time. It is fun to also see the limited computer history I had before this program began. I feel as though I have grown so much in my professional career and will continue to thanks to the knowledge gained. Further with this program of study teaching me so much about tech and the classroom I have a great portfolio prepared as evidence for my Professional Development Plan, which has the main goal of furthering my education with a focus on technology in the classroom. I have also grown in the use of technologies in my personal life and can keep my own little "computer lab" I have at home up and running to its fullest potential.
MEIT has gone by way to fast. Almost a whirl wind. The knowledge I am leaving with will not stop here. It is a foundation for more learning, more technology, and a greater learning experience for myself and my students.
