Two lines? Two lines. Blink. Oh no, two lines! Wait! TWO LINES!!!! My mind is racing as I stare at the pregnancy test and realize, in just 9 months I’ll be having my second child. Funny how life works, I’ve only just received my acceptance letter from MSU for the MAET program earlier this week. How can I possibly have a baby and work on a masters… I already have a toddler and I’m teaching full time! What am I thinking?
… 30 months later I am sitting here next to my precious little girl who’s snoozing on the couch beside me, and while I work on one of my final masters assignments. Believe me, when I say there were moments of darkness during the past two and a half years but for the most part it’s been a great ride. One semester, I took a break from MSU to get to know my newborn daughter and give more attention to my 2.5 year old. Those were days I’ll never have again and they were worth every moment, however, from time to time, I did find myself missing the intellectual stimulation of the MAET and my community at MSU.
I can’t believe it’s all coming to a close, and I really don’t feel like it will end. The amount of knowledge and skills I am taking away from the MAET has made a big impact on my life. I’m even tossing around the idea of getting my Doctorate. If you’d walked into my classroom two and a half years ago, you’d think I was a different teacher than I am now. One thing I know will continue is the fluidity of technology in my classroom. I plan to build on and refine my pedagogy in order to get the most out of a 1:1 program.
I am also on the search for a new position. Having recently moved from Indonesia back to the USA, I am looking for work and I have my sights set on Innovation Specialist positions in my new district. I believe that what I am taking away from the MAET has prepare me and opened my eyes to leadership positions beyond the classroom in the field of educational technology. My aim is to take the leadership skills and understanding of educational technology into schools to guide teachers to embrace technology with comfort and help them to build their educational technology programs.
I am also looking to work in a classroom again within a school, which has a budding technology program. I have been a part of two rollout out programs at two different schools and I feel that this experience along with the knowledge I’ve gained from MSU would make me a strong candidate for a position at a school looking for a teacher leader. In my previous school I was the technology coach as I taught. This meant that I offered tech P.D. to my colleagues, offered lab sites as well, and maintained the grade level website. I would hope to find a position where I could be a part of something similar to this.
Having learned a great deal about website development and online learning through the Learning Technology Through Design, Teaching Students Online, and Electronic Portfolios courses. Another aim I have is to continue to build my websites and online courses. While creating my online course during the Online Teaching Course in the MAET program I made sure to leave it open-ended so that I can build upon the multiplication lessons and take it further into other math topics. My class was excited to be a part of this innovative learning and many parents said they planned to access the site and my other math site during the summer months to keep up their children’s learning while on holiday.
With all that I’ve done and learned I can’t imagine that it’s all going to come to an end in a few weeks. This being said, I don’t plan to stop my education, as said before I am thinking about the EPET Doctorate program. I am also hope to become a Google Certified Teacher and an ADE (Apple Distinguished Educator), which will mean I will need to keep up my education using many of the extensive resources that I’ve been exposed to through the MAET program.
I am looking forward to the near future and as my girls grow older, I look forward to seeing what technology brings to their lives. I know that in the 6 or so years between my colleagues taking the MAET and myself taking it as well, technology has made leaps and bounds. I only hope I can keep up.
… 30 months later I am sitting here next to my precious little girl who’s snoozing on the couch beside me, and while I work on one of my final masters assignments. Believe me, when I say there were moments of darkness during the past two and a half years but for the most part it’s been a great ride. One semester, I took a break from MSU to get to know my newborn daughter and give more attention to my 2.5 year old. Those were days I’ll never have again and they were worth every moment, however, from time to time, I did find myself missing the intellectual stimulation of the MAET and my community at MSU.
I can’t believe it’s all coming to a close, and I really don’t feel like it will end. The amount of knowledge and skills I am taking away from the MAET has made a big impact on my life. I’m even tossing around the idea of getting my Doctorate. If you’d walked into my classroom two and a half years ago, you’d think I was a different teacher than I am now. One thing I know will continue is the fluidity of technology in my classroom. I plan to build on and refine my pedagogy in order to get the most out of a 1:1 program.
I am also on the search for a new position. Having recently moved from Indonesia back to the USA, I am looking for work and I have my sights set on Innovation Specialist positions in my new district. I believe that what I am taking away from the MAET has prepare me and opened my eyes to leadership positions beyond the classroom in the field of educational technology. My aim is to take the leadership skills and understanding of educational technology into schools to guide teachers to embrace technology with comfort and help them to build their educational technology programs.
I am also looking to work in a classroom again within a school, which has a budding technology program. I have been a part of two rollout out programs at two different schools and I feel that this experience along with the knowledge I’ve gained from MSU would make me a strong candidate for a position at a school looking for a teacher leader. In my previous school I was the technology coach as I taught. This meant that I offered tech P.D. to my colleagues, offered lab sites as well, and maintained the grade level website. I would hope to find a position where I could be a part of something similar to this.
Having learned a great deal about website development and online learning through the Learning Technology Through Design, Teaching Students Online, and Electronic Portfolios courses. Another aim I have is to continue to build my websites and online courses. While creating my online course during the Online Teaching Course in the MAET program I made sure to leave it open-ended so that I can build upon the multiplication lessons and take it further into other math topics. My class was excited to be a part of this innovative learning and many parents said they planned to access the site and my other math site during the summer months to keep up their children’s learning while on holiday.
With all that I’ve done and learned I can’t imagine that it’s all going to come to an end in a few weeks. This being said, I don’t plan to stop my education, as said before I am thinking about the EPET Doctorate program. I am also hope to become a Google Certified Teacher and an ADE (Apple Distinguished Educator), which will mean I will need to keep up my education using many of the extensive resources that I’ve been exposed to through the MAET program.
I am looking forward to the near future and as my girls grow older, I look forward to seeing what technology brings to their lives. I know that in the 6 or so years between my colleagues taking the MAET and myself taking it as well, technology has made leaps and bounds. I only hope I can keep up.