Led by Passion
Goal Reflection
Google Map Data 2019
From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I actually can’t remember a time when I didn’t have that as a professional goal. When I have a goal that I feel passionate about, short or long term, I work tirelessly to earn it. At the beginning of the year in January 2019, I had a new goal. I wanted to continue my goal as a lifelong learner and further my education. When I began the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program I wanted to learn how to incorporate what students in this day and age are familiar with into their school curriculum, to positively pique their interest and engage them. By the end of the program, I hoped to develop deeper understandings of how, when and why to combine technologies to support the educational path we take our students on. Then, use the knowledge I gain from this amazing program and guide my colleagues’ development to then hopefully reach as many students as we possibly can.
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Technology will continually be prominent in our society, not only in school but outside of school as well. I continue to be fascinated by technology and its ability to make the world a smaller place. Technology plays a key role in my life now that I am living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and my family is 4,407 miles away in Michigan. After starting the MAET program I realized my goal was to make the world a little smaller not only for myself but for my students living on this tiny island. An endless amount of resources, tools, and the ability to connect with people from across the world. I continue to see the importance and effectiveness of technology in the education setting. It is important to me to make sure my students and colleagues, learn how to effectively and positively use technology in the classroom.
Overall, my goals have not changed, but they have become more specific to the students I serve and the faculty I work with. I have grown a passion to learn about the correlations between social skills and technology use and how technology can be used to build social skills. In the past two years of teaching high school resource special education, I have observed my students spend their spare time at school playing video games or watching Youtube. Then in the classroom, I see how they struggle with empathy, group work, eye contact, conversating, confidence in sharing during discussions and presentations. Through the classes, I have learned the importance of TPACK or Technological pedagogical content knowledge when building a healthy relationship with technology in the classroom. I hope to continue to develop a deep understanding of this relationship and use the skills I have learned through the MAET program to guide me. I truly feel this program has made me a better educator and a better student!