Pause to Rewind and Fast-Forward

Future as a Learner Essay 

Written by : Trista Teuscher July 6, 2014

 

When I began Michigan State’s Master of Art in Educational Technology program back in 2012, I was fresh off graduating with my Bachelor degree and teaching certificate. At that time I knew I wanted to continue learning and making myself better. Fast forward two years and I am in that same position. I have learned a tremendous amount in the past two years, but again, I think I am not done. However, it is a challenge to put a finger on specific goals for the future because so much is unknown.

 

Rewind 16 years ago… (1998)

I was 12 years ago and I can still remember that dial tone sound when trying to connect to the internet. It usually took many attempts and I was so eager to Yahoo chat with my friends or Euchre on Yahoo Games. At that time, I had no idea what the future of the internet had in store for the world, and me.

 

Fast Forward 6 years… (2004)

I was lucky to receive a desktop computer when heading off to college. I still used the internet for typing papers, chatting with friends, getting directions, and information from the college website. I know that I had a cable stretched across my dorm room to connect my computer to the internet. My computr took quite a while to load anything, and sometimes wouldn’t load anything at all.

 

Fast Forward 6 years… (2010)

As a single mother, I started in an education program through Spring Arbor University that had an off-site location very close to me. Although some of our classes were on site, many were online. I quickly fell in love with online college classes. I became familiar with Blackboard and Angel as course management systems. I spent time on discussion boards, uploading documents, and communicated with classmates around the state. I often used my laptop and worked from anywhere in the house because we had a wireless router that provided internet, wirelessly!!

 

Fast Forward 2 years... (2012)

The MAET program opened my eyes to a whole new world: The World Wide Web. Sure I skimmed the surface before doing simple things, but I was oblivious to the other things it offered.  I am able to do my homework from any location I want, often times the campground overlooking a lake in the Upper Peninsula or in the car using an iPad. I can access any document I have saved from any computer using Drop Box, Google Docs, or on occasion emailed myself as a backup. I now have the world at my fingertips and the knowledge to explore it. I have also been introduced to social networks, but not in the way I have used them in the past. Now I use these medias to help me professionally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Day (2014)

So when I think about making goals for my future as a leaner, I think about what could there possibly be in the future that doesn’t exist now. That’s what I want to know about. I have one simple but monstrous goal for myself when thinking of my future as a learner. I want to stay up to date on new technologies. I want to be able to talk the talk with other educator’s and people. One of my goals when I started the MAET program was that I wanted to be a leader of technology in my school. To achieve that goal, I have to be out there soaking in new information and exploring new technologies or I will fail as a leader. 

 

The Future (2014 and on)

How do I possibly meet this goal of staying current on new technology trends, integrating technology into the classroom, or just the abilities of technology in general? That is where what I have learned over the past 16 years comes in handy. I have observed, explored, and figured out what I had at my disposal. I know now that what I have at my disposal is larger than I can imagine, but I have access to it. I have created a Professional Learning Network (PLN) and I intend to use it. Every day I scroll through my Twitter feed and am able to learn something new. It can sometimes be overwhelming. So to meet my future goal of staying in check with technology, I will explore those resources looking for something new.

 

In 2013, I was lucky enough to win a trip to the MACUL conference via Twitter. I had no idea what this conference was really about, but it sounded exciting. When I left there, I was determine to never miss a MACUL conference.  Part of my continuing to learn in the future, will come through conferences and the MAET overseas refresher, (I am determined to go to this since I couldn’t do the overseas cohort)!

 

Anytime I think about the future, the image of the Jetson’s pops into my head. Could we really live like that one day? So my generic goal of staying current is fitting for my perception of the future. Sometimes when I try to look to the future I need to pause, rewind and think about how far I have come to get where I am today. Never in a million years would I anticipate what I am able to do today compared to 16 years ago. My goal is to keep on top of new technology trends and incorporate them into my teaching in order to be a leader and an understand technology and it's benefit in the classroom.