Looking Within
By Brittany Connors
Below is my original goal statement, written during the summer of 2010 as I was applying for the MAET program.
I am seeking admission to the Education Technology Masters Program at Michigan State University for the Fall 2010 semester. While completing my Bachelor of Science at Michigan State University, I worked as a Technical Intern in Education at the College of Education. This experience inspired me to continue my education and further integrate technology into my teaching and classroom to enhance student learning.
I am currently completing my first year of teaching in the Clarkston Community School District at Bailey Lake Elementary School in a first grade classroom. The previous year, I graduated from Michigan State University with high honors and received a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and an additional endorsement in Language Arts. I completed a year long internship through Michigan State University at Deerfield Elementary School in Novi, MI in a third and fourth grade multiage classroom. Prior to that, I completed a half year of pre-student teaching in the Child Development Laboratory in Haslett, MI receiving a ZA endorsement in Child Development. In May 2009 I completed training in the Michigan Literacy Progress Profile K-2 (MLPP) through Livingston County Service Agency. I also successfully passed the MTTC Basic Skills, Elementary Education, Child Development, and Language Arts tests.
My passion is to inspire students to recognize and enjoy the value of lifelong learning. This allows students to take responsibility for their own learning. In today’s society, working with others, often in a team, is essential for success. That is why it is crucial for children to experiment and experience working with others in a safe, cooperative learning community. I achieve this by differentiating learning environments by incorporating independent, partner, small group, and large group activities as well as consistent parent involvement and communication. I also achieve this by integrating teaching and technology to enhance student learning. I believe this graduate program will provide me with additional information and meaningful skills to use within a classroom setting.
Being a Technical Intern in Education allowed me to interact with faculty, available technology and services provided through the Education Technology Masters Program. I was impressed with the level of competence and confidence many faculty and fellow co-workers exhibited. Prior to working there I wouldn’t have considered myself tech savvy. Due to this experience, my educational goals changed as well as my personal outlook. My overall problem solving abilities, creativity, and flexibility has been positively affected. I look forward to furthering my experience and understanding of integrating teaching and technology through my graduate coursework.
Educational technology is truly something I am passionate about and actively strive to integrate into my current classroom. I believe I would be a successful, motivated candidate if accepted into Michigan State University’s Educational Technology Masters Program.
Upon reading my goal statement, I was struck how true it still rings. I am now in my third year of teaching and my goal is still to inspire lifelong learners who value education. Through the MAET program, I have been gained skills that further allow me to empower my students to take responsibility for their own learning. The use of technology allows for differentiation of instruction and allows for students to meet their needs in an individualized manner. Creating courses, WebQuests, and blogs, all of which have been used within my elementary classroom, have helped provide remedial intervention, review, or additional challenges for students. I started out this program hoping to directly apply my coursework into my classroom. Many elements I successfully integrated to coincide with the existing curriculum. Some knowledge was also used for personal growth such as organization, being introduced to larger peer networks, social bookmarking, and simple knowledge of new programs and technologies. I believe my goals to still be relevant and due to my experience in the MAET program I feel that I am close to achieving them. I feel my goals will never be fully met because the changes in technology and the needs of students are always evolving. The MAET program has give me skills to continue to grow, problem solve, create strategies, increase my confidence, and integrate technology and teaching.
I am seeking admission to the Education Technology Masters Program at Michigan State University for the Fall 2010 semester. While completing my Bachelor of Science at Michigan State University, I worked as a Technical Intern in Education at the College of Education. This experience inspired me to continue my education and further integrate technology into my teaching and classroom to enhance student learning.
I am currently completing my first year of teaching in the Clarkston Community School District at Bailey Lake Elementary School in a first grade classroom. The previous year, I graduated from Michigan State University with high honors and received a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and an additional endorsement in Language Arts. I completed a year long internship through Michigan State University at Deerfield Elementary School in Novi, MI in a third and fourth grade multiage classroom. Prior to that, I completed a half year of pre-student teaching in the Child Development Laboratory in Haslett, MI receiving a ZA endorsement in Child Development. In May 2009 I completed training in the Michigan Literacy Progress Profile K-2 (MLPP) through Livingston County Service Agency. I also successfully passed the MTTC Basic Skills, Elementary Education, Child Development, and Language Arts tests.
My passion is to inspire students to recognize and enjoy the value of lifelong learning. This allows students to take responsibility for their own learning. In today’s society, working with others, often in a team, is essential for success. That is why it is crucial for children to experiment and experience working with others in a safe, cooperative learning community. I achieve this by differentiating learning environments by incorporating independent, partner, small group, and large group activities as well as consistent parent involvement and communication. I also achieve this by integrating teaching and technology to enhance student learning. I believe this graduate program will provide me with additional information and meaningful skills to use within a classroom setting.
Being a Technical Intern in Education allowed me to interact with faculty, available technology and services provided through the Education Technology Masters Program. I was impressed with the level of competence and confidence many faculty and fellow co-workers exhibited. Prior to working there I wouldn’t have considered myself tech savvy. Due to this experience, my educational goals changed as well as my personal outlook. My overall problem solving abilities, creativity, and flexibility has been positively affected. I look forward to furthering my experience and understanding of integrating teaching and technology through my graduate coursework.
Educational technology is truly something I am passionate about and actively strive to integrate into my current classroom. I believe I would be a successful, motivated candidate if accepted into Michigan State University’s Educational Technology Masters Program.
Upon reading my goal statement, I was struck how true it still rings. I am now in my third year of teaching and my goal is still to inspire lifelong learners who value education. Through the MAET program, I have been gained skills that further allow me to empower my students to take responsibility for their own learning. The use of technology allows for differentiation of instruction and allows for students to meet their needs in an individualized manner. Creating courses, WebQuests, and blogs, all of which have been used within my elementary classroom, have helped provide remedial intervention, review, or additional challenges for students. I started out this program hoping to directly apply my coursework into my classroom. Many elements I successfully integrated to coincide with the existing curriculum. Some knowledge was also used for personal growth such as organization, being introduced to larger peer networks, social bookmarking, and simple knowledge of new programs and technologies. I believe my goals to still be relevant and due to my experience in the MAET program I feel that I am close to achieving them. I feel my goals will never be fully met because the changes in technology and the needs of students are always evolving. The MAET program has give me skills to continue to grow, problem solve, create strategies, increase my confidence, and integrate technology and teaching.
The Key is Problem Solving
By Brittany Connors
In the future, I will continue to strive to be a lifelong learner and motivate my students to be lifelong learners as well. Before completing my masters degree, I thought that I was “good” at using technology for personal and professional use. Looking back, I realize that I was good at basic technology functions. I now feel that I am more of a problem solver who has more confidence.
Technology is always changing and evolving. Becoming a master of one particular technology is not as beneficial as learning strategies and ideas that can aid when learning and discovery new technologies. My increased confidence came from experimenting with various technologies and discussing ideas and uses with peers. This experimentation made me realize that online learning can be similar to using manipulatives or hands-on learning. It is easy to follow step-by-step directions, but when doing so I retain little information. Experimenting puts the learner in charge of his or her learning, goal setting, and progress. Many people learn by doing and I realized, particularly during this degree, that I am one of those people. This has also allowed me to see the perspective of my current classroom students. At the elementary level, students are just beginning to explore and integrate various technologies into their everyday lives. Allowing time for experimentation or trial and error has the potential to impact their overall learning greatly. I realize that always providing step-by-step directions may hinder their growth and cause them to lack problem solving skills that will be crucial in the future.
Additionally, setting aside time for peer discussions, debates, and interactions is also effective. This stands true for both online and face-to-face education. The means of communication may be different depending on the setting, but the outcomes are the same. We can learn a lot from others, as well as develop new ideas. I learned the most from professor and peer feedback and discussions.
To support my continued learning and growth, I will continue to bookmark sites using delicious.com. I have acquired so many great sites, games, and articles throughout my masters program. Many of these sites I will refer to, reread, and use in the future.
One site I bookmarked during my graduate level work was Promethean Planet. On Promethean Plant, I will stay in touch with other educators and exchange ideas on classroom uses and management techniques. In the future, I hope to acquire individual student clickers to interact with the Promethean software. I plan to use these clickers to pre and post assess, check for understanding, take polls, etc. during all subject areas. I will begin writing a proposal to the PTO and/or a grant in the near future. Additionally, I would like to attend some formal training, watch tutorials on Promethean Planet, exchange ideas with colleagues, and observe other teachers using the Promethean Board in their classrooms. I would also like to begin recording lessons for students to use as review, for re-teaching material, or sending home for absent students.
I would also like to create an informational and engaging classroom website. Keeping parents informed is ideal. Many people have access to computers and phones throughout the day. A classroom website seems like the most accessible place for information and communication. After exploring many web browsers during my graduate work, I have selected Weebly to use for my classroom site. I think it is easy to use and has many great features such as blogs, contact forms, uploads photos, links, etc. My goal is to get many of my current curriculum documents (sight words, spelling rules, reading strategies, math concepts, etc.) on my site before the New Year. I would also like to move from paper monthly newsletters to paperless. I will post the newsletters on my website, as well as email it to my classroom parents.
In the future, I would also like to work with other teachers in a professional development setting. I can share the knowledge I have acquired from my graduate courses and continue to learn from my colleagues’ unique experiences as well. I would like to form a technology committee at the school and/or district level. My hope is that the committee would discuss ways to integrate technology to increase student learning, build problem solving skills, seek out educational technology grants, and share our ideas/questions with each other.
Technology is always changing and evolving. Becoming a master of one particular technology is not as beneficial as learning strategies and ideas that can aid when learning and discovery new technologies. My increased confidence came from experimenting with various technologies and discussing ideas and uses with peers. This experimentation made me realize that online learning can be similar to using manipulatives or hands-on learning. It is easy to follow step-by-step directions, but when doing so I retain little information. Experimenting puts the learner in charge of his or her learning, goal setting, and progress. Many people learn by doing and I realized, particularly during this degree, that I am one of those people. This has also allowed me to see the perspective of my current classroom students. At the elementary level, students are just beginning to explore and integrate various technologies into their everyday lives. Allowing time for experimentation or trial and error has the potential to impact their overall learning greatly. I realize that always providing step-by-step directions may hinder their growth and cause them to lack problem solving skills that will be crucial in the future.
Additionally, setting aside time for peer discussions, debates, and interactions is also effective. This stands true for both online and face-to-face education. The means of communication may be different depending on the setting, but the outcomes are the same. We can learn a lot from others, as well as develop new ideas. I learned the most from professor and peer feedback and discussions.
To support my continued learning and growth, I will continue to bookmark sites using delicious.com. I have acquired so many great sites, games, and articles throughout my masters program. Many of these sites I will refer to, reread, and use in the future.
One site I bookmarked during my graduate level work was Promethean Planet. On Promethean Plant, I will stay in touch with other educators and exchange ideas on classroom uses and management techniques. In the future, I hope to acquire individual student clickers to interact with the Promethean software. I plan to use these clickers to pre and post assess, check for understanding, take polls, etc. during all subject areas. I will begin writing a proposal to the PTO and/or a grant in the near future. Additionally, I would like to attend some formal training, watch tutorials on Promethean Planet, exchange ideas with colleagues, and observe other teachers using the Promethean Board in their classrooms. I would also like to begin recording lessons for students to use as review, for re-teaching material, or sending home for absent students.
I would also like to create an informational and engaging classroom website. Keeping parents informed is ideal. Many people have access to computers and phones throughout the day. A classroom website seems like the most accessible place for information and communication. After exploring many web browsers during my graduate work, I have selected Weebly to use for my classroom site. I think it is easy to use and has many great features such as blogs, contact forms, uploads photos, links, etc. My goal is to get many of my current curriculum documents (sight words, spelling rules, reading strategies, math concepts, etc.) on my site before the New Year. I would also like to move from paper monthly newsletters to paperless. I will post the newsletters on my website, as well as email it to my classroom parents.
In the future, I would also like to work with other teachers in a professional development setting. I can share the knowledge I have acquired from my graduate courses and continue to learn from my colleagues’ unique experiences as well. I would like to form a technology committee at the school and/or district level. My hope is that the committee would discuss ways to integrate technology to increase student learning, build problem solving skills, seek out educational technology grants, and share our ideas/questions with each other.