“What Dreams May Come”

 

As I look forward to finishing my Masters of Educational Technology degree in May of 2012, I am cognizant of the fact that this is not the end of education for me. It is the end of a chapter but I am a life-long learner and have aspirations of working as an administrator (an assistant principal, principal, technology leader, curriculum director).   My immediate future revolves around the idea of integrating technology into the curriculum to better serve student’s needs.

I foresee, and am excited about, the potential for technology to improve the classroom experience and enrich the learning that takes place. It is my belief that through the use, and not the exclusive use of technology, all students’ learning will improve.  No time more than now, is it apparent that the classroom extends beyond the classroom and school walls.  I am encouraged by the changes that will take place during this exciting time.  There is more and more technology with the podcasting, YouTube, online degrees, online classes, Facebook and other opportunities where students and individuals alike can share their ideas and work and collaborate with one another without physically being in the same area as someone else or even knowing the other person.  The opportunities to enhance student understanding is endless and I can’t wait to continue to research what those opportunities will be.

This exciting time also presents new challenges for the educator; especially the educating of minors.  It is the goal of the educator to prepare students to the challenges they will face at the next level but how individuals are interacting are changing at an exponential pace and the students are constantly being exposed to potential risks in the virtual world.  Should we have students not be able to go online or do these types of things because of the potential risks?  Should we teach them how to navigate safely and the right things to do online?  What should we do?

It is my belief that students need to be protected but also need to be taught how to protect themselves.  There is no possible way students can exist inside a bubble.  I think the same way about raising younger kids and teaching them about stranger danger.  This needs to be done with all students as well.  This is a place where I definitely see myself becoming more and more educated.  It will continue to be a hot issue and debated topic in the immediate future, similar to pagers and cell phones used to be.  The idea of social media will continue to grow just like the pager, to the phone and then to the smartphone.  We need to prepare our students for the world they live in.  I do not want students to come back and say they were not prepared for the next step.   I will continue to educate myself classically (future college classes) and also through journals, books, blogs, and periodicals about the future of education.

I also will continue to document my lesson plans, to see what changes need to take place from year to year and lesson to lesson.  I will do this through quantitative methods (assessment scores) and through qualitative (general observing and speaking with students and parents about the effectiveness of a lesson).  Education is evolving and I want to continue to involve myself in the evolution.

As is the same with most professionals, the job is never done.  The ability to motivate and captivate students and have them buy into the happenings of the topic is extremely important.  Technology will help make this impact on students and the ability to continue to educate myself on how I can create a more student centered and inquiry based classroom is paramount.  Relational understanding is the ultimate goal.  I want my students to walk away from my classroom with relational understanding and will continue to educate myself in ways that I can enhance this in all students.

by Brian Bedard

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