Patience is Key
By: Tina Iafrate
As I come to a completion of my master’s degree, I’ve realized how much I’ve learned during the course of this educational technology graduate program. However, due to our ever changing globalized economy, I feel like I am still in the “starting” point in my mastery of technology and I will never feel “finished” when it comes to learning new technologies. Completing this program has made me better aware of the new software, better hardware and new ideas that are created every day and therefore I will never feel like I am done learning everything technology has to offer. My mastery of technology and ability to use them in an educational environment will be a very important role in my learning plan. There is still much more I am going to do in the future to make sure I continue to stay on top of the rapidly changing technological world and prevent myself from lagging behind. I will do this in order to educate my students and keep them up to date on current technologies that will benefit their educational experience. The graph below from the University of Illinois Springfield really puts into perspective the impact online learning has had within the past 10 years.
It’s a fact that online courses, blended learning classes and classroom technologies are changing the way students learn and are giving them opportunities never before thought possible. According to a global survey commissioned by Cisco (CSCO) (Clarus Research Group, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm,) “More than three-quarters of top education officials around the world believe technology can play a major role in how students learn and how teachers educate and conducted.” Therefore, in order to make sure I am keeping myself updated for the benefit of my students, I will study and participate in a variety of activities. In the future I hope to partake in many formal professional development workshops as a part of my personal learning plan, but I am fully aware that this alone will not be enough. Educational technology is a very “hands on” field and in order to learn about it I must fully submerge myself into new technologies that become available so I don’t fall behind in this field. Fortunately, I have made many great contacts during my completions of this program. I plan to keep in contact with my colleges from around the world in order to observe what they are creating in their classrooms. Many of them have online blogs or classroom websites and my colleges have already given me some great ideas to incorporate into my own classrooms, I can only hope that I will return the favor by introducing them to unique technology enrichment ideas in the future. In addition, I will never be confident saying that I have finally finished the end of my formal schooling. I hope to complete a PhD program within the college of education at Michigan State University in the near future in order to keep myself updated with everything online learning has to offer. Finally, I will continue to learn the best way I know how, practice. Before college I taught myself everything I knew about computers, and when people ask me “How do I become better using a computer?” my response is always “Practice and patience! Computers don’t care if you mess up; the undo button is my best friend.”
If someone would have told me one day I would be making daily PowerPoint slides and movies using Window Movie Maker for my students I wouldn’t have believed it before I started this program! Each PowerPoint presentation in the past would have taken me an hour minimum to get all the slides and transitions working correctly. Now I can complete an average lesson presentation in less than 20 minutes and the process goes extremely smoothly. I always think about this when I’m frustrated with a new technology or when I am trying to learn the new version of a program I’ve used for years. I’ve become so knowledge about technology because I am very patient with it. The time I’ve invested in learning new technologies has drastically helped me save time and become for efficient in the future. It takes time and dedication to learn any new things, especially when it comes to technology because it changes so drastically. Patience is key and I hope that I can distribute this same type of knowledge to my students in order to benefit their learning for their futures.
If someone would have told me one day I would be making daily PowerPoint slides and movies using Window Movie Maker for my students I wouldn’t have believed it before I started this program! Each PowerPoint presentation in the past would have taken me an hour minimum to get all the slides and transitions working correctly. Now I can complete an average lesson presentation in less than 20 minutes and the process goes extremely smoothly. I always think about this when I’m frustrated with a new technology or when I am trying to learn the new version of a program I’ve used for years. I’ve become so knowledge about technology because I am very patient with it. The time I’ve invested in learning new technologies has drastically helped me save time and become for efficient in the future. It takes time and dedication to learn any new things, especially when it comes to technology because it changes so drastically. Patience is key and I hope that I can distribute this same type of knowledge to my students in order to benefit their learning for their futures.
