As I referenced in my Goal Reflection Essay, I greatly enjoyed my time in the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program and am sad to see it come to an end. (I don’t know how many people can say that about their work in a masters program!) I feel like I achieved my goals, but also have my sights set on different areas moving forward that I might not have even imagined two years ago. My goals moving forward are to become a Google certified coach, expand my personal learning network (PLN) and ultimately, become a technology coach and leader.
I am a Google Level 1 and 2 certified Educator. Last March, when education essentially transformed overnight and our entire classroom infrastructure shifted online, I was thankful for my technology skills and abilities relating to Google Classroom. I ran training sessions for my colleagues and did my best to ensure our building’s transition to the digital world was as painless as possible. I completed my recertification for my Level 1 Google Educator program last April and set my sight on the Level 2 certification before returning to school in the Fall. I completed my Level 2 in August and now would like to turn my focus to the training and coaching certifications that Google offers. These are a bit more intense and require more documentation than the Level 1 and 2 certifications and because of that, I know it will be a bit more of a challenge and lengthier process. I believe because our district is so intertwined with Google that having these extra certifications can help me and my colleagues as Google adds and develops more to their platforms. Google has an extensive website devoted to training resources for both of these programs. They also feature great training modules for Level 1 and 2 certifications.
I have spent a lot of quality time with my laptop the last 8 months - to the point where I joke that we are “best friends”. Much of that time was spent on Twitter searching through different hashtags and seeing what ideas and resources people had, as well as sharing my own thoughts. Through this time, I found some really interesting and “new to me” people to follow as I really enjoyed their ideas, suggestions and tricks they used in their classroom. Moving forward, I hope to continue to find valuable resources via my PLN. While I am not sure this goal is something that can be mastered, I do think it is very valuable and something I need to make more of a priority in the years to come. To help myself work on this goal I plan to devote more time to a few educational chats and following different hashtags. There is a very popular language teacher chat (#langchat) on Thursdays that I have seen glimpses of and never fully immersed myself in. I also plan to research and look for common hashtags that relate to Educational Technology. This blog post has done a lot of the work for me. I like that it organizes hashtags relating to all of education and not just educational technology. The best part about about exploring on Twitter is that these steps are only a basic framework. Once you get started down a path and find a hashtag or topic you enjoy, you may end up somewhere completely different than where you first envisioned.
I had goals when I entered this degree program of learning more about technology and how to use it in my classroom and with others. While I had vaguely considered the idea of being a technology coach, it was something that was still new to me and I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel about leaving the classroom or if I would ever be ready to leave. The last 8 months of helping educators in my building and district have cemented that goal for me. I am not sure when the opportunity will arise, but when it does, I do feel l am ready to transition into a different role in education and help teachers who in turn can help their students. I do not think there are a lot of specific resources one can use to master this specific skill set and goal, but I do know the MAET program is what helped me feel confident enough to set this goal for myself. One of the forward thinking educational technology organizations I heard about through MAET was the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) organization. I think the ISTE Standards for Coaches are a good roadmap to skills I need to work towards and the mindset I need to embody during my job search.
I think these new goals I have set for myself are attainable and something to look forward to pursuing in the years to come. I think one final thing I have learned from MAET is to make sure I am setting specific, actionable goals for myself as this process helps teachers reflect and refocus their vision periodically for themselves and their students. I am excited to see where my journey continues in the following years and start considering what my next goals might look like.