From Start to Finish:
Evolving Goals and Reflections 

Prior to My MSU Journey...
My journey of joining the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program, focusing on learning technology, started right after the year of COVID pandemic. When COVID unexpectedly hit, all the teachers in my district were forced to transition to teaching students online. As someone who was not familiar with technology, it was a struggle (I didn’t even know what Google Drive was). However, with this unexpected experience and the help of professional development programs my district offered, I learned many tools and technologies that helped me effectively teach my students online and get through the year. Some teachers would say that the COVID year was the worst year of their teaching careers, and I would agree. Yet, I also gained a lot from these experiences, especially in understanding the value of technology in teaching. This realization led me to pursue further learning about technology through the MAED program. I knew I wanted to finish my master’s because I had already taken some master’s courses as an undergraduate during my internship, but I never had a goal to continue. Now, I did.

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My Goals and Progress...

When I decided to continue my education focusing on technology, my goal was to learn different educational tools, techniques, and platforms so that I could apply them in my classroom and improve my teaching practices. Even though I started the MAED journey three years into my teaching career, it has been a struggle to balance my work, home, and school life. My enthusiasm for learning was no longer there, and I simply wanted to get it over with. While some of the courses involved reading books and writing essays within a certain timeframe, others involved reflecting on my own lessons as an educator to practice, adjust, and apply what I learned in my classroom. Applying what I have learned and observing how my students respond, whether negatively or positively, motivated me to stay focused and keep moving forward. 

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Changes...

Even though it was a challenge, it has definitely taught me to rethink the way I interact with my students and the way I teach in my classroom. I have learned to incorporate a variety of strategies and technologies in meaningful ways to enhance my students' understanding. I have also learned to collaborate with my team to share ideas and have meaningful conversations about students' learning. One big takeaway from this journey is that educational technologies are not only tools found on the internet; they are also objects around us that can be used to explore and learn, including simple items like pencils and paper. With the challenges I face every year, I hope to use what I learned from the MAED program to help my students grow, as I grow along with them as an educator. 

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