Three years later...
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.
--Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod
While this quote by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod (referenced in the video below) was intended to describe students in the 21st Century, it also relates to my own naivete as I began the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program. When I applied to the program in February of 2011, I had just left Colorado where I caught the educational technology bug as a third grade teacher. I researched content specific websites after school and filed students into the computer lab at every open opportunity. While I knew that technology integration could be more purposeful, I wasn't quite sure where to begin. Upon returning to Michigan, I fell victim to the “too many teachers, not enough jobs” dilemma, and found myself working with preschool students and at an after school program. Longing for a challenge and new opportunity, I enrolled in the MAET program.
I was blind to ways my life would change as a result of this program. Upon acceptance, my main goal was to find more meaningful ways to integrate technology into the classroom. While participating in the Year 1 Summer Cohort, my mind was completely stimulated by all of the new technology resources that were presented. The concept of TPACK http://www.tpack.org/, which is the intersection of Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge, built a framework of ways I could purposefully integrate technology into my teaching. By the end of the summer, my goal was not only to give my new first grade students opportunities for higher order thinking with technology but to also start sharing the concept of TPACK with others.
After a full year off, I returned to the MAET program in June 2013 as a Year 2 Cohort participant. Throughout the summer, my goal of learning new technology resources was enhanced by educational theory based activities. At this time, I was introduced to the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) model. On a continuum of technology integration where users begin at the substitution level, my goal was to advance my students towards tasks that were redefined or not imaginable without the use of technology. I not only had a better understanding of using technology in a purposeful and engaging way, but my thoughts started to shift; I had a strong desire to share my knowledge with others at a larger scale.
Shortly after the summer cohort commenced, an Instructional Technology Specialist position opened. While I did not feel completely ready to end my teaching career, I knew I had to capitalize on the opportunity to share my knowledge in a different capacity. By November, I was named the new Instructional Technologist for Ingham Intermediate School District. With this position, I am able to help teachers understand the importance of TPACK and SAMR in order to build creativity, collaboration and critical thinking skills with the support of technology. While my initial goal was to find better resources for my own classroom, I feel very fortunate that I am now able to share this goal with the hundreds of teachers I work with on a regular basis.