This is Not the End, Only the Beginning
By: Alissa Hamilton
In a fractal, you can never find the end. As the end of my master's courses nears, I know that my
learning will be much like a fractal, continuing on, when they hand me my diploma. I became a teacher
because of my love of learning, to pass on that love of learning onto my
students. If this was the end of my learning, then I would not
continue to grow and improve as a teacher. To ensure the success of
myself as a teacher and my future students, I will be a lifelong
learner.
I will continue my learning through various methods. I will continue to take classes, not only to receive continuing education credit, but also to be able to learn new methods and approaches of teaching. Teaching is not a stagnant profession. It is always changing, because the students are always changing. To be a successful teacher, I need to be able to adapt and change my ways of teaching to fit their various needs. Taking more classes will help me to stay current on the best teaching methods. I will also take advantage of professional development opportunities, whether it be locally at my school or ESD, or going to conferences put on at the State or National level as well. My courses at MSU have taught me the importance of staying current in all aspects of my teaching. It is important to stay current on teaching methods, curriculum development, standards, content area changes, and technology. Through my continued education, I hope to not only learn from the courses or conferences themselves, but also from my colleagues as well. MSU's master's program allowed me the opportunity to learn from other educator's experiences, my classmates' experiences. I think that was one of the most influential aspects of my learning through MSU. I hope to be able to continue that interaction with other teachers through taking continuing education classes and attending professional development conferences. Since I am a teacher at a small school, I feel that this will be a very important aspect in my future learning. I do not have the luxury of a large staff to learn from their experiences. Therefore, instead I need to look outside my district, through continuing to take classes and attending conferences, to have those opportunities to learn from other teacher's experiences.
My courses through MSU's online master's program have taught me many new technological skills. I am now comfortable being a part of an online learning community that takes advantage of various learning platforms. I have learned how to use and edit a wiki, create a blog, a website, how to tweet and interact with others who tweet, use google's many different online applications, search electronic resources, make a voice thread, add voice to presentations, and much, much more. As new technology continues to be developed, I am also now equipped with the ability to analyze that new resource to see if it would be a good addition to my classroom. Many courses that I took through the master's program required that I independently learn how to use these technologies, or search the web to find a video or website that could teach me how to use it. That is a tool that I will be able to continue to use as new technology is created so that I can properly use it in my classroom. If I do not stay current on technology, then my students will not be given all the possible opportunities to be using that technology and succeed in their future. Technology is an important aspect of the future, I need to be an active participant in the changes so that I can teach my students in a way that will benefit them the most.
As I continue to move forward in my teaching career, I will also be continuing to move forward as a learner. Learning does not stop just because the formal classes come to an end. To be a good, successful teacher, I will continue to expand my knowledge of teaching strategies, curriculum and technology. The end of my master's program is not the end of my learning, but only just the beginning of it.
I will continue my learning through various methods. I will continue to take classes, not only to receive continuing education credit, but also to be able to learn new methods and approaches of teaching. Teaching is not a stagnant profession. It is always changing, because the students are always changing. To be a successful teacher, I need to be able to adapt and change my ways of teaching to fit their various needs. Taking more classes will help me to stay current on the best teaching methods. I will also take advantage of professional development opportunities, whether it be locally at my school or ESD, or going to conferences put on at the State or National level as well. My courses at MSU have taught me the importance of staying current in all aspects of my teaching. It is important to stay current on teaching methods, curriculum development, standards, content area changes, and technology. Through my continued education, I hope to not only learn from the courses or conferences themselves, but also from my colleagues as well. MSU's master's program allowed me the opportunity to learn from other educator's experiences, my classmates' experiences. I think that was one of the most influential aspects of my learning through MSU. I hope to be able to continue that interaction with other teachers through taking continuing education classes and attending professional development conferences. Since I am a teacher at a small school, I feel that this will be a very important aspect in my future learning. I do not have the luxury of a large staff to learn from their experiences. Therefore, instead I need to look outside my district, through continuing to take classes and attending conferences, to have those opportunities to learn from other teacher's experiences.
My courses through MSU's online master's program have taught me many new technological skills. I am now comfortable being a part of an online learning community that takes advantage of various learning platforms. I have learned how to use and edit a wiki, create a blog, a website, how to tweet and interact with others who tweet, use google's many different online applications, search electronic resources, make a voice thread, add voice to presentations, and much, much more. As new technology continues to be developed, I am also now equipped with the ability to analyze that new resource to see if it would be a good addition to my classroom. Many courses that I took through the master's program required that I independently learn how to use these technologies, or search the web to find a video or website that could teach me how to use it. That is a tool that I will be able to continue to use as new technology is created so that I can properly use it in my classroom. If I do not stay current on technology, then my students will not be given all the possible opportunities to be using that technology and succeed in their future. Technology is an important aspect of the future, I need to be an active participant in the changes so that I can teach my students in a way that will benefit them the most.
As I continue to move forward in my teaching career, I will also be continuing to move forward as a learner. Learning does not stop just because the formal classes come to an end. To be a good, successful teacher, I will continue to expand my knowledge of teaching strategies, curriculum and technology. The end of my master's program is not the end of my learning, but only just the beginning of it.
