Engaging Students in Technology
Background
In 2016, I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with a focus in Social Studies and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Michigan State University (MSU). From there I immediately jumped into my teaching career with no thought of what type of master’s degree I might want to pursue. After a few years of teaching fifth grade I began to realize the importance of using technology for learning. This led to me to explore my options for learning about technology use in a classroom. My exploration led me to discover the Master of the Arts in Educational Technology program (MAET) at Michigan State University.
Original Goals
Going into the MAET program one of my original goals was to learn how to purposefully and effectively integrate technology into my classroom instruction. I set this goal for myself because I felt as if I was not using the technology I had access to to its fullest potential and I wanted to learn about other available technologies. A second goal I had for myself when entering the MAET program was to incorporate technology in all aspects of my professional life because similarly to my other goal I felt that I was not using the technology I had at my finger tip for all it was worth.
Reflection
Reflecting back on the first goal I set for myself at the beginning of my masters journey I believe that this goal is still a goal I have till this day. For my first goal of purposefully and effectively integrating technology into my classroom instruction. I believe that this is something I am always going to be working on. I have learned to ask questions about my use of technology: Why am I using this tool? Does it engage my students in the content area? Does the technology add to my lesson or is it there to fill time? This goal will be a goal that I am continuously exploring since technology is always changing and developing.Â
Thinking about my second goal about incorporating technology into all aspects of my professional life, this is a goal that I wanted to work on because I felt as if I was not using technology for all of it was worth it. While I do enjoy my paper and pencil lesson planbook, using paper and pencil for all of my other teaching responsibilities (data collection, progress monitoring, etc.) became overwhelming to keep organized and difficult to sort through. I have always heard the cliche phrase to work smarter not harder however, prior to MAET I had not quite figured out the best action plan for this with my professional responsibilities. Through the MAET program I have learned to research different computer programs that can help me collect data and to monitor progress. I have also learned how to search for effective and engaging technology tools for my students. Moving forward this is something that I plan to continue to work on developing.