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The destination is not the goal, it is the lesson learned along the way

 

I may not be able to control the winds, but I can adjust my sails.  When starting on a journey; vacation, random day trip or pursuing a degree at a university there always is a goal in mind.  There is something that I want to accomplish on the adventure.  There always has to be an end to the beginning.  But sometimes those goals change midstream and I need to adjust accordingly to make sure the journey is a successful one where there is a lesson is learned along the way.

 

 

When starting my education career at Michigan State University (MSU), there was no difference, I had my ultimate goals in mind. Although I had a destination in mind, my main goals were tweaked a bit due to unforeseen circumstances.  These circumstances were out of my control.  There are circumstances that made me a better person and a better educator for America’s next generation.

 

     My Goals in the beginning:

 

1. Learn more about Technology and how it goes hand in hand with education

2. To become more technologically literate

 

     My Goals now:

 

1. Use the technological literacies gained to develop my students' potential

2. Help students understand their roles in society utilizing technology education

 

Going into the Master of Arts Degree in Educational Technology (MAET) program at MSU, I had no idea what was going to be around the next bend. I had an idea of what I was going to accomplish and then set my goals accordingly.  But as I look back, I discovered so much that I could do as an educator because of the MAET program at MSU. Discovered such things as but not limited to:

 

 

• How to use multiple platforms to present content

• How to adapt my pedagogy to fit the needs of my students

• How to utilize the proper pieces of technology and know where their boundaries are

• How to enhance the educational experience to interest the students while growing them intellectually  

 

Because of those attributes I have grown so much and can confidently say I needed to adjust my goals for bigger things.  I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to.  I did not know what I would accomplish at Michigan State but I have adjusted my goals to align.

 

 

I wanted to be the best teacher that I could be, show students what they needed to know as I molded them into prominent members of today's society.  Outside of engineering, I would show them how to approach a crowd while speaking for example.  I thought if I could learn more about technology and how it is used in education, I would accomplish my goal. But over the course of the past two years, I can see that my goals were small and I should have aimed higher.  My new goals, I feel have changed to make me a better person and better yet, the best teacher that I can become.  I had no idea that I would be able to do so much, I’ve learned so much about myself and I feel like my new goals are aligned with that.