CREATING MYSELF
Future Learning Goals Essay
Nancy Nasser
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
~ George Bernard Shaw
If you asked me five years ago, what my professional goal was, my answer would have been to possess a highly ranked position in technology solutions engineering in one of the top companies in the technology services world. Since then, and after entering the world of education, here’s what I’ve come to realize:
Your goals change. Your dreams change. You change.
It means you’re growing, you are creating yourself. Becoming the person you are meant to be.
So, what is the person that I’m meant to be?
I am meant to inspire, empower and help others get ahead in a world of robots, social media and everything smart. To make this dream a reality, I have set three learning goals that I aspire to achieve in the near future. I want to grow my knowledge in understanding how to align technology use with learning goals, grow into an Apple Distinguished Educator and lead my school to receive the esteemed Apple Distinguished school award and finally become an expert in using technology to support ELL students.
Goal 1
Perhaps, at the center of my work as an educational technology specialist, ‘I help teachers consider the possibilities of integrating technology into learning’. In my role as a tech advocate, I habitually find myself trying to coax hesitant educators to believe in the power of educational technology. I believe that in order to be successful in this endeavor, I need to analyze what makes teachers successful and offer them approaches and tools that align learning with one or more content area. For this, I need to engage in in-depth learning about the content areas and Common Core Standards that our teachers use for setting learning goals. I plan to achieve this goal by exploring K-5 Common Core State Standards web recourses on the Common Core main website. Also, I want to develop a map of curriculum standards that go hand-in-hand with 21st-century skills implying meaningful use of technology. This iTunes e-book details Common Core Standards and meaningful technology use.
© iTunes.apple.com
Goal 2
While understanding the curriculum is imperative to technology coaching, gaining expertise in supporting English Language Learning is critical for my success at our school and beyond. Considering the location of our school, our student population continues to become more and more diverse with many students that come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Staying current on the best strategies for educating English language learners will allow me to demonstrate models and technology tools that enable them to participate meaningfully in the academic discourse. Twitter will be a useful resource in becoming educated on using technology in the EFL context. Also, I will continue watching episodes of the EdTechTeam Youtube Channel, reading published research articles, and books that provide insight into supporting English Foreign language learning with technology.
© learningbook.us
Goal 3
The last learning goal that will help me reach my dream is to work towards being recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) and lead my school to receive the Apple Distinguished School award. This designation is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear vision of exemplary learning environments. For the past couple of years, I have worked on setting a foundation for our BYOD iPad 1-to-1 program in the elementary division of my school. My goal is to take this a step further to share what I and the teachers do with technology integration with the world and join a community of Apple educational technology pioneers. As I learn more about the requirements for these designations, I plan to expand my PLN (Personal Learning Network) to include ADEs. I subscribed to a blog of an ADE teacher. In her blog, she writes extensively about the program and shares tips in the process. In twitter, I found the #ADE as well as #ADEClassOf2015 hashtags with posts and tweets from others who went through the ADE application process. Also, I plan to start my journey for ADE by exploring the Apple Teacher Learning Center resource that provides training, certification, and lesson ideas and materials with the latest updates from Apple Education.
Nothing stays constant. Most importantly, however, we create ourselves deliberately. We take actions and grow into what we dream of becoming. As I embark on a new journey of growing by learning, I think that each of the aforementioned goals will bring me closer toward leading teachers and schools in empowering students to be future innovators in the digital age. I am open to pursuing the various paths that I may stumble upon as I make my way towards that accomplishment, because you never know just what you might create out of yourself in ten years.