The Times They Are a-Changing: A Reflection of Past Goals with an Eye on the Future
By Neil Syrek
In the song referenced by the title of this essay, Bob Dylan sang the line, “You better start swimming, or you’ll sink like a stone.” As I reflect on the goal statement I wrote in May of 2008 when I entered the Educational Technology masters program, I’m reminded of how I wanted to use technology to help me swim. I didn’t want to teach the way I was taught in school. The old factory model of education—with students in neatly arranged, forward facing rows all learning the same content at the same time for the same reason—doesn’t work anymore. As our society has changed, the needs of our students have changed with it. Manufacturing employment as a share of total employment has been steadily declining since the 1950’s. Preparing students to work on assembly lines that don’t exist anymore is an irrelevant and meaningless endeavor. The jobs of the present and future need thinkers, problem-solvers, and doers. To educate students for these careers, we need to teach and foster the ability to think critically, generate ideas, collaborate, and apply content in real-world applications. I recognized this need in my original goal statement, and saw technology as a pathway to promote these things.
While this goal remains the same, my thinking of how to approach it has changed. In the past, I saw technology as a tool to engage students. I have since discovered it is so much more powerful than that. Because of my work in the masters program, I have transformed the way I teach from merely incorporating technology in lessons, to educating through technology. My students generate and build on each other’s ideas in discussion forums and through use of social networks, work collaboratively yet asynchronously on wikis, solve complex problems using computer simulations, confront important societal issues like water pollution, resource management, and climate change and apply their understanding in multitudes of digital formats. These examples are just a small sampling of how my students interact with technology, but they are evidence of how this program and the goals I set for myself have influenced my practice.
In my original goal statement, I wrote that I wanted to use technology to become a more dynamic and effective teacher. While advancing toward that goal, I’ve progressed into leadership positions. I started down this path as the “technology guy” in my school, providing support and ideas to other teachers. I then became the science department head, and more recently, the disciplinary literacy coach for science. In these roles I have seen my influence reach much farther than just my own classroom. By leading other teachers, I can impact more students and make a greater difference than I could on my own. In reflecting on past goals, and current practice, a new goal has emerged for me: I hope to take on a new leadership role as an administrator in instructional technology. My teaching experience and training at Michigan State University has prepared me well to accept this new challenge, and I’m ready to take the next step.
While this goal remains the same, my thinking of how to approach it has changed. In the past, I saw technology as a tool to engage students. I have since discovered it is so much more powerful than that. Because of my work in the masters program, I have transformed the way I teach from merely incorporating technology in lessons, to educating through technology. My students generate and build on each other’s ideas in discussion forums and through use of social networks, work collaboratively yet asynchronously on wikis, solve complex problems using computer simulations, confront important societal issues like water pollution, resource management, and climate change and apply their understanding in multitudes of digital formats. These examples are just a small sampling of how my students interact with technology, but they are evidence of how this program and the goals I set for myself have influenced my practice.
In my original goal statement, I wrote that I wanted to use technology to become a more dynamic and effective teacher. While advancing toward that goal, I’ve progressed into leadership positions. I started down this path as the “technology guy” in my school, providing support and ideas to other teachers. I then became the science department head, and more recently, the disciplinary literacy coach for science. In these roles I have seen my influence reach much farther than just my own classroom. By leading other teachers, I can impact more students and make a greater difference than I could on my own. In reflecting on past goals, and current practice, a new goal has emerged for me: I hope to take on a new leadership role as an administrator in instructional technology. My teaching experience and training at Michigan State University has prepared me well to accept this new challenge, and I’m ready to take the next step.