"How did you do that?"
(A Reflective Essay)
    "How did you do that?" was a question that I asked very frequently about pretty much anything that had to do with technology. Oh sure, I knew how to surf the Internet but I didn't know how to create anything for myself and was always amazed by people who actually knew what they were doing. 
    While I was trying to figure out what to get my Master's degree in I decided to take the plunge and enter the world of technology.  In May of 2008, I submitted my goal statement to MSU's online Educational Technology Master's program.  I remember vividly the goals I had set: Be able to use and incorporate technology such as blogs/wiki's/internet into my curriculum.  Learn how to use my own website for communicating with students and their parents.  I also wanted to be able to help teach other fellow teachers and staff to learn somethings that would increase their knowledge of technology.  For once I wanted to be the one who knew how to do something!
    As of right now, I know that I have met my previously set goals.  My current thoughts about technology has changed a bit, because everyday something new is coming out in the technology world. This makes me realize that it would almost be a full time job to keep up with the most current beneficial uses of new computer tools in the classroom.  All of my classes were time consuming and were full of information that I ate up. My life outside of school has changed significantly since I started getting my degree.  A new addition to our family, a move, job changes, and other daily jobs like raising my children have made me decide to really try to pay attention to stuff that will work for me, in my classroom and for my students. I am also now into looking for  computer/Internet based tools that I use with my five year old son.  Age appropriate, grade level and curriculum based things are what I look for now, tools without a lot of fuss and muss that needs to be done to it to make it useable in the classroom or at home.
    Another thought that I had in the past is that most teachers are exactly how I was in the start of my masters program.  Not sure if I knew what I was doing, but capable of surfing the Internet.  If technology could be integrated into curriculum, then everyone who is in a classroom should be educated on how to properly use what is given to them.  I for one wanted to learn, but that is not the case for a lot of teachers. Using technology for everyday use in classrooms is going to become the norm, but not all teachers that I have worked with are willing or wanting to use it.  I know that not everyone is up to date with the latest and greatest computer tools that are out there for educators, but wouldn't it be great if they were? One thing I am positive about is that I am pretty happy with my knowledge of what I learned in my masters classes and am very happy to be able to tell someone "How I did something" when it comes to technology.