Looking FOrward Paper - The WINDow to the future
By Luke A. Swanson
My personal manifesto looking forward on my career for the next five years is developed from my experiences as a teacher, student, and life long learner. It also incorporates my goals as an educator of young people. I firmly believe that my passion for my profession will continue to drive me to develop my curriculum, teaching and learning environment to provide additional opportunities for student learning.
I believe that the goal of every educator should be to mentor students, assisting them in educational discovery and construction of knowledge. I believe that this is accomplished through inclusive teaching which incorporates various learning styles and backgrounds. A teacher must diversify how and why they teach subjects in order to include all cultural, social, ideological, and psychological individuals in the learning process. Technology is paramount to the movement. Our goal as educators should also be social progress both for the person and society, this I believe is essential for education. I believe education is student driven as well as teacher driven. A teacher must not only transmit knowledge, but include students in the process allowing for a positive democratic classroom environment. This is accomplished by incorporating student input in unit planning, discipline, lessons, etc. Lastly, I believe a teacher must always be forward thinking and reflective in nature. A teacher has to constantly push themselves toward discovering new and exciting ways to teach. This is achieved through reflecting upon lessons, units, and incorporating collaboration with colleagues and input from students. In reflecting upon our practice we, along with the students, are working towards improving education.
To employ this philosophy there are a variety of steps I will take in the future of my profession. The first step I must take is to continue to grow as an educator. In the next five years of my career I must attend conferences, participate in research, collaborate, share, remain “plugged in”, and “risk take” to find best practice in my own educational environment. This will require that I utilize my personal learning network, PLN, to become aware of new philosophies and approaches to learning. Using social media tools like Twitter and Facebook will be beneficial in the future. The next area I must continue improve is remaining “plugged in” by using educational research databases and news sources such as; Education Weekly, Education News, Edutopia, and EdTech k-12 Magazine. Furthermore, because I am an educator of Social Studies there are numerous subject area resources I must continue to make use of as well. History Channel, The Economist, World History of Us All, and various current world news sources will benefit me greatly within my content area.
In the future I also see myself as a collaborator who is willing to share and teach other educators about my practice. I am already becoming a educational technology leader within my school that helps others become users themselves. In the future of my career I anticipate developing professional development tools for my peers as well as social media support systems so that other educators can benefit from what I have learned. I anticipate that I will also grow from sharing with other educators as well. I have already developed a Facebook group and Twitter hashtag that educators within my school use to collaborate on education and technology issues.
There are also various state, national, and global organizations that I will participate in over the next five years to become a better educator. I am a member of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), and Michigan Council for the Social Studies (MCSS). Both of these professional development organizations provide content area learning opportunities for Social Studies educators. Now and in the future I will employ online and conference resources to improve teaching within my classroom. These organizations also have quality technology based learning networks that I will use to improve as an educator.
In the area of technology education there are many organizations that provide similar professional development opportunities. I am currently a member of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL), and in the future I will become a member of The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Both of these organizations will contribute to my future as I continue to expand my use of the TPACK framework. These organizations will also help facilitate the use of new lessons and technologies within the classroom. One of the greatest challenges related to technology education is the idea that this field is constantly in flux. To become a successful educator who uses technology effectively I must stay current. This will also benefit my student body that continues to use these resources for personal use. I believe that it is also my job to build digital citizenship within my students. I must use these new technologies to help them become positive users of technology in their own lives.
In my future as an educator I would also like to push my school and district to try new things and become better technology users. I am and always will be a passionate educator. I challenge, push, and inspire students to become life long learners who are guided by their passions and goals. Five years from now, I anticipate looking into the mirror and seeing a person who is never content with his own teaching practice. In the future I would like to continue to take graduate studies and classes that will benefit my teaching for my students. In a year, I will graduate with a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from Michigan State University. Although this degree will be complete I will continue to actively educate myself through a variety of resources. I will continue to use my Professional Learning Network of fellow educators I have become colleagues with at Michigan State. In conclusion, over the next five years I will still be someone who continues to love what he does. Who is guided by his passion to educate and inspire young people. I will constantly utilize all of these tools to improve upon my craft as an educator.
My personal manifesto looking forward on my career for the next five years is developed from my experiences as a teacher, student, and life long learner. It also incorporates my goals as an educator of young people. I firmly believe that my passion for my profession will continue to drive me to develop my curriculum, teaching and learning environment to provide additional opportunities for student learning.
I believe that the goal of every educator should be to mentor students, assisting them in educational discovery and construction of knowledge. I believe that this is accomplished through inclusive teaching which incorporates various learning styles and backgrounds. A teacher must diversify how and why they teach subjects in order to include all cultural, social, ideological, and psychological individuals in the learning process. Technology is paramount to the movement. Our goal as educators should also be social progress both for the person and society, this I believe is essential for education. I believe education is student driven as well as teacher driven. A teacher must not only transmit knowledge, but include students in the process allowing for a positive democratic classroom environment. This is accomplished by incorporating student input in unit planning, discipline, lessons, etc. Lastly, I believe a teacher must always be forward thinking and reflective in nature. A teacher has to constantly push themselves toward discovering new and exciting ways to teach. This is achieved through reflecting upon lessons, units, and incorporating collaboration with colleagues and input from students. In reflecting upon our practice we, along with the students, are working towards improving education.
To employ this philosophy there are a variety of steps I will take in the future of my profession. The first step I must take is to continue to grow as an educator. In the next five years of my career I must attend conferences, participate in research, collaborate, share, remain “plugged in”, and “risk take” to find best practice in my own educational environment. This will require that I utilize my personal learning network, PLN, to become aware of new philosophies and approaches to learning. Using social media tools like Twitter and Facebook will be beneficial in the future. The next area I must continue improve is remaining “plugged in” by using educational research databases and news sources such as; Education Weekly, Education News, Edutopia, and EdTech k-12 Magazine. Furthermore, because I am an educator of Social Studies there are numerous subject area resources I must continue to make use of as well. History Channel, The Economist, World History of Us All, and various current world news sources will benefit me greatly within my content area.
In the future I also see myself as a collaborator who is willing to share and teach other educators about my practice. I am already becoming a educational technology leader within my school that helps others become users themselves. In the future of my career I anticipate developing professional development tools for my peers as well as social media support systems so that other educators can benefit from what I have learned. I anticipate that I will also grow from sharing with other educators as well. I have already developed a Facebook group and Twitter hashtag that educators within my school use to collaborate on education and technology issues.
There are also various state, national, and global organizations that I will participate in over the next five years to become a better educator. I am a member of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), and Michigan Council for the Social Studies (MCSS). Both of these professional development organizations provide content area learning opportunities for Social Studies educators. Now and in the future I will employ online and conference resources to improve teaching within my classroom. These organizations also have quality technology based learning networks that I will use to improve as an educator.
In the area of technology education there are many organizations that provide similar professional development opportunities. I am currently a member of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL), and in the future I will become a member of The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Both of these organizations will contribute to my future as I continue to expand my use of the TPACK framework. These organizations will also help facilitate the use of new lessons and technologies within the classroom. One of the greatest challenges related to technology education is the idea that this field is constantly in flux. To become a successful educator who uses technology effectively I must stay current. This will also benefit my student body that continues to use these resources for personal use. I believe that it is also my job to build digital citizenship within my students. I must use these new technologies to help them become positive users of technology in their own lives.
In my future as an educator I would also like to push my school and district to try new things and become better technology users. I am and always will be a passionate educator. I challenge, push, and inspire students to become life long learners who are guided by their passions and goals. Five years from now, I anticipate looking into the mirror and seeing a person who is never content with his own teaching practice. In the future I would like to continue to take graduate studies and classes that will benefit my teaching for my students. In a year, I will graduate with a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from Michigan State University. Although this degree will be complete I will continue to actively educate myself through a variety of resources. I will continue to use my Professional Learning Network of fellow educators I have become colleagues with at Michigan State. In conclusion, over the next five years I will still be someone who continues to love what he does. Who is guided by his passion to educate and inspire young people. I will constantly utilize all of these tools to improve upon my craft as an educator.
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