Flight Path

Deciding on a Flight Path has been incredibly challenging, especially since I am quite indecisive and have been most of my life.  I find that as I age and get older, my opinions and ideas of what I should do and how I should live my life keep changing.  I have always been interested in multimedia, and the latest technology, which has led me to pursue this program and explore the varieties of technological advances.  Although technology has been appealing, I was not always interested in it.  Not that I was afraid of technology and its uses, I simply felt no desire to sit in front of the computer and learn how to use a device, when I could be travelling and exploring the world around me in a social context.  When the explosion of social media applications occurred and the online social world began to form, my ideas and notions of what constitutes an appropriate social atmosphere changed.  I realized that my friends were communicating daily through these applications and that life itself was being lived online and through online networks.  The world that I knew was moving indoors in front of computer screens, and in order to maintain your friendships, you needed to remain connected and integrated.  My desire for social media and social media connection shifted as I tailored my career towards its exploration.  I started to integrate this in my academic studies, and while I was in teachers college, I attempted to use technology as much as possible in designing my lesson plans.  In addition, I enrolled in additional courses, in web design, development and search engine optimization.  Previous to enrolling in this program, I had completed an education degree, as well as certificates in web.  I used my expertise and applied it while working for approximately a year and a half as a social media expert for a PR firm.  While using this expertise, I was able to navigate and understand how to better incorporate social media into web design and web marketing.  I found that understanding technology and educational technology could assist me in multiple careers; not only did it help immensely while I worked as a social media expert I was able to use these skills and transfer them to the world of education.  After I decided that I was interested in continuing to develop my career in education, I left the world of public relations and applied my degree in a more useful setting.  I managed to find a post, as Training Coordinator in an Education related organization.  In this organization, I develop training materials, and assist users to learn how to use an educational software/system that tracks student marks, progress, etc.  After working in this post for almost a year, I then decided to apply for my Masters degree in Educational Technology.  At this point, I would like to research, and discover what types of learning management systems are available, and which are used for various functions.  I know that there are several excellent free versions, but I would like to know how to integrate them and upload pre-designed course material, presentations, videos, etc.  Understanding how to use a Learning Management System and track student records and marks are important as a teacher in any situation.  With the seamless integration of technology in higher education settings, it is important for me to recognize the uses and how to apply the various technologies to different contexts.  As a teacher, I have learned quite a bit about assessment already, however there is always room to grow as an individual and especially the world of assessment online.  Some questions that I ask are:  How does assessment differ in an online context than a classroom setting?  What are some of the key components of executing an online assessment?  How can technology help the assessment process?  Perhaps, throughout this course, I will be able to answer some of these questions and grow as an individual.  In regards to social software and multimedia, there is a plethora of application software on the market, available in stores and online.  The question is which social software is best used for educational purposes?  Does Facebook and Twitter have a learning feature or does it need to be integrated in such a way to benefit your personal website, etc?  Multimedia is such a vast field, and I believe the key to understanding how to best use it, is to choose some applications that you want to explore, learn and develop expertise in.  After you become an expert, use these applications as best as possible to serve your needs.  In order to master all of these applications, and to become a specialist, access to excellent resources is required.  Some of the resources that may be required are web tutorials, on-screen step by step procedures, and personal online tutorials (live presentations).   Learning is a process that requires example, trial and error and use.  Without the opportunities to learn and use the applications, the users may never grow to an expert of specialist level.  I am not quite sure how much knowledge I will be able to apply in this course, but the more hands-on, the better it is.  The only drawback about hand-on learning is that it takes a sufficient amount of time, and depending on the assignment, students in this program, including me, can feel a bit overwhelmed at times.  Hopefully, I will meet some kind instructors that are flexible!

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