This my ETEC 540 course blog.
Who am I?
I’m Melissa Arasin, an educator and lifelong learner from Texas who’s now living in Niagara, Ontario.
I have always absolutely loved learning and exploring a range of passions, ideas, and subjects, and after immigrating to Canada have continued my learning journey and found my way to the University of British Columbia’s online Master of Educational Technology (MET) program. MET has given me the opportunity to explore my interests and unearth new ones in emerging technologies and their educational potential, and I am excited that this is my final course in the program. If you’re curious about the work I’ve done thus far, please visit my e-portfolio I created for ETEC590. I’ve been applying to PhD programs for Fall 2021 entry, and I am hopeful to continue my learning journey.
My career as an educator began in Austin, Texas, at the International High School, a two-year newcomer campus where I was fortunate to work with an incredible and diverse group of students and colleagues. Though the focus of my instruction was ESL and English, I enjoyed integrating the use of educational technology tools in my curricula whenever possible, and my students and I enjoyed using them for a variety of purposes, and especially, digital storytelling.
Inspired by my students’ dedication to their education and language learning progress, I set out to study Spanish in Guanajuato, México, returned to Austin for a short time, and then immigrated to Canada to join my partner. In these past few years, I have been studying and working to create my path and find my place in the Canadian education system. Along with working toward that professional goal, I recently completed a greenhouse technician diploma, tutored horticulture program-related courses, and after graduating, taught a few semesters of Communications to students in Allied Health, Technology, dual-credit programs at Niagara College.
When I’m not studying or teaching, you’ll find me outdoors chasing bees, birds, and butterflies with my camera in hand or in my garden where I grow fruits and vegetables, herbs, flowers, and native plants for pollinating insects and wildlife. I’ve recently gotten really into birding, and pandemic travel restrictions have pushed me to pursue the exploration of nearby places I had not ventured to prior to March 2020. In doing so, I’ve seen things I’ve never seen before, and I feel more connected to the world around me.