217 Miles
by: Adam French
Two hundred and seventeen miles. This distance between my two classrooms. During the summer of 2009 I would be lying if I said my tech classes were the most important thing on my mind, but they were vital in where I am today. A month before writing this initial paper I had been laid off from my first job teaching and wasn’t thrilled to be on job market again. At the time I was even debating dropping the course and waiting until I was more financially stable. Despite this I continued my journey in the program, which later to find out was a major contributing factor in my hiring.
At the time I was very intrigued in technologies ability to foster engagement. Experiencing this first hand as one of the first generation of students in my undergrad to have technology integrated curriculum. My focus on engagement hasn’t changed but ideology on how it has to be implemented has. Before these courses and even after them, I maintained a rigid philosophy when it came to tech usage. I quickly learned technology and rigidity struggle to coexist and how implementing technology has shaped my teaching philosophy. Transitioning from a rigid traditional style to its extreme opposite of a facilitator. When you become a facilitator roles and responsibilities change. Autonomy and technology sounds scary, but the rewards outweigh the risks. Witnessing ownership and confidence in students I wouldn’t have dreamed of, makes my job extremely rewarding. Incorporating autonomy and freedom has showed me how a school's context shapes the technology and my plans for implementation as well.
Looking back over my initial goals two years ago I mentioned specific programs and idea that I believed to be helpful in instituting this tech savvy learning environment. What I have learned quickly is how your context impacts your plans more than your plans impact your context. Publishing something such as class website were students can access information they may have missed sounds great in theory and was a goal of mine at the time. Reality sets in when you realize you work in a low income rural community where most students don’t have internet or computer access. This two hundred and seventeen miles has shaped me as well as my frame of mind towards technologies role in a classroom.
At the time I was very intrigued in technologies ability to foster engagement. Experiencing this first hand as one of the first generation of students in my undergrad to have technology integrated curriculum. My focus on engagement hasn’t changed but ideology on how it has to be implemented has. Before these courses and even after them, I maintained a rigid philosophy when it came to tech usage. I quickly learned technology and rigidity struggle to coexist and how implementing technology has shaped my teaching philosophy. Transitioning from a rigid traditional style to its extreme opposite of a facilitator. When you become a facilitator roles and responsibilities change. Autonomy and technology sounds scary, but the rewards outweigh the risks. Witnessing ownership and confidence in students I wouldn’t have dreamed of, makes my job extremely rewarding. Incorporating autonomy and freedom has showed me how a school's context shapes the technology and my plans for implementation as well.
Looking back over my initial goals two years ago I mentioned specific programs and idea that I believed to be helpful in instituting this tech savvy learning environment. What I have learned quickly is how your context impacts your plans more than your plans impact your context. Publishing something such as class website were students can access information they may have missed sounds great in theory and was a goal of mine at the time. Reality sets in when you realize you work in a low income rural community where most students don’t have internet or computer access. This two hundred and seventeen miles has shaped me as well as my frame of mind towards technologies role in a classroom.
