Initial Goals |
When I first started my master’s degree program, my goal was to take a bigger role in school improvement within the company that I worked for. Specifically I had always been intrigued with what I could do to reshape classrooms for the 21st century learner. It had been my experience that while education is slowly moving forward with trying to meet the educational needs of a digital society, we are still operating in an industrial age education system. Overall, I wanted to expand my knowledge base through Michigan State University’s (MSU) graduate program to help me have a better understanding of what role I can play to help improve education for the digital age learner.
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Current Goals |
As I finish my master's degree, it is now my goal to be involved with the creation of a software that will be relevant to digital age schools. I have played many roles within the software industry, and I know that software development is where I intend to spend the rest of my career. Foremost in my goals is to find the software niche that has not yet been filled for our schools and build a team to find a way to fill that need. Specifically, I see large gaps in educational administration software, and I intend to spend more time researching and developing a business plan for how to address those gaps. As I continue to work towards a software of my own creation, it is also my goal to continue to learn as much as I can about education, software development, and running a business.
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Goal Changes |
Largely, my goals have not changed as much as I thought they
would when I changed jobs half way through my master’s program. That is to say, my goals have not really changed but have just become more focused.
When I started my program, I would have never thought to start my own
software, but I think that I have learned that it is possible if I can just
work through all that needs to be done and get the right support. I am still focused on reshaping classrooms as
it relates to the digital learner, but now I am more focused on specifically
the administration of the digital age classroom rather than the individual
learner. I think the biggest shift I
have in my goals is that I see that I am no longer alone in my crusade to
enhance digital age schools, but that there are so many others that I can
collaborate with to accomplish these ideas. So I have added to my goals that I need to find more people to collaborate with. Also, that largest shift in my goals is that I assumed that by achieving my degree I would reach my goals and be finished with my learning. I now realize that goals are always growing so that I will never be finished with learning.
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