Benjamin Ayres
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY COACH
Envisioning the Future of Educational Technology
Introduction
Enable, engage, and envision: with these three words I will change the future. Before attending the MAET masters course, my goals were vague. In my job, I found myself without focus and becoming a digital secretary creating projects for teachers and admin. I was fixing technology instead of incorporating technology. I knew I had a limited impact on the school and technology integration. From the first class at Michigan State I started to understand what the Educational Technologist role really encompassed. The misconceptions concerning technology in classrooms are various and it is important to have a macro perspective. Initially, I plan to engage students and teachers in integrating technology. I will also enable the teachers and students through training, advocacy, and understanding of technology in the classroom. Finally, I will envision the future of the classroom by classroom design, investment, and seeing beyond the classroom. There are many different viewpoints as to the implications of the integration of technology into lessons in classrooms.
Initial Goals
When starting the Michigan State masters program I was just beginning my road to understanding the role technology plays in the classroom. I had three main goals when starting this program. My first goal was to understand the evolving role of an Educational Technologist (ET). Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA), my current employer, spends millions of dollars on technology but the only resource they give teachers to integrate the technology are ETs. With nearly 100 staff and 800 students at our school, it is essential that the staff has an ET who understands his role. Next, I had a goal to understood the 21st century school initiative. Our school is undergoing a new multimillion dollar school build, its design is open to accommodate for differentiated multi class lessons. Understanding how this school will operate and how it will integrate technology is key to comprehending my role as ET in that setting. My third goal was to become a better leader so I could have more influence on the development of our students. These goals were key to my development as an ET and were to the benefit of my school.
Current Goals
In the past three years, I have transitioned and molded my goals to a more concise and further reaching scheme. My goal statement is focused in three words enable, engage, and envision in education technology enabling students and teachers in a global environment to use technology. I will do this by developing transformative technology lessons and processes that can be shared in a worldwide community. Next, I will engage students and teachers to pursue creative technology lessons. While working alongside of teachers and students I will advocate for the use of technology tools and the ethical use of technology throughout the education system. Finally, I will envision the future of technology in schools by becoming a leader. I will continue serving the people I work with and assisting them when I can. I will keep an open mind concerning the design and application of technology tools. With each of these words, and a global perspective, my statement has more relevance and connects to the heart of every teacher in the world.
Changing Goals
By Benjamin Ayres
This is a student creating a voiceover in a powerpoint.
(Photo credit: Benjamin Ayres)
This is a student starting to use a smartboard to work interactivly with a reading website.
(Photo credit: Benjamin Ayres)
This is a picture during our Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) week.
(Photo credit: Cindy Ayres)
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw.
Though my goals have changed in verbiage, my heart has remained constant. I now have a clearer picture of what my goals are and I do not have such a limited perspective. My previous goals lacked impact on the teachers and students which should have been my main focus. I believe these goals have changed gradually through my courses as there wasn't one particular class that impacted me to adopt a new perspective. It was the shifting of focus from me to the teachers and students that really inspired me to change my goals. I have learned that Educational Technology is about inspiring others and preparing others for dynamic technology lessons. It incorporates all my previous goals but it encompasses so much more. The ability to engage, enable, and envision in education technology creates a backdrop that anyone and everyone can aspire to. These goals are worthy goals for a lifetime of learning, and mentoring. In an ever changing technological world, adaptation and change are the few constants. As teachers, we are responsible for the shaping and development of our future and through engaging, enabling, and envisioning technology in education, our children's futures will be bright.
This is a picture of a garden butterfly a symbol of change and beauty.
(Photo credit: Benjamin Ayres)