"To Infinity and Beyond"
-Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story
Essay by Jennifer L. Tiggs
As silly as it may seem, Toy Story is definitely my favorite movie of all time. There are varying reasons for this including the great deal of creativity the writers and artists put into this as well as the production, the funny lines, and the amount of laughter it causes between my brother and I when we get together and recite lines from the movie. One of the most memorable quotes is, "to infinity and beyond," often belted out by Buzz in all three movies. For me, this is a perfect quote to represent my future as a learner.
The great thing about knowledge is that one can never have too much of it. The moment that we think we know something, it changes our perception of something else, prompting us to search for more answers. It could be that that is only the case for me, but I have a feeling that it is not just me who is always learning or trying to learn something new.
Essay by Jennifer L. Tiggs
As silly as it may seem, Toy Story is definitely my favorite movie of all time. There are varying reasons for this including the great deal of creativity the writers and artists put into this as well as the production, the funny lines, and the amount of laughter it causes between my brother and I when we get together and recite lines from the movie. One of the most memorable quotes is, "to infinity and beyond," often belted out by Buzz in all three movies. For me, this is a perfect quote to represent my future as a learner.
The great thing about knowledge is that one can never have too much of it. The moment that we think we know something, it changes our perception of something else, prompting us to search for more answers. It could be that that is only the case for me, but I have a feeling that it is not just me who is always learning or trying to learn something new.
The Net Gen in Me
Here I am at the end of a Master's degree program. Technically, formal education for me could be over. However, the opportunities to continue to learn are endless. As I put efforts forth to move into new roles in my career, I plan to learn using traditional resources like books about how to best take on the new role. While I am not technically a member of Net Generation I embrace many of the characteristics of that generation. Some of the main characteristics I identify with are experiential learning, social interaction, engagement and experience, and things that matter (Oblinger, D. & Oblinger, J.). These ideas will resonate in my plan for being a lifelong learner.
Allow me to illustrate. I am definitely a dive-right-in-and-try-something-new type of person. Whenever I take a professional development opportunity and the topic interests me, I am ready to take the new idea and find a way to apply the learning in my life in some way, whether it is in my classroom, with my team, or in my personal life. I have been a part of formal and informal trainings where the instructor has shown something and I immediately start making notes in my phone or on my computer about ways I can use the idea on my own. One example of this is when I was in a literacy training last year with Chuck Hatt, an Ann Arbor Public Schools literacy trainer, and he mentioned using Edmodo as a social networking tool for teachers in Ann Arbor (not at all as a formal part of the workshop he was presenting). I took-off with that idea and made time to learn about the site that same day and found a way to integrate it into my classroom. I plan to continue to learn this way: experience, trial, error, and modification.
In a casual parking lot conversation with a colleague one day, she told me something so simple that I can guess many people already knew about, something totally unrelated to education, but got me so excited because I just never knew. I kept repeating, "Wow! I never knew that. I would not have thought of that on my own." Simple conversations are great ways to learn from others. These conversations can be live, as described in my story about my colleague, or using web tools like Twitter, educators' blogs, or webinars.
The vast amount of connectedness that technology gives also brings with it a plethora of opportunities to learn even more. This summer at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2011 Conference in Philadelphia, Adam Bellows mentioned that one of the greatest sources for professional development is You Tube. I never thought to use a place like You Tube to teach me better ways to teach. Videos for visual learners like me, are also great tools for learning from others. I know how to search the internet for information, but had not always used it to the greatest advantage for improving my professional practices.
Allow me to illustrate. I am definitely a dive-right-in-and-try-something-new type of person. Whenever I take a professional development opportunity and the topic interests me, I am ready to take the new idea and find a way to apply the learning in my life in some way, whether it is in my classroom, with my team, or in my personal life. I have been a part of formal and informal trainings where the instructor has shown something and I immediately start making notes in my phone or on my computer about ways I can use the idea on my own. One example of this is when I was in a literacy training last year with Chuck Hatt, an Ann Arbor Public Schools literacy trainer, and he mentioned using Edmodo as a social networking tool for teachers in Ann Arbor (not at all as a formal part of the workshop he was presenting). I took-off with that idea and made time to learn about the site that same day and found a way to integrate it into my classroom. I plan to continue to learn this way: experience, trial, error, and modification.
In a casual parking lot conversation with a colleague one day, she told me something so simple that I can guess many people already knew about, something totally unrelated to education, but got me so excited because I just never knew. I kept repeating, "Wow! I never knew that. I would not have thought of that on my own." Simple conversations are great ways to learn from others. These conversations can be live, as described in my story about my colleague, or using web tools like Twitter, educators' blogs, or webinars.
The vast amount of connectedness that technology gives also brings with it a plethora of opportunities to learn even more. This summer at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2011 Conference in Philadelphia, Adam Bellows mentioned that one of the greatest sources for professional development is You Tube. I never thought to use a place like You Tube to teach me better ways to teach. Videos for visual learners like me, are also great tools for learning from others. I know how to search the internet for information, but had not always used it to the greatest advantage for improving my professional practices.
My Learning, My students, and My Team
When I started the MAED program in 2007, I did not quite realize how much I would learn. As a matter of fact, I did not understand the possibilities. Thankfully, I have been in the program long enough to see it evolve--at least for me--from just reading books, posting to a discussion, writing a paper, and completing a group project, to more rich conversations and varying experiences with different learning contexts and presentation formats . I do not think of the changes occurring because instructors have necessarily gotten that much better, but rather technology has and more "everyday people" are able to manipulate web tools easier. Because we have learned to do this and that some of the skills and tools are becoming more intuitive, it provides the opportunity for learning to become more engaging.
The best way to educate students is to continue to educate myself through experiences with new technologies and giving students experiences with using those same technologies. It is my obligation as someone who wants students to be able to compete in a global society, to stay abreast of developments in education and the world in general. How can I teach without having experiences or being informed? As a school leader and future educator of teachers, I need to do the same with the adults on my staff or in my classes.
The best way to educate students is to continue to educate myself through experiences with new technologies and giving students experiences with using those same technologies. It is my obligation as someone who wants students to be able to compete in a global society, to stay abreast of developments in education and the world in general. How can I teach without having experiences or being informed? As a school leader and future educator of teachers, I need to do the same with the adults on my staff or in my classes.
Toward the "Beyond"
Buzz says, "to infinity and beyond," but can we really go beyond infinity? One of the other toys actually says--in Toy Story 3-- that we cannot go beyond infinity. What we can do, and what I intend to do, is keep moving in the direction of knowledge, which is infinite. Down the line that movement could be toward another formal degree, but in the meantime, I will keep learning informally. What will be my sources for learning? It is difficult to list them all and I have mentioned some previously, but here are a few of my commitments: inquiry/experimentation, books, television, Twitter, educators' blogs, You Tube, Teacher Tube, professional development classes offered by local and online colleges/my place of employment, webinars, conferences like ISTE, my students, and colleagues. As the landscapes change or formats change, I commit to learning how to change as well.
-October 23, 2011
-October 23, 2011
Buzz Lighyear "To Infinity and Beyond" Image is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/7357708@N03/5187434383
Race to Infinity image is from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3374/3428818776_fdba836915_m.jpg
Race to Infinity image is from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3374/3428818776_fdba836915_m.jpg