goal Reflection
When we have a clear goal, anything is possible
Technology and Teaching, Meet Health, Fitness, and Wellbeing!
In the fall of 2011, I was accepted to Masters Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University (MSU). When I think back on my first semester, I took two courses. I was new to the MAET program so I was unsure of many things. I was really familiar with Western-style teaching methods. I wasn’t sure what studying in an entirely online course would be like, or what to expect from the instructor and my classmates or myself. However, I enjoyed the idea of studying learning in technology-rich settings.
Initially, my goal in MAET was to improve my understanding of technology as a powerful resource for learning and teaching. Because I had previously spent 9 years in an international school environment, I was particularly interested in learning how to use technology as a resource in multi-lingual, educational community settings.
Over the next 2 years, I began thinking differently about my goals and passions. I started taking yoga during my second year in MAET and it really changed my outlook on mental and physical health. At first, yoga was a way for me to exercise and relax but it soon became much more. I realized yoga was a way of life – mentally, physically, and spiritually. I wanted to learn as much as possible as a yoga student, and to challenge myself to a become great yoga teacher/mentor. Technology and education, however, were still a big part of my life and my career goals. It was when I started to visit other yoga sites on the Internet that I realized I could engage all three of my passions – education, technology, and yoga - at the same time.
At that point, I made a decision that in all my MAET courses, my goal would be to focus on building online resources for learning and teaching yoga. For example, in Electronic Portfolios and New Media Literacies. I actually created a number of online yoga sites for my courses. I learned how to apply different techniques to teach yoga in online learning environments, from creating websites based on instructional design principals to making instructional videos. I also created a system for helping students practice yoga at home and providing personalized assessment through video and online feedback.
This is my final semester of the program, and looking back, I think my goals have not changed as much as it might seem. I saw myself growing in my understanding of how to integrate advanced, innovative technologies and sharing this knowledge with yoga practitioners and the wider yoga community. At the same time, I saw myself growing as a yoga instructor and learning new ways to interact with students both in the studio and online. I know realistically there are thousands of yoga videos, media and websites on the Internet but this is my own personal experience with yoga. I am not afraid of not being noticed but I also want to grow my digital presence to include social media and other aspects of technology so that I can reach a broader audience with my own personal yoga message.
In the long run, I hope that I can model technology use as a great resource tool for my students and my community. I believe that wellbeing, harmony and self-awareness through yoga are important topics to study, experience, and share with others. I think we can make our world a better place if we learn to connect and share learning experiences with others. We can find always find inspiration and insight from a broader social-cultural perspective, so my goal for the future is to learn to exploring a new and proud to share with my student and community.
In the fall of 2011, I was accepted to Masters Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University (MSU). When I think back on my first semester, I took two courses. I was new to the MAET program so I was unsure of many things. I was really familiar with Western-style teaching methods. I wasn’t sure what studying in an entirely online course would be like, or what to expect from the instructor and my classmates or myself. However, I enjoyed the idea of studying learning in technology-rich settings.
Initially, my goal in MAET was to improve my understanding of technology as a powerful resource for learning and teaching. Because I had previously spent 9 years in an international school environment, I was particularly interested in learning how to use technology as a resource in multi-lingual, educational community settings.
Over the next 2 years, I began thinking differently about my goals and passions. I started taking yoga during my second year in MAET and it really changed my outlook on mental and physical health. At first, yoga was a way for me to exercise and relax but it soon became much more. I realized yoga was a way of life – mentally, physically, and spiritually. I wanted to learn as much as possible as a yoga student, and to challenge myself to a become great yoga teacher/mentor. Technology and education, however, were still a big part of my life and my career goals. It was when I started to visit other yoga sites on the Internet that I realized I could engage all three of my passions – education, technology, and yoga - at the same time.
At that point, I made a decision that in all my MAET courses, my goal would be to focus on building online resources for learning and teaching yoga. For example, in Electronic Portfolios and New Media Literacies. I actually created a number of online yoga sites for my courses. I learned how to apply different techniques to teach yoga in online learning environments, from creating websites based on instructional design principals to making instructional videos. I also created a system for helping students practice yoga at home and providing personalized assessment through video and online feedback.
This is my final semester of the program, and looking back, I think my goals have not changed as much as it might seem. I saw myself growing in my understanding of how to integrate advanced, innovative technologies and sharing this knowledge with yoga practitioners and the wider yoga community. At the same time, I saw myself growing as a yoga instructor and learning new ways to interact with students both in the studio and online. I know realistically there are thousands of yoga videos, media and websites on the Internet but this is my own personal experience with yoga. I am not afraid of not being noticed but I also want to grow my digital presence to include social media and other aspects of technology so that I can reach a broader audience with my own personal yoga message.
In the long run, I hope that I can model technology use as a great resource tool for my students and my community. I believe that wellbeing, harmony and self-awareness through yoga are important topics to study, experience, and share with others. I think we can make our world a better place if we learn to connect and share learning experiences with others. We can find always find inspiration and insight from a broader social-cultural perspective, so my goal for the future is to learn to exploring a new and proud to share with my student and community.
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