Keep Learning:
The Journey is More Important than the Destination
George McDowell
My primary joy the last fifteen years has been taking advantage of my summers as a teacher by taking extended road trips with my two sons camping, hiking, visiting our beautiful national parks, and exploring the back roads of America. This was not luxury travel; we had each other, a packed jeep, and a road map. We let our curiosity drive the trips. One of our goals was to travel to all fifty states. After five years, we met that objective and decided to keep traveling and visit again. Upon reflection of our continuing explorations, I see parallels to my own learning journey in both formal and informal settings. Just as I am completing a second Master's degree, I plan to continue my journey and find more opportunities for learning, reflecting, and sharing. |
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Learning is lifelong
My favorite trips have been our expeditions in the geologic wonderland of the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. I enjoy experiencing the monuments and canyons of sandstone carved by water, wind, and time, occasionally exploring sinuous side canyons with each turn providing scenes of surprise and wonder. These different explorations are similar to my own education getting sidetracked by curiosity or professional inquiry. These journeys of learning and exploration continue to fuel my growth as an educator and as a person. I have taken unexpected professional turns, teaching a variety of courses in different disciplines and hope to continue to do so. I have also enjoyed developing leadership capacities myself in different administrative capacities but in my students as well.
I completed my first Master's degree in History over 25 years ago which prepared me for this program. This current degree in Education was an opportunity to validate those efforts and experiences. I’ve enjoyed my courses with their readings, writing and creative assessments, as well as my interactions with peers and faculty. My future plan as a learner is to apply my learning, grow into new possibilities of leadership and administration, and continue helping my students meet their potential. Socrates explained that the more we learn, the more we realize more of our own ignorance; but that ignorance brings humility, and humility can make us empowered. I hope to use this opportunity of formal education as a base while being open to new paths searching for new nuggets of wisdom.
Search for new tools of learning
One of my concentrations in the Master of Arts in Education degree was Learning and Technology. A theme in my career has been a continued search for better tools for learning and teaching. We live in an increasingly connected, hyper-documented, social media savvy, and totally technologically enhanced world. Technology has changed both travel and education with the evolution of the Internet, mobile and satellite technology, and new models of learning and communication. As the pace of change quickens for society and technology, it becomes difficult to “master” new tools for learning. Through this program, I have learned that by keeping student learning as the end in mind we can find our own effective approaches to using technology. What do we want students to know? How will we know that they know? What do I do if they don’t know? The tools will change, but the questions will not. The search for these answers and tools to answer those questions has driven me and continues to drive my growth. Although the tools continue to evolve, I have found it important to network resources for learning. Current programs and apps such as RSS, Social networking such as professional organizations, Twitter and Google+, social bookmarking, blogging will continue to help me find new resources, models, connections, and new ways of thinking.
Online learning
Technology allows us to travel to wonderful places without leaving the comfort of our homes. Good and bad, technology connects us in new ways. Perhaps the most disruptive force in education is the Internet and mobile technology. As we and our students now have the knowledge of the world in the palms of our hands, models of learning and teaching will change. One of the reasons I chose the Masters of Arts in Education at Michigan State University was the flexibility of the online platform for study while I was able to continue to teach. The tools of technology have caught up with online education to allow for a variety of instruction, interactivity, improved communication and expression, and different methods of participation. I feel I have collaborated more with fellow students and professors than I did in my previous Master’s program twenty-five years ago. With my experience in online learning, I am coordinating online opportunities for my current school. I also plan to continue to take advantage of online opportunities for self-learning as well as consider doctoral work in a couple years.
Learning needs to be shared
What has made my travels worth the time is the shared companionship with my sons. I also think it is just as important that learning is shared. With increasing demands on teachers, it is more important that we don’t work in isolation. I aim to work with my school in being deliberate in creating an atmosphere of a learning community with a focus on learning for both students and faculty. I want to learn of new resources and methods for collaboration, interdependence, and a collective response of addressing student achievement.
Now that my sons are moving on to college, I hope we can continue traveling together, but I look forward to see what trails they blaze on their own or with their own friends or families. I was able to watch them grow and benefit from their web of experiences and make connections in their formal education. The more they traveled, the more connections were made, and I have wanted to bring opportunities for my own students to make their own connections whether it's travel abroad or in the classroom.
My favorite trips have been our expeditions in the geologic wonderland of the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. I enjoy experiencing the monuments and canyons of sandstone carved by water, wind, and time, occasionally exploring sinuous side canyons with each turn providing scenes of surprise and wonder. These different explorations are similar to my own education getting sidetracked by curiosity or professional inquiry. These journeys of learning and exploration continue to fuel my growth as an educator and as a person. I have taken unexpected professional turns, teaching a variety of courses in different disciplines and hope to continue to do so. I have also enjoyed developing leadership capacities myself in different administrative capacities but in my students as well.
I completed my first Master's degree in History over 25 years ago which prepared me for this program. This current degree in Education was an opportunity to validate those efforts and experiences. I’ve enjoyed my courses with their readings, writing and creative assessments, as well as my interactions with peers and faculty. My future plan as a learner is to apply my learning, grow into new possibilities of leadership and administration, and continue helping my students meet their potential. Socrates explained that the more we learn, the more we realize more of our own ignorance; but that ignorance brings humility, and humility can make us empowered. I hope to use this opportunity of formal education as a base while being open to new paths searching for new nuggets of wisdom.
Search for new tools of learning
One of my concentrations in the Master of Arts in Education degree was Learning and Technology. A theme in my career has been a continued search for better tools for learning and teaching. We live in an increasingly connected, hyper-documented, social media savvy, and totally technologically enhanced world. Technology has changed both travel and education with the evolution of the Internet, mobile and satellite technology, and new models of learning and communication. As the pace of change quickens for society and technology, it becomes difficult to “master” new tools for learning. Through this program, I have learned that by keeping student learning as the end in mind we can find our own effective approaches to using technology. What do we want students to know? How will we know that they know? What do I do if they don’t know? The tools will change, but the questions will not. The search for these answers and tools to answer those questions has driven me and continues to drive my growth. Although the tools continue to evolve, I have found it important to network resources for learning. Current programs and apps such as RSS, Social networking such as professional organizations, Twitter and Google+, social bookmarking, blogging will continue to help me find new resources, models, connections, and new ways of thinking.
Online learning
Technology allows us to travel to wonderful places without leaving the comfort of our homes. Good and bad, technology connects us in new ways. Perhaps the most disruptive force in education is the Internet and mobile technology. As we and our students now have the knowledge of the world in the palms of our hands, models of learning and teaching will change. One of the reasons I chose the Masters of Arts in Education at Michigan State University was the flexibility of the online platform for study while I was able to continue to teach. The tools of technology have caught up with online education to allow for a variety of instruction, interactivity, improved communication and expression, and different methods of participation. I feel I have collaborated more with fellow students and professors than I did in my previous Master’s program twenty-five years ago. With my experience in online learning, I am coordinating online opportunities for my current school. I also plan to continue to take advantage of online opportunities for self-learning as well as consider doctoral work in a couple years.
Learning needs to be shared
What has made my travels worth the time is the shared companionship with my sons. I also think it is just as important that learning is shared. With increasing demands on teachers, it is more important that we don’t work in isolation. I aim to work with my school in being deliberate in creating an atmosphere of a learning community with a focus on learning for both students and faculty. I want to learn of new resources and methods for collaboration, interdependence, and a collective response of addressing student achievement.
Now that my sons are moving on to college, I hope we can continue traveling together, but I look forward to see what trails they blaze on their own or with their own friends or families. I was able to watch them grow and benefit from their web of experiences and make connections in their formal education. The more they traveled, the more connections were made, and I have wanted to bring opportunities for my own students to make their own connections whether it's travel abroad or in the classroom.
Images by George McDowell