Pushing limits…making changes!

This has been a summer filled with pushing my limits. However, I believe real growth only happens when one is willing to step outside their comfort zone. I am happy to say, that by pushing the limits real changes have occurred!

The decision to join the Masters of Ed Tech program at MSU came pretty easily. I was looking for an online program, but the overseas component of MSU was what really drew me in. I have developed quite a passion for traveling and this seemed like the perfect answer. Get a Masters and go to Ireland? Absolutely!

Interesting then, that as the trip approached, the very thing I had been most excited about became the thing that terrified me most. The thought that I was voluntarily going to spend 4 weeks with a group of people that I had never met was incredibly unsettling. Add to that the unknown of living someplace new for a month, and I was a hot mess!

The video below is a resource that I wish I would have had before I came here. “Living MAET in Galway” is a glimpse into the day to day of my experience here. Happily, the unknown became the familiar very quickly. Both the city and the people have touched my heart and my life in ways unexplainable.

With day to day living under control my attention turned to the classroom. I guess that is why we are here after all. The focus of our Year Two cohort was research and leadership. Prior to this summer I would have told you that I was good at ONE of those two things. Trying to guess which one? Click on the image below to read about my “Research Realization.”

Click here to check out my Bitstrip.com comic

Finally, the mark of a really good professional learning experience is to have something concrete to take away at the end of the day. On the very first day of class we used the MSU rules of branding to design our own SpartansWill posters. The idea was to include what we hoped to accomplish by then end of the four weeks.
Now, as I approach the last day of the four weeks I can look back on that first day with pride. I wanted to come away with something that could help the district become better at technology integration. I wanted to inspire the teachers I work with to be willing to take risks and try new things. For my Research to Practice project I designed a new professional development experience. I hope to take that back to my school district and be a part of some exciting change. I created a website that

This Spartan Did

can be used as part of a professional learning experience. My time here in Ireland did in fact allow me to grow something that can make change!