iMet the Most Interesting People....

We began this journey a mere 16 months ago. So much has changed. Twenty-four students, two teaching assistants and a professor. We've been connected through an intensive 'retreat' in the beginning, multiple face-to-faces, Tapped In, Skype, even the virtual world of Second Life. We've learned from each other, gotten on each others' nerves, been rude and been forgiven, and been invaluable lifelines all within that short time. Some things ended and others began, dreams faded or grew; a microcosm of experiences happened within our own little universe.

I had been interested in getting a masters' degree for quite a while. The investment makes sense on a practical level in some school districts; you can't max out on the pay scale unless you have one. However, it is also an investment of time in order to complete the work. The thought of spending that much time doing something halfheared just didn't appeal to me. I had to really believe in what I was going to do. That's the funny thing about going back to school as an older adult- you take it a LOT more seriously than you did the first time around ("Frisbee, anyone?").

While not a 'nerd' in the classic sense of the word, I'd been puttering with computers to some extent in education ever since I taught at Dixon High School in the late '80's. There, my department chair had written a grant for computers in the classroom and it had been funded. Granted, about all we could do at that time was play French hangman on a dark screen...but it was a start. Ten years later, I was teaching first grade at a Title 1 elementary school. What riches to have 5 Macintosh computers for my class of 20 students to use. Fast forward to the spring of 2007. I'd just finished my first year at Encina Preparatory High School with 40 student laptops in 2 COWs for a student body of 700. My oldest child was in college and I had 3 in high school. Life was always extremely busy.

I don't remember anymore just what I was looking for online but there, within our district intranet, under professional development, was a link for iMet- CSUS' Internet Masters' in Educational Technology. Curiously, I read a little more about it...and I was hooked. It seemed like a perfect fit for me; Friday nights and Saturdays for face-to-face meetings and the rest of the work could be done online. A real university, not a diploma mill...I decided to make room in my life to do this NOW.

I could have waited until all my kids were done with college themselves but it has worked out just fine thanks to the support of my family ("Go away and let me finish my assignment!"). What has been most valuable to me in this program is not the technological skills that I've developed (although I am quite thankful for them) but rather the ability to dive in to various theories of pedagogy. When I went through my teacher education courses back in 1982, I found that the most valuable session was the internship. Classes at the college, being talked at by the professors, it all seemed...worthless. I didn't connect with their verbiage or the concepts; it seemed to be very disconnected from what was going on in the classroom during my student teaching. In contrast, iMet courses have taught me to think more about the 'art and science' of teaching than I ever did through my credential program or even during my two years in BTSA......iMet some lifelong friends....