After reading the chapter, and looking at the Author's point of view on achieving a job in the IDT field, 3 lessons really stood out and captured my attention. The first being his lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills, followed by his lessons on developing an area of expertise and keeping up with the literature in your area of interest.
The lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills can really be applied to any job you currently have, or hope to get in the future. As a teacher, communication is the foundation of my life. I have to not only communicate with 39 students everyday, but I have to be able to actively communicate with the staff in my building and others that I provide training for. As a tech leader in my building, I'm constantly being relied upon to provide training and education to other staff members. Communication sets the foundation for understanding...poor communication = poor understanding.
The second lesson, developing an area of expertise, really made me think about how all teachers have a niche, or something they are strong in. My niche is technology, and the math/science/social studies content. Have an area of expertise helps to make you a team-player, and someone that can round out and balance a team or group. All types of business and professions require you to have team-player attributes, and having an area of expertise really helps to develop a strong team. In education technology, everyone has an area of expertise - mine being student technology such as Chromebooks, SMARTBoard, etc. My goal with earning my masters in educational technology is to help me break down the gaps and become stronger in areas that are unknown to me, or aren't as familiar.
The third lesson, keeping up with the literature in your area of interest, is essential to continual growth. If we fail to continue to learn about new technology, new teaching styles, new methods, then we fail to educate our children in the best methods possible. The minute I become that teacher, is the minute I retire!
Hi Erica,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and I think it really illustrates your effectiveness and ability to communicate a message to others. Like you I am hoping to bolster my skill set in areas that I have little to mo experience in and while that can be challenging at times, I am definitely looking forward to learning new and innovative ways of teaching. Furthermore, I agree with you that staying current with the discipline's literature is essential to all educators who want to remain effective and relevant, my only wish is that I also had enough time to also attend conferences, present at said conferences and attend local lectures at the university. For now, I'm just thankful for this class and for all of the interesting people in it, who make it awesome!
Thanks,
Juan
Hi Erica,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I believe communication skills are critical and an individual cannot be impactful without being strong in this area.
I also agree that one must develop an area of expertise in order to become more marketable. It helps the individual to be proficient in an area verses have general knowledge in all areas.