JEFF PIERCE
My Future as a Learner: More "Stuff" and More Roles
Lifelong learning is one of those educational buzzwords that sounds great but is hard to measure. Writing essays about future learning goals is one way of examining this, but it’s easy to talk to the talk. How do you walk the walk? Future learning plans are particularly difficult in the face of new technologies that are disrupting traditional modes of education. How can I stay ahead of the challenges coming in my career? I have focused my future learning goals down into two simple and specific areas for further growth: I want to learn how to make more stuff and I want to try new roles.
GOAL 1: MAKE MORE STUFF
I am a perfectionist. I use procrastination and giving less than my best effort as defense mechanisms; after all, if I don’t try my best then it doesn’t really represent what I am capable of. But as I get older I am learning that this is a dangerous way to approach new situations. This attitude, of sticking only to what I am good at, keeps me from learning new skills. And one clear takeaway from my Master’s program is that I want to make more stuff.
On a personal level, I want to take advantage of the way that technologies like YouTube and help forums disrupt the traditional methods of learning. I learned from the Networked Learning Project in my first course that I don’t need to sign up for baking classes or pay for an online subscription to become a baker. I just need to participate in online forums, what James Paul Gee would term “affinity spaces” for baking (2009). And it’s not just pies that I want to make. I have two crazy cats who eat everything in sight; could I construct a durable automatic cat feeder for them? And I love playing games of all sorts; why not start making some of my own?
But I also want to "make more stuff" that will help me grow professionally. Learning about the Maker movement showed me how much technology is disrupting the kinds of products that students make in school. When I set my students loose on the Genius Hour (click here for more details on that project), many of them turned to microcontrollers and programming and robotics, areas where my inexperience hindered me from fully supporting them. I can grow professionally by tinkering with my colleagues and students after school. Eventually I would like to actually create the video game arcade that I designed in a course on adapting innovative technologies to education, CEP 811.
These projects are just the tip of the iceberg. Now that I am more aware of my tendency towards perfectionism, I can start to change my habits. If I continue to view myself not as someone who has to be perfect but rather as someone who can learn new things, I can get it done. All it takes is time, practice, and the support of a community, whether that community is local or global, online or in real life.
GOAL 2: TRY NEW ROLES
As I mentioned in my Goal Reflection Essay, I am finishing the program the same way I went in, unsure of my future career path. While I love the idea of having a role outside of the classroom, I know that I would sorely miss the day-to-day work of a classroom teacher. The schedule of a classroom teacher is driven by the classes they teach and the piles of grading they collect. Support specialists and administrators have a very different type of schedule and have to be more self-starters. So regardless of what kind of a new role I wind up in, I will need to revisit and apply the strategies outlined in the “Getting Things Done” book, which I posted about here, in order to adapt to a new workflow and schedule.
In addition to having to learn new routines, there are other specific skills I will need if I transition to a role outside of the classroom. If I become an Enrichment Specialist or seek a curriculum coordinator’s job, I would need to take specialized courses that focus on those areas. If I move into administration, I would want to complete at least one course through Bambi Bett’s Principal Training Center. Her program would be a great way to leverage my experience overseas and spend time with educational leaders.
Taking three electives in the Telecommunications Department about game design opened my eyes to a whole new career path, that of educational entrepreneur. Maybe I need to leave schools altogether if I want to implement the new concepts I have learned. With my understanding of game design, I could transition to a job that’s not even in a school. If go down this road, I would need to learn so many skills. I know that being an entrepreneur can be both highly rewarding yet also greatly stressful. Is the freedom and independence worth it?
FIRST STEP: FIND A COMMUNITY
Regardless of what new role I pursue or what stuff I make, the first step is to find a community to be a part of. I recently took one of these initial steps by participating in a Startup Weekend for Education. In this event teams formed and created an idea for a startup company within 52 hours. Educators were only around one-third of the participants; there were programmers, consultants, and professionals from all kinds of backgrounds. While my team didn’t win any prizes for our idea, I did come away with an invaluable experience. I realized that if I want to learn new roles and make new things I need to step out of comfort zone and throw myself into a new community. For both of my goals, I won’t be able to accomplish them from the sidelines. I know that I have to get involved in communities and learn from, and with, other learners.
