Moving On!

I love going to school! After I finished my masters and got a job as a teacher I continued to take graduate classes. I was amazed that after 3 years of teaching, I had already reached the top of the salary scale; because in those 3 years I had accumulated 42 graduate credits. With that many credits, I could have gotten my PhD!

I was determined to go back to school to obtain a PhD in Education Technology and I was ready to move on from my current teaching job. I researched schools and almost decided when my husband announced he was going back to school to get his masters, my daughter’s college tuition bill came, and my son started applying to private colleges. My thoughts about going back to school began to deteriorate.

During the summer, my kids took classes online and my daughter said that she wished she could take all of her classes online. That statement inspired me. I began to research how I could become an online teacher and found this program at University of Wisconsin-Stout and decided to enroll!

It feels good! I feel that I am headed in the right direction to make a career change. There is so much work associated with teaching, that I have had a minimal opportunity to explore the technology tools available to me. That is the number one reason why I am enjoying this class: my exposure to the plethora of educational technology tools I can use in my classroom.

Have I been frustrated? Absolutely! Do assignments take me longer than students fresh out of college with no kids?   Absolutely! Has Self-paced learning and self-guided learning been challenging? Absolutely! I have watched so many online tutorials on how to use online programs, accessed so may help windows, and emailed plenty of help desks but I have learned so much.

I am looking forward to the day when I can get up, have a cup of coffee, go to the health club for a work out, and return home to teach my online class. Perhaps on a snowy below zero I will get up, have a cup of coffee, and then teach my class in my flannel PJs and fluffy slippers. The possibilities are endless when you are educated!