Professional Development, Technology

Grad School!

9 Comments

I am excited to share that I have received official acceptance to Virginia Tech’s Instructional Technology Master of Arts degree program!  I start this fall.  My coursework will be completed online through Blackboard, so I will be able to remain in Georgia while attending school.

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9 thoughts on “Grad School!”

  1. yay! that is so exciting. i am really happy for you – clearly, this is an area you're already excelling in with all the technology you incorporate into the classroom. congrats!

  2. You are such an overachiever. Do you ever sleep? Seriously, I am in awe of your energy.

  6. Thanks everyone! I appreciate it. It is nice to have a place like this to share good news with my virtual friends. It's just time, you know? I have been teaching ten years, and I need to get that master's. However, I think this is the right time — up until recently, it wouldn't have been possible to pursue a degree like this.

  7. Dana,

    How and why did you decide on this particular school? What are you going to be able to do with this degree once you've finished it? I need a Master's, too, but I'd rather learn technology instead of getting a Master's in literature.

  8. Don, I'll address the last statement you made first. I have been dithering about a master's degree ever since I earned my bachelor's degree. I considered literature, English Education (which is what my bachelor's degree is), media specialist, Early Childhood Education (keeping those options open), and even history. Ultimately, nothing really appealed to me enough to apply. Until technology. All of what I know about technology integration I learned by myself, but there are gaps in my learning, and frankly, as I keep trying to tell folks who encourage me to look into being an Instructional Technologist, no one will hire me to do that without a degree. That's just kind of how education works.

    I decided on Virginia Tech after searching out several options and discovering I could get my entire degree online from a school I respected. It was important to me that I be proud of where my degree came from. I know I won't be paid more because my master's came from one school rather than another, but it means something personal to me. Also, though I will be paying out-of-state tuition, I will be able to have a tuition discount because I am a K-12 teacher.

    After I have this degree, I have several options: I can continue teaching English, earning more money because I will have a T-5 instead of a T-4 certificate in Georgia; in the same way that media specialists help students learn how to use different media, I can help students learn how to use technology, either through teaching such courses or through working with teachers to integrate technology; I can design and implement technology education curricula. Ultimately, it's up to me, I suppose, what I can do with this degree when I finish.

    I encourage you to check out their web site (the link I provided) if you are interested in the program. I can't speak as to its effectiveness yet, only just having been admitted. Ask me again in a year, once I have been studying.

  9. Dana,

    Thanks for the info. The professional development that my school district offers for technology is pathetic. Basically they teach you how to make a spreadsheet and a three bullet PowerPoint. I've learned more on my own, yet as you say, there are gaps in my technology knowledge, so at some point I need to pursue what you are doing. I'll keep checking in to see how it's going. Good luck!

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