I feel that I will be best suited to staying in the P-12 school setting once I have graduated. I truly want to remain at the elementary level, but I would be ok with working with the higher grade levels if that is where the jobs are! I really feel that I could do the most good working in a school with teachers and students. I think that many elementary school teachers are so open to trying new things, and I hope that I could "convert" some of those teachers who might not believe in the power of well-planned instruction using new and interesting media. I previously thought I wanted OUT of the classroom, but after deciding to take this year off, I have to say that I really miss being a teacher. I am not sure that I could be stuck in an office with no chance to work with students. I am hopeful that there will be a great need for Instructional Technologists in school settings in a few years. However, I do think that even as a classroom teacher, my new knowledge gained from this program will so valuable!
I think my biggest question is....will I be able to get a job in an elementary setting? When we did the job search early in this course, I did not see many positions that were located in schools, and those that were seemed to be the high school level. I think that is one of my biggest concerns. I also don't want to be taken advantage of....I see it very often when a teacher is really good at something. They are often given extra duties without receiving any extra compensation. I wonder if that would be a problem if I remained in the classroom, but word got out that I have a degree in Instructional Technology? I mean, I do not mind providing my colleagues with information and assistance or even serving on a technology committee or something as a regular classroom teacher, but I do worry that I might be expected to provide "free" IT services, and that scares me.
4 comments:
From all that I've read from our classmates in education, it sounds like that is a very legitimate concern. Perhaps helping once and setting firm boundaries for any future instances might be a firm, yet diplomatic way to handle that?
I share your concern about finding an IT job in the elementary school setting. The positions seem to change from year to year. It seems to me that they are going to wind up placing the responsibility for technology media integration on the classroom teacher.
I think the collaboration that comes with the inst. tec. position that elementary is more conducive than the higher grade levels.
I am also concerned about being taken advantage of when I become the tech facilitator at my school next year. I have already seen where many of my coworkers believe that since I am working on my degree in Instructional Technology that I will be able to fix all the computer problems within the school. I am going to try to educate my coworkers on what my degree actually is. I can troubleshoot some issues but my main goal is to provide effective, engaging instruction to our students.
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