FROM HERE TO THERE AND BEYOND
Reflecting as to how I got to this threshold of my life and acquiring the Educational Specialist degree in Learning Technologies and Designs from Mizzou, it helps to understand how I got here, in this late sector of my life. I am a mother of two grown children, and the grandmother of now four adorable grandkids. Having worked as a paralegal for Family Law for many years, but having an unfulfilled desire to do something more with my life, in December 2012, I made the leap to go back to school and finish up my undergraduate degree, which had begun in the summer of 1968. I want to say that I had an epiphany all of a sudden, but truthfully, this has been a long time coming. I have learned that 1) life is too short; 2) you are never too old to learn, and 3) with the way of today’s economy, retirement is more a luxury than a standard. More importantly as Albert Einstein put it “Once you stop learning, you start dying”. When I started college at the age of 18, I wanted to be a PE teacher, and I began at UMSL. However, life as we know it, gave me a few bumps along the way, and I was never able to complete my undergraduate decree.
I had prior experience teaching adults software and hardware applications, and was certified in Corel products, and wrote training manuals and implemented a training program for the Missouri Department of Conservation. For an entire summer, I traveled throughout the State of Missouri and taught the use Corel’s WordPerfect Suite. After Novel and Corel lost favor and with the influx of Microsoft Office products, I became certified in the Microsoft Office suite and did both one-on-one training as well as group training in the product. Every law firm I have worked for, I became the in-house technical trainer.
When I first decided to go back to school, I met with an advisor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After looking at my resume and seeing my teaching and technology background, she introduced me to the Bachelor of Educational Studies degree program, which would allow me to build my degree around both facilitation and educational technology.
Jumping head long into obtaining my dream of having a college degree, I finally reached that goal when I graduated as Marshal of the School of Education in August, 2015. However, I knew that I was not done.
As I have personally witnessed with the members of my generation and even the late gen-xers not being able to embrace technology, I understood where I can be of help. Many older adults are having to either return to employment or are fighting to maintain their jobs due to the economic turn-down in our culture. However, due to the prevalence and dependency of technology in our world today, computer-phobic individuals do not stand a chance. I have basically been with technology since it was first brought into the work force back in the last 70's early 80’s. I have stepped and grappled my way from the first so-called word processor which was something called a mag-card typewriter, through the DOS green screen machines, up to today’s technological advancements. It amazes me how far we have come in a relatively short period of time. Now we have personal computers that you can carry around; you can even talk to them and they will type what you say, which is helpful for older individuals with arthritis.
I found the master’s in education program at SISLT and focused on the Technology in Schools. Once that degree was obtained, I realized I still wasn’t finished, which is why I decided to go for the Educational Specialist Degree. I wanted to further my knowledge of learning how to actually help design the programs that will enhance the skillset needed to embrace technology for all generations. This can be fruitful in both academia and in the corporate arena. Further, I also understood what I had to go through to learn and understand the wants and needs of technology and the incorporation of those for the older population. The gen-x, gen y and especially the Millennial's have all cut their baby teeth on technology. You cannot find one without being tethered to a cellphone, IPad, or computer. I wanted to use myself, as hopefully a role model; that age is not a deterrent to keeping pace with the ways of the world. If I can do it, they can do it. I am hoping that with my combined life experiences and the new knowledge I have gained from my courses, I will be able to mix the two into being a good facilitator, designer, and perhaps an inspiration to older individuals.
I had prior experience teaching adults software and hardware applications, and was certified in Corel products, and wrote training manuals and implemented a training program for the Missouri Department of Conservation. For an entire summer, I traveled throughout the State of Missouri and taught the use Corel’s WordPerfect Suite. After Novel and Corel lost favor and with the influx of Microsoft Office products, I became certified in the Microsoft Office suite and did both one-on-one training as well as group training in the product. Every law firm I have worked for, I became the in-house technical trainer.
When I first decided to go back to school, I met with an advisor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After looking at my resume and seeing my teaching and technology background, she introduced me to the Bachelor of Educational Studies degree program, which would allow me to build my degree around both facilitation and educational technology.
Jumping head long into obtaining my dream of having a college degree, I finally reached that goal when I graduated as Marshal of the School of Education in August, 2015. However, I knew that I was not done.
As I have personally witnessed with the members of my generation and even the late gen-xers not being able to embrace technology, I understood where I can be of help. Many older adults are having to either return to employment or are fighting to maintain their jobs due to the economic turn-down in our culture. However, due to the prevalence and dependency of technology in our world today, computer-phobic individuals do not stand a chance. I have basically been with technology since it was first brought into the work force back in the last 70's early 80’s. I have stepped and grappled my way from the first so-called word processor which was something called a mag-card typewriter, through the DOS green screen machines, up to today’s technological advancements. It amazes me how far we have come in a relatively short period of time. Now we have personal computers that you can carry around; you can even talk to them and they will type what you say, which is helpful for older individuals with arthritis.
I found the master’s in education program at SISLT and focused on the Technology in Schools. Once that degree was obtained, I realized I still wasn’t finished, which is why I decided to go for the Educational Specialist Degree. I wanted to further my knowledge of learning how to actually help design the programs that will enhance the skillset needed to embrace technology for all generations. This can be fruitful in both academia and in the corporate arena. Further, I also understood what I had to go through to learn and understand the wants and needs of technology and the incorporation of those for the older population. The gen-x, gen y and especially the Millennial's have all cut their baby teeth on technology. You cannot find one without being tethered to a cellphone, IPad, or computer. I wanted to use myself, as hopefully a role model; that age is not a deterrent to keeping pace with the ways of the world. If I can do it, they can do it. I am hoping that with my combined life experiences and the new knowledge I have gained from my courses, I will be able to mix the two into being a good facilitator, designer, and perhaps an inspiration to older individuals.
