Certificate News: Educational Technology Program in Plymouth, England
As Outreach Coordinator of the Educational Technology Certificate program I generally spend my days setting up new site locations throughout the State of Michigan, promoting our program to teachers throughout the world, attending conferences and developing promotional materials, updating the curriculum in our face to face and online classes, writing the articles for this quarterly newsletter, maintaining our program website and working on projects that take me to places like Dubai, UAE and Algeria.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, this summer provided me with a new opportunity to teach for our program in Plymouth, England. This program is offered in an accelerated format allowing participants to take 3 courses, 9 graduate credits each summer as well as one online course during the second year in the program. They complete the Master’s in Educational Technology within three years. During the summer program most participants live on the campus of the University of Plymouth, which creates a close-knit and supportive atmosphere throughout the program. In addition, program participants come from all over the world making the interactions even more enriching.
Prior to leaving I didn’t know what to expect. Spending 4 weeks in another country sounded exciting but it was also a little intimidating for me to be gone that long. After the first week I soon learned that although 4 weeks is a large chunk of time, it was going to fly by before I knew it. The discussions of technology use in education, sharing new ideas, making new friends, and exploring a new country gave me the best learning experience I have ever had.
The students in my Certificate classes amazed me with their dedication, persistence and insatiable desire to learn new things. Several students came in with only a very basic level of technology skills and they impressed me with their tenacity to keep up with the hectic schedule that an accelerated program demands.
But it wasn’t just all work and studying. Students and instructors alike found time to relax and take in a bit of the English culture. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Jean-Pierre, our on-site manager for student life. He arranged several activities, dinners, and other social events throughout the four weeks. As he said several times throughout the program, he is dedicated to providing “royal service with a French touch”.
The combination of the variety of backgrounds and experiences of the participants, the amount of knowledge in the area of educational technology being shared, as well as the social and cultural opportunities made this an incredible learning experience. I feel especially lucky to have been provided this wonderful opportunity and to have made some great connections with teachers from all around the world.
If you would like to learn more about this program you can visit our website at http://edutech.msu.edu/overseas.html.
– Carrie Albin, Outreach Coordinator and Editor