Dawn Drysdale

In October of 2007, a YouTube video of a speech given by a Carnegie Mellon professor who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer went viral. The professor, Randy Pausch, peppered his speech with advice about life and achieving your goals. Many of Pausch’s comments not only resonated with me that October day, they continued to resonate with me and influenced my later career decisions. Eight years later, thanks to Professor Pausch, I now dream big (plotting a post at the Department of Education in Washington), surmount obstacles in my path (obtaining a Doctorate to teach at the college level) and pursue my passion (using new and innovative technology in education).

    

“It’s important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear.”

The Department of Education in Washington D.C. has always held a special appeal for me. When I first looked into working for the D.O.E., I was dissuaded due to my inexperience. Rediscovering my dream and revisiting the site, I was no longer inexperienced, but lacked the educational qualifications. Armed now (almost) with a Master’s Degree, I can now begin applying for positions in earnest. What if this not, in fact, what I want to ultimately do? A way to discern if this is truly where I want to be is to apply to be a Teacher Ambassador. This annual program selects teachers to work in the federal D.O.E for a year assisting with program development and policy making. This program will allow me the opportunity to experience firsthand what working at my dream job would be like and if it would be a place best suited for my talents. If not, there is always Plan B.

 

“Brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.” 

The decision to go back to school was not an easy one. As a single parent and working full time, there is not a lot of free time left in the day. Not having been a student for ten plus years, would also mean a difficult transition back into student mode. An advanced degree would open more professional doors though, so I could either allow these brick walls to stop me or find a way to follow my dream. So in June of 2014, I enrolled in Michigan State University’s Graduate Program and now almost 18 months later, I am on the horizon of obtaining a Master’s Degree. Teaching is something I enjoy, especially when the students are involved and engaged but at the high school level though, it’s hard to engage with so much of my time being micromanaged. As an adjunct professor at a local college, I was able to view what a classroom could be like with students who actually want to be in class. Yet, as a Dean recently explained to me, regardless of my admirable experience and skills, I still lacked the proper educational degree requirements.  If it’s not one brick wall it’s another. My next objective then, after a short respite, means enrolling in Michigan State’s Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology Hybrid Program. This doctoral degree won’t just free me up to teach at the college level though. It will allow me to consolidate my three passions; technology, teaching and learning.

 

“Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you.”

Nothing is more exciting than learning how to use a new technology and transfer that skill over to a class full of students. The idea of Open Education, building on-line classes and facilitating a global classroom is also exciting. I have baby stepped my way into this realm by participating in a workshop designed to assist teachers in creating on line classes to be taught at the state level. Keeping up with the latest technology though takes more than just one workshop.  Websites like Lynda.com will allow me to build my technology skills by working through classes such as HTML at my own pace while Education World, Edudemic and TeachHub are strong resources for integrating technology in into my classroom.  These websites share not only lesson ideas but also ideas for new ways to engage students.  Since these traits are interchangeable, they benefit not only someone teaching in the classroom but also online and someone teaching in high school or in college.

 

All because I watched a professor, via a viral video on YouTube, deliver his “Last Lecture” .