One Door Closes as Another One Opens
By Patricia Monroe
If there is one thing I can say I have really learned and grasped from this master's program, it's that learning is a lifelong process and it never stops. Even though my formal education ends for now, I know for sure that the learning will never stop. We are constantly surrounded by knowledge and I now have the tools to take it all in.
I truly believe you really do learn something new everyday. Life learning is about partaking in our society as a learning society. The learning society to me is referred to as what must be done, by individuals, organizations, and institutions to keep up with the pace of life as it changes. The learning society is made up of four essential criteria. First, everyone has the opportunity for learning, at different ages, times and ways. Secondly, learning can happen in a formal or highly structured education. Thirdly, there is non-formal or moderately structured and unstructured learning, which includes a lot of self-study. Finally there is learning that can occur other than from institutions and organizations across the lifespan. This is the element of the learning society that I will now be entering.
With my new degree, new doors are now open. I have put myself at an advantage that separates me from many in the crowd. I have not only gained the knowledge from the degree itself, but I have learned and amplified important qualities and skills such as discipline, organization, communication and determination. Completing this degree, and doing it online has challenged me to go outside of my comfort zone and learn new ways to learn and adapt. I have gained many new perspectives on learning, education and technology.
Having this program offered completely online has been a unique opportunity for me. This experience has allowed me to really learn more about technology and learn how now, and in the future, the role technology will play with learning and education. I learned that technology gives us the opportunity to deliver education remotely, and that it should be a cause for educators to celebrate. Worldwide communication networks have created an international market, not only for conventional products but also for knowledge professionals, research, and educational services. I have been exposed to many new forms of teaching aids and new technology to incorporate into our everyday learning lives.How we continue with learning and education is up to us and it stands in front of us with arms wide open. Technology is not something that happens to us. It is something we create. We must not confuse a tool with a goal. We must be sure that technology serves the fundamental purposes of education.
We need to be able to adapt with technology and learn with it and from it since globalization is both an opportunity and a challenge. Yet we also need to be able to balance our lives and not let it run us. I believe that my life from here on out will include a balance with education and technology, working with it and not against it.
Through this program I have really learned that schools are not the only places where serious learning takes place. A simple definition of learning is the process by which behavior changes as a result of experience. As one of the leading forces in contemporary concepts of the learning society, it is very possible to learn so much from our working and living environment. The adult practice of learning is very desired-based. Adults usually have some life projects that are relatively stable, such as a work project that concerns a personal and financially satisfying job. Learning out of school curriculum and learning from experience and from the relationships you build, is a craft in its own. There are many types of learning, intelligences, stages and domains of learning across the lifespan. Needless to say, experience in the world greatly influences what becomes of such endowments, what we make of them in our relations with others, in school, at work, and elsewhere. Thus, experience always matters but so too must we account for what people bring to their opportunities for learning, work, family and community life, and more.
I anticipate many more learning opportunities in my future. My learning does not stop here. I anticipate future jobs that will offer many training opportunities and seminars, presentations and modules in order to enhance my learning and understanding. I hope to be able to continue to grow and learn and evolve with technology. I also hope to be able to help those around me and enhance my learning society with what I can offer. Though this door of my formal education closes, a new door now opens. This new side will include applying what I have learned into my professional life. And who knows, maybe there will be more formal education in my future. But for now, I gently close this door and await what's behind door number two.