Goal Statement

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DUB-DUS-HKG-SIN


At the start of this journey on my way to getting a Masters in Educational Technology I was based in Hong Kong, and I’m now currently in Singapore. My goals have followed with me and have been molded and sculpted by the different countries and schools that I have worked in. My somewhat abstract title for this essay comes from the airport codes of the four countries I have lived in (so far).

I started off in Ireland (DUB as in Dublin!), where I got a National Certificate in Software Development. When I moved to Düsseldorf, Germany (DUS) in 2003 and worked in my first school as a technical liaison I knew I had to get my Bachelors. At this point, distance learning was my only choice and I finished my Bachelor’s of Science in the British Council in Hong Kong (HKG) having moved there in 2008. Having a full-time teaching job now I knew I needed an Education certificate so I achieved a Post Graduate Diploma of Education from Hong Kong University over two years part-time. In this time I also started my MSU journey and began with the courses there. In 2011, I moved to Singapore (SIN) and here I am nearly finished the academic journey.

As you can see from above, I’ve been chasing academic goals since 2003 and this was the major focus in my goals essay coming into the MSU MAET program. I’ve been paranoid about my academic background (in the sense that I was late to the party regarding education and I was working with a lot of teachers with a lot of qualifications!) for a while and I needed this for my own personal growth and also for my peace of mind. In completing this MAET I will have achieved a lot by a guy who didn’t know straight off the bat in life that he wanted to be a teacher. I still have goals to set and to complete and that will always be the case.

In my current school we set goals per academic year with our principal and it keeps you on your toes and really sets yourself some targets to reach for. So my goals will not die after the completion of my MAET but they will evolve and grow as I set new and different goals to attain.

My goals will change with the country I move to and live in and with each school that I work in. How could they not? Living internationally throws in a couple more variables into your life and professional outlook on things. Things are constantly changing both culturally and professionally and you have to adapt and change with them.

In looking back at my goals coming into this program, I will be happy to say that I have achieved them. Have I flown gracefully through each course smiling and laughing?! Of course not, but then again, life is not a stroll in the meadow but rather a drive down a multi-lane highway; exciting, full of swerves to avoid catastrophes, learning from your movements and accelerating into clearer and smoother lanes.