I would like to dedicate this post to my journey as a teacher, from the day I graduated from the B.A./B.Ed. program at Lakehead University to my current position, as the International Student Support Officer (ISSO) at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie.
This post is not intended to be a reflection of my learning during this time. It is meant more as a general overview of the path that I have chosen which has led me to my current employment at a publicly funded university in Ontario. I think this description will help you, as the reader, understand me better as I reflect on some of these experiences later in my blog and how they are connected to the context of my education, experience and current work practice.
The picture at the beginning of this post drew my eye because I think life in represents life. We must always focus on the road ahead of us but be mindful of the present moment and the path traveled.
As I mentioned in my first post, I’m a registered teacher in Ontario. I graduated in 1996 but instead of joining the desperate masses of over-educated, underemployed teachers in Ontario, I decided to try my hand at teaching ESL overseas in South Korea for a couple of years. Well that was the plan anyways!
The picture at the beginning of this post drew my eye because I think life in represents life. We must always focus on the road ahead of us but be mindful of the present moment and the path traveled.
As I mentioned in my first post, I’m a registered teacher in Ontario. I graduated in 1996 but instead of joining the desperate masses of over-educated, underemployed teachers in Ontario, I decided to try my hand at teaching ESL overseas in South Korea for a couple of years. Well that was the plan anyways!
I ended up staying in South Korea for 15 years in total, happily living and working on this tiny Asian peninsula. Like many other adventurous foreigners who first decide to travel and teach ESL overseas, I saw it as a great opportunity to pay off some student loans, gain some work experience, and learn about a different culture. Little did I know how interested I would become in the field of ESL or how this would lead me back to school to finish a Masters in TESOL in 2008 from Aston University in Birmingham, England.
Since 2008, my professional interests have expanded to the field of educational technology and how to better integrate emerging technologies into the ESL classroom. As a result, I have become very invested in the areas of e learning, instructional design, CALL/MALL, web 2.0 tools, etc…(basically anything “techie”) and learning about them has quickly become one of my favorite pastimes. This led me to the M.Ed program at UOIT.
In 2012, I made my eventual return to Sault Ste. Marie where I'm currently working as the International Student Support Officer at Algoma University. As the ISSO, I'm mainly responsible for on campus support for International students. However, part of my duties at AU involves curriculum development for the English for Academic Purposes Program (EAPP) which has allowed me to experience the administrative side of the fence in TESL. I recently was able to get my Level 3 certification through TESL Canada so I'm hoping to use all my experience and qualifications to improve the quality of our offering at AU.
In 2012, I made my eventual return to Sault Ste. Marie where I'm currently working as the International Student Support Officer at Algoma University. As the ISSO, I'm mainly responsible for on campus support for International students. However, part of my duties at AU involves curriculum development for the English for Academic Purposes Program (EAPP) which has allowed me to experience the administrative side of the fence in TESL. I recently was able to get my Level 3 certification through TESL Canada so I'm hoping to use all my experience and qualifications to improve the quality of our offering at AU.
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