By Micaela Myers
When Margie Massey of Pueblo, Colo., decided she wanted to work toward a degree to teach college full time, she turned to the University of Wyoming Outreach School, where she earned her master’s and then her doctorate in education with concentrations in instructional technology and adult education. “With these degrees I was able to apply for a professor position here at Colorado State University-Pueblo in 2008,” Massey says. “Coming fresh out of a program that had so many technologies we were using allowed me to rise to the top of the applicant pool and therefore secure the position of assistant professor in teacher education.”
Massey has since been promoted to associate professor and given tenure status. She’s using what she learned at UW not only to impact her students, but also to help the CSU system shape its outreach and online education programs.
The UW difference: Massey says the connections she made with students and professors, as well as the excellent instruction, helped set the UW Outreach School apart from other distance learning options. “I attended with students who were in Greece, California, New York and everywhere in between,” she explains. “I’ve really developed some deep friendships and connections there—not just with my colleagues but with my professors. It impacts my ability to teach in a very profound way.
“Here at CSU-Pueblo, we’re looking to expand our online offerings. I sit on a couple different committees, and I’ve told them to look at the model of UW for their outreach school because I think they did a phenomenal job at being able to meet the needs of a diverse group of individuals,” Massey says.
Shaping tomorrow’s teachers: “I hope to be able to expand my students’ knowledge base about how technology not only enhances teaching—it provides engagement and it provides the ability to reach and meet the 21st century learners,” Massey says.
Of her time at UW, she adds. “There wasn’t one class that hasn’t in some way impacted my teaching. As educators, we want to facilitate lifelong learning, and the passion that my students say I have for teaching is a direct result of the instruction I received at UW.”
