Goodbye, TELD, but we shall meet again someday!

Hi everyone, this is Kangtong from the TELD.

Time flies, and before I am aware of it, my Master's course is coming to an end...🙊

I've always watched other teachers share their thoughts on graduation, but today it's my turn to share mine.  

I still remember the first day of the class.  I am full of anxiety and excitement for the unknown. But it has arguably been the most incredible and wonderful two years of my life.💫

Today, I would like to share my thoughts and some advice on my two years of study.💪

In the 1st year of the Master's course

1) Making lots of friends👯👫

It is particularly essential for foreigners. For me, studying abroad is not only about learning professional knowledge but also about overcoming language problems. When I studied with Professors Cho and TELD teachers, they all looked after me very well. I also improved significantly in the learning process. 

No matter learning or living, it is not the thing that you can do alone.🙅

Making more friends helps me integrate more into our lab, and I can also get much good advice from the teachers around me when I am confused.

2) Participating actively in seminars and exploring your interesting research topics 📝

Making good use of workshops holding in each semester is very important. Because we will be exposed to many different and new educational technology topics during the seminars, which is one way to help find our interesting thesis topics.

3) Attending more research methods lectures 👀

Learning more about research methods is very helpful for preparing your dissertation. Apart from listening to lectures on research methods, I am also learning many research methods from others' thesis. Which is also useful for preparing the dissertation in the second year of the Master's course.

4) Planing your course well over the two years 📖

You should consider what lessons you need to complete and what lessons you are interested in. Listening to more lectures or participating in academic conferences can also help to find a topic that interests you.

It is fair to say that the dissertation's preparation begins in the first year of your Master's course.

In the second year of my Master's course

1) Preparing for the thesis qualifying examination 📚

At the end of the second semester, it is time to prepare for the thesis qualifying examination. 

During the revision process, do not study alone, but ask the teachers around you if something confused you. It would improve your learning efficiency and quality, because the time available to prepare for the examination is actually short, and there is a lot to prepare.

2) Preparing to start your dissertation 👊

While preparing for the dissertation qualifying exam, you also need to decide on your interesting topic. 

You will start preparing for the proposal after the dissertation qualifying exam. 

During this process, I am very grateful to my professors and TELD teachers because they gave me a lot of help. It made me deeply feel that studying is not something that I do alone. When you are tired, you have to learn to ask for help.

3) Data collection and analysis 📊

As my research method was the in-depth interview, I had to find participating teachers and contact them in July and August. In the process of making contact, I once again felt the importance of friends ~

September to November is the time to collect and analyze the interview data. Still, I think it is better to complete the data collection as early as possible because it can leave enough time to write and check the thesis later.

4) Writing the thesis and preparing for the defense 📝

These two years have passed very quickly, and I have gained a lot from my studies and life in general. I don't know if I would have made it this far without my professor's guidance and TELD teachers' help. These have been two of the most incredible years of my life; it also the two years where I rapidly grew. 💕

Goodbye, TELD, but we shall meet again someday! 😊

Hope all is well with you!