Who am I? I am a teacher, mother, wife, sister and daughter…not necessarily in that order!
My name is Kari Duffy, and I teach half-time at a middle school in the interior of beautiful British Columbia. My main focus area is Social Studies 7-9, but I have taught English, Foods, Drama, Math, Science and PE. I truly love this age. My students are a wonderfully eclectic group of kids living in a small town rural setting. They are bright, funny, and a blast to spend time with. They range from hunters and cowboys, (whom we call the Carhart Crew), to artists, athletes, and musicians; and all of them bring something special to my classroom.
My interests and hobbies mostly center around my family. My husband, two daughters, and I love to ski, snowboard, horseback ride, and participate in soccer. I say participate, because the other three play…I just cheer and taxi! We live in the small town I grew up in, and my family is large – in noise and number. (Hubby is a patient man…)
It came as a surprise to me when I decided to embark on the journey of taking my Masters. It was something I swore I would never do. I have no desire to go into administration, thus saw no need to further my formal education. I have spent the last decade furthering my personal education: learning to snowboard at 36, scrapbooking, and plodding my way through two half marathons. So, what brought me to do my Masters in Educational Technology? Basically, my students got me hooked! Our school has a mobile laptop lab, a couple of projectors and I have a Smartboard in my classroom.
I have seen firsthand the wonderful things that the students can create using technology. I have started to work with the Tech Ed teacher in my building so I can utilize some of the tools available to me with my students, and frankly, I have a new passion for my job! I am truly excited about using technology in my classroom, and saw the benefits of taking the MET Program to help me understand what and when.
I am really enjoying being able to experiment and try new technologies in a safe learning environment before I take them into my classroom and the community of learners in MET are wonderful! It is an amazing group of people and I learn something from them every day.