Hi everyone!
My name is Kat and I’m from Vancouver. I currently teach remotely as a grade 4/5 teacher at an inner city school in East Vancouver. I have only been teaching for 5 years and am still learning the ropes! I moonlight (or did until COVID occurred) as a yoga instructor. I have a BSc. in Food, Nutrition and Health from UBC.
This is my very first course in MET and online! I am both very nervous and excited to have this opportunity to become a student once again. I find it quite ironic to be teaching my students online and being a student online myself.
I am very interested in how the impacts of technology have on the outcome of children’s behaviour and brain activity. I am also interested in how to encourage more young females to be inspired by science and technology. I was never one to be motivated in this field and therefore feel a bit lost and behind in the tech world.
I fear that I will get lost in the course or struggle with the technology component. It is also a goal of mine to maintain balance and not be on my screen all day (teaching students and being a student)!
I hope that this course and program will give me the tools that I need to support my students at school. I am very new to technology and have struggled learning the new online program to teach my students and now am trying to navigate through this platform for online learning. I am hoping that our team in this course and with everyone’s diverse backgrounds can help support each other (please be patient with me)!
Thanks everyone! Looking forward to this journey together!
PS: I don’t know how to add a photo here (as yet) otherwise I would!
Hi Kat,
Welcome, I’m just getting started this term as well, looking forward to learning with you. It’s astonishing how much educators have learned and applied in the past few months, but I do think it’s important to remind yourself that even under “normal” circumstances it’s normal and healthy to struggle learning new skills and in a new environment, and these times are anything but normal. Be patient with yourself and don’t hesitate to reach out for support, I can already see we have a very supportive community here.
~Matt
Hi Kat! Welcome to the MET! You’re going to love the journey. It’s hard work but very very rewarding. Without a shadow of a doubt you will learn amazing things that will definitely enrich your life and the lives of your students. Don’t be scared of it being your first course (although I think we all were anxious), you’ll get the ropes of it soon enough and every course has a bit of a learning curve (so in a way we all start on the back foot). I also wanted to share that I have a similar background to you (I completed my BSc with a major in Chemistry) and I’m also very passionate about getting more females (along with other under-represented students) interested in STEM. I actually don’t think getting them inspired is the challenge, it’s maybe more about how we can help them stay confident to work hard and pursue careers in these fields that are unfortunately dominated by males. If you ever want to chat about it, please let me know! For ETEC 522 my proposed venture was geared at how to help more students in Africa pursue STEM fields (here is a link if you want to take a look- http://kiota.mystrikingly.com/).
Thank you Carla, I really appreciate the link and it’s nice to have like minds in this field!
Hi Kat!
The one thing that I have discovered about my time in MET is how helpful and supportive all of the students are. This is my 7th course and it has been the same for the entire time. If you need any help at all, people will always be there to support you. Plus, you are further ahead than I am. I still don’t have the ability to add my introduction. Once I am up and running, please feel free to reach out and we will be there.
Hi Kat, and welcome! I teach grades 1/2 and started this program almost 2 years ago and felt the same way in the beginning as you do. You will be fine! You will learn so much great stuff that you can use in your classroom, its very exciting. Have fun!
HiTyler! Thank you SO much I really appreciate you saying so! Let’s have fun!
Hi Kat,
Welcome to the MET program. I felt the exact same way when I was in my first MET course just over a year ago and now I am in my last MET course and feel much more confident with posting online and navigating the UBC Canvas platform…Now this course is using WordPress. I have never used WordPress so I am learning as I go too. Learning a new platform was part of the choice why I wanted to take this course! It’s great to add more tech tools to my “Digital Tool Box” as I like to call it. Let me know if you have any questions about the MET program! I just gave Anne a run through of my favourite (and least favourite) courses through a reply on my “Hello” post. Check it out!
I am also a Grade 4/5 teacher, but in Victoria. We have made the switch to online learning, but it sounds like we will be back in the classroom at some degree in the next couple of weeks! Same for you?
Thanks so much Kylie! I feel comforted in knowing that this is normal. I hope to be able to have more ease with this soon!
I would love to know your favorites as well as any other tips or suggestions you may have for the program- Thank you!
Are you using Teams for your online teaching? It’s been quite good and useful. I’m not sure if Vancouver will reopen schools just yet…perhaps seeing how Montreal has done this week. I have enjoyed online teaching quite a bit. It’s new but I like it….and let’s just say, way less class management? LOL!
Much appreciated!