My name is Janet Barker and I am a high school math teacher. I love teaching and am passionate about my job and my subject area. I try to make my classroom a place where students want to be – even if they groan at some of my corny math jokes or crazy activities. I believe teaching is a tremendous responsibility and every student who walks through our doors deserves our best.
I joined the MET program to learn how to implement technology effectively in my classroom. Before starting the program, I recognized the value of technology but was overwhelmed with the thought of integrating it into instruction. It is difficult to determine which programs or sites are beneficial and how to use them to promote deeper learning and higher order thinking. Five courses into the MET program, I have already been exposed to a variety of instructional methods that effectively use technology and am becoming familiar with sites and programs that I never knew existed. I have learned that we need to make deliberate choices about how we use technology based on learning theory and pedagogy and not expect technology to do the teaching for us. Most of all, I am beginning to see how little I know and how much more there is to learn.
Outside of teaching, I enjoy being with my family and being active in our church and community. I enjoy gardening, reading and jigsaw puzzles. I am also a little bit crazy about the Canucks – having been a fan since I was a child. The pain of losing to Boston last season is still a little fresh, but the first thing any Canucks fan learns is the phrase, “There’s always next year!”. Hopefully “next year” is “this year”!