Hello everyone!
I’m Kathryn and I grew up in Vernon BC. I completed my Bachelor of Education in Vancouver at UBC. I currently live in in Manchester, England and I work at an all girls independent school; I absolutely love my job! This is my sixth-year teaching and I’ve taught grades 4-6; I’m currently teaching grade 6.
This is my third course in the MET program and I’ve learned so much already! I’m really enjoying engaging with others from around the world and using elements from each course back into my teaching practice. So far I’ve taken ETEC 511 and ETEC 521.
My experience has been that schools in the UK are very well equipped with the latest technology. I have also noticed that these resources are not always being used in the most effective way possible to facilitate excellent teaching and learning. I am hoping that throughout the MET program I am able to feedback to teachers at my school to help us to get the most out of the tools we have. The high school attached to my elementary school has just this year adopted a scheme where each pupil must come to every lesson with their own portable device. It will be interesting to see how both students and teachers react to this…watch this space! I’m really looking forward to this course to help improve my use of technology in the math and science classroom.
When I’m not teaching I can be found planning my next adventure with my husband, partaking in some kind of physical activity or cooking (and the best part eating!) delicious food. I’m looking forward to learning together with all of you on this course.
-Kathryn
Hey Kathryn!
It is always nice to see a familiar name! I hope we get the chance to work on another group project. I am really intrigued by by the high schools decision to have students come to school with a device. I have a young cousin who is currently enrolled in a private elementary school in Vancouver that has also adopted the same rules. From what I heard parents had mixed feelings about this approach; however, the teachers were loving it because it gave them the opportunity to implement different types of apps and projects at all times. I look forward to hearing about how it is going for your high school!
Talk soon,
Shayla
Hi Kathryn,
Love your name! That was my name for a span of two weeks (before I was adopted as an infant) and I’ve always loved the spelling. Someone else who grew up right next door in the Okanagan, I see! I lived in Winfield all my life before moving to Ontario. Do you find teaching in the UK much different than in Canada?
Glad to have you with us! 🙂
Very nice to meet you Kathryn! Your teaching position sounds so exciting! I have to say that traveling and teaching is definitely on my must do list some day! With one to one devices on your school have you noticed a shift towards more digital teaching practices? We have had a tsunami of Chromebooks purchased in our school district this year, over 8000! The struggle is balancing a transformative use of the technology as opposed to a replacement for paper. This has polarized some of our teachers and schools. I would really love to hear about some of the ways your school is using these personal devices. I am looking forward to getting to know you more this term.
Trish