Educator Spotlight: Meet Christine McKee
EmTech consultant in Canada revels in opportunity to help others
This story is part of a series that celebrates Teacher Appreciation Month. Each day in May, we will introduce to you an outstanding educator within the Flipgrid community. Stories by Angela Tewalt.
A teacher is so much more than one.
When a student glances up at her educator in front of the classroom, she sees a singular grown-up, with eager words, a comforting smile, animation in his voice. This teacher might wear a lanyard, talk with his hands, hold a laptop or have a desk covered in paperwork with a homemade gift somewhere near.
The student sees one person, but this teacher is made up of and inspired by so many teachers among him. If there ever be a community of selfless professionals who are there to support one another, celebrate one another and encourage one another’s careers, it is the teacher – a mighty group of humans who ferociously take care of one another.
In the same way teachers love their students and want to see them succeed, they want the best for their colleagues, too, and this is where Christine McKee shines. She is the advocate every teacher needs.
“I just want people to know that when I say the words, ‘How can I help?’ that it is coming from the most genuine place,” says Christine, an education consultant in Edmonton, Alberta. “I don’t want praise, I just want to help teachers! That’s what I love to do.”
A Dedicated Support System for All Educators
Before consulting, Christine was a junior high social studies teacher for nearly 15 years. A few years ago, she applied to work with an emerging technology team within her school district, and she’s been teaching teachers ever since.
“I do miss my students,” Christine says, “but it’s just as rewarding when an adult comes to you and says, ‘Wow, I didn’t know how to do that,’ or, ‘thank you for showing me that.’ ”
She continues to surprise them. Christine works among a team of four people who together support 96 schools in their district. That’s helping nearly 4,000 educators who combined reach 40,000 students a day, and she reaches all of them in her work.
For Christine, her area of focus is Microsoft, where she painstakingly teaches herself about all of the digital tools available so she can turn around to show others how to do more.
“One of the ways I love developing resources is by building websites and then adding video tutorials and PDF guides for teachers,” Christine says. “That way, if I can’t make it into your classroom, you can check out these web resources in the meantime!”
Christine is so delighted and invested in this work. Her videos are fun to watch, engaging and easy to follow, and she introduces opportunity with clarity and enthusiasm. Her voice is calming, her smile is reassuring, and she makes you feel like, Ok, not only can I do this, I want to do this, too!
“This is not just about showing a teacher a new, digital tool to use,” Christine says. “It’s about teaching the integration of a tool and how it can enhance their classroom.”
A Personal Story to Validate the Work
When Christine was introduced to Flipgrid, it stood out to her from the other resources so much so that she built an entire website around how to use it and how to engage with students.
“I originally created this website that was supposed to support educators across my own school division, but then the team asked if they could feature it as one of their resources,” Christine says. “Now, I support on Twitter and am answering questions for teachers from all around the world. I just pinch myself!”
She’s empathetic, too. Her six-year-old son was nonverbal until age four and began using Flipgrid as part of his speech therapy. Christine says they used Fliphunts on their camping trips, she’d prompt questions from playing Minecraft and she invited his aunt and uncle into Topics.
“When he was tested at the beginning of the year, he was only understood about 30 percent of the time,” Christine says. “At the end of the year, he was being understood about 70 percent of the time, and my husband and I saw that growth.
CHRISTINE’S SIX-YEAR-OLD SON, LIAM.
“He really found his voice, and I’m not just saying that! He built so much confidence, and now he’s our little Mr. Chatterbox.”
She’s proud to share her son’s story. Not only does it validate her own advocacy for Flipgrid, it compels others to recognize the benefits, too.
“Because I share my story, so many teachers will come back to me and share their own stories from the classroom,” Christine says. “I actually got an email last week from a teacher who shared a video with a similar story to my son: Most shy kid in the class, never spoke, but got on Flipgrid and actually rapped his introduction video! It was incredible.”
For as much as she’s supporting teachers, the community is rallying around her, too.
“Flipgrid has made me more aware of both student voice and ensuring that teachers are heard, too,” Christine says. “I just want to go out there, empower teachers and lift others up! It’s so amazing to me to help educators on a global scale. Because of the Flipgrid community, I get to do that.”