Tribute to Janet Barnstable
Janet loved helping both teachers and students learn about one another. Janet lived the GVC mission everyday...to empower, enable, and connect students around the world using Internet technology.
Janet Barnstable was a teacher for 48 years. Teaching primary, intermediate, and junior high school students. Janet and her Oak Park students participated in GVC for many years and were honored in 2000 with a trip to Hong Kong to accept the Grand Prize for the AT&T Virtual Classroom Contest. Over the years, Janet and her students won many GVC awards.
Her dedication continued when she retired in 2009 as she became the program manager for GVC. She volunteered her time and talent to students and classrooms across the globe. Janet's passion was connecting children from across the globe so they could learn the power of collaboration and teamwork. She will be missed and we would like to honor her legacy.
Late Teacher Remembered as Pioneer of Online Education
I had the great pleasure of working with Janet in 2005 on my first GVC competition. Our communication took place through the the virtual world of email while her American students partnered up with my Japanese team to create a website on Holidays and Celebrations. My experience with Janet opened my eyes to the many wonderful ways in which technology could be used in the classroom; ways to extend our physical walls to the world around us. The GVC opportunity challenged my thinking and changed my approach to teaching. It opened my mind to technology, sparked a love for learning in new ways, and with it, brought career opportunities in the field of education.
I reconnected with Janet in 2015 and she once again got me hooked on GVC. Over the past couple years she has shown such tremendous support and patience in guiding both myself and my students whenever we have needed her guidance. She was never too busy to answer questions and I never had to wait more than a couple hours for a response (she usually responded within minutes). Had I never seen a photo of Janet, I would have thought that she was much younger than me; her knowledge of technology was so current. I have learned so much from this inspiring woman. Her passion for education was truly remarkable. She has left such a positive impression on so many lives and her legacy will not be forgotten.
-Krista Schnick (Teacher, St. Clare School, Canada)
A tribute Janet from teachers around the world! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vNKZH9mcA5eQcR6j1tJ19FuiHg0zWRS7X8H1NKrpOdk/edit?usp=sharing
I have been friends with Richard and Janet for over 25 years. I worked with Janet in Oak Park District 97 for many years and she was instrumental in bringing me there in 2002. Janet and Richard were two amazing people, so loving and caring, always there to lend a helping hand or a word or two of encouragement. I was just at their home a few weeks ago as my daughter Rebecca has just come back from Ghana after six years with our new granddaughter Ellie. Janet was so excited to see them both. We had lunch and we all talked for hours- laughing and sharing stories. When my children were little I would bring them over to Richard and Janet’s home to play in their expansive yard. The kids loved finding frogs and turtles in their pond and running around their acreage. Janet and Richard would just beam with joy in seeing the kids laugh and play. I am thankful for all that she has done for me, the encouragement, the friendship, and the love of global learning she passed on to me. May her legacy live on through each one of us in GVC!
Matthew Kuntz Oak Park School District 97 (USA)