Hello! My name is Dr. Kirk and I have a passion for education that is geared towards industry relevancy. My focus is personalized learning based on projects and hands on activities. I have a Bachelors, MBA, and Doctorate in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.  I also earned a programming specialist certification in C# from SPC. I am certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint), Adobe Photoshop CC & Illustrator CC, and Microsoft Technology Associate in Gaming Fundamentals C#, HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals, Mobility and Device Fundamentals and Windows Operating Systems.  I am constantly looking for opportunities to grow and currently training for the Microsoft Technology Associate certification in Security Fundamentals. 

 

I love that I get to teach students about the history of video games, genres, vocabulary, career opportunities, design, development, and programming; basically all about video games!  I also focus a lot on soft skills, collaboration, and the students thinking for themselves during class because I know those are things every student will need. One of the things I really love about this program is that not only does it help students learn about careers and opportunities in gaming but it also gives students computer and coding skills that transfer into MANY careers.  This is a dream job for me because I am truly passionate about teaching and I've enjoyed video games since my first system (Nintendo Entertainment System)! I own a Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Wii, and PC. Recently I've also played the Borderlands 3 (all the DLCs), Overcooked 2, Pandemic, Two of Us, and I still jump into the Witcher 3, Fallout 4, and Diablo III every now and again. My all time favorite series is Borderlands but I do love Fallout too.

 

I believe in giving back, being kind, and living life to the fullest. I love and try to live by the quote by Goethe: "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being". I love to travel, spend time with my husband (he's in the pictures with me), play with my mini-labradoodle Paulie and lab mix Deja (pictured right), and on weekends I can be found paddleboarding, doing yoga, reading a book, or painting.

 

Check out more information about me at https://about.me/jodi.kirk/ or on LinkedIn.

 

Click here to check out Dr. Kirk's blog!

​

Click here to follow Dr. Kirk on Twitter!

 

Lets create a class where we think like "gamers"!  Gamers work hard to constantly improve, iterate all the time, seek feedback often, learn through failure, and value experimenting! Doesn't sound like a waste of time to me!