Rosemount High School Chemistry Teacher Wins Award for Technology in Teaching

Brian Trussell, an Advanced Placement and honors chemistry teacher at , is the recent recipient of a TIES Exceptional Teacher Award for 2011.

The TIES awards are given annually by education technology cooperative TIES.  The awards are conferred to educators who incorporate technology into the classroom setting.

Cindy Nordstrom, a fifth grade teacher at Oak Ridge Elementary School, also received a TIES award.

Trussell uses technology to improve his teaching in several ways. His course materials are widely available to his students on Moodle, a website where teachers can post assignments and notes and conduct and collect tests and quizzes. Students can also engage in dialogue on Moodle, via the site’s interactive chat lines. Trussell utilizes the site as an education platform by posting video tutorials.

“If there was no technology, he’d be a great teacher at interacting with kids,” said John Wollersheim, principal of Rosemount High School. “The technology just enhances his ability.”

Trussell frequently incorporates an interactive white board into his lessons. The tool is similar in appearance to a traditional white board, but functions like a computer screen with touch capability.

“It has permitted my students to take, and as a whole, move through material at a much faster rate,” said Trussell in reference to the technology made available to him.

On top of using technology in his own lessons, Trussell is working to make the tools more accessible to his colleagues by teaching interactive technology courses to his fellow instructors on staff development days.

“We know technology’s changing at a rapid pace, so we’re focusing a big bulk of our staff development on how to incorporate technology in the classroom,” said Wollersheim.

However, for Trussell, technology is already a critical component of the teaching process.