Oregon teacher receives national honor for integrated teaching style
CALGARY, Alberta – May 9, 2008 – SMART Technologies announces that Michael Giesen, a SMART product user, has been named National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers and was recognized by President George W. Bush during a ceremony at the White House on April 30, 2008. The award is the highest honor an educator in the United States can receive. After being designated the Oregon State Teacher of the Year, Geisen was awarded a technology package from SMART Technologies, including a SMART Board™ 600i interactive whiteboard system, an AirLiner™ wireless slate, a license for Bridgit™ conferencing software, a computer-lab license for SynchronEyes™ classroom management software and an unlimited school site license for SMART Ideas™ concept-mapping software. As part of his mandate, Geisen will spend the next year traveling around the country sharing his teaching successes at different education events. His message for other educators is to strive to find the balance between content-driven teaching and creativity while honoring the humanity of children.
Geisen has been teaching seventh-grade science at Crook County Middle School in Prineville, Oregon, for seven years. Over his teaching career, Geisen has attempted to incorporate as many teaching styles as possible in his lessons. He uses music, visual arts, and debate and discussion, to accommodate every student’s learning style so no one feels left out of the learning process. Believing his role is to help shape the next generation, he teaches his students to be complete people, not simply book-smart. Geisen uses humor to engage students and to add excitement and enjoyment to his lessons. Technology plays an important role in his classroom, and Geisen’s SMART Board 600i interactive whiteboard system has become what he equates to a fireplace in his classroom around which everyone gathers. He says that the SMART Board interactive whiteboard focuses his students’ attention and helps keep them on track.
“Technology has a way of connecting people across oceans and in small groups. It is everywhere in our students’ lives, so incorporating it in the classroom helps them to learn” Geisen says. “Technology is ideal when it is used as a collaborative tool as it allows students to bring their thoughts and ideas together.”
“At SMART, we support the State and National Teacher of the Year awards because we value the contributions excellent teachers make to society as a whole,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “Michael Geisen’s dedication to helping young minds develop to their full potential and promoting technology as a collaborative means to achieve this is a model for educators around the world.”
