FRONT ROYAL -- John A. Brishcar was beaming Thursday in his classroom as he talked about the satisfaction of being recognized by the National School Boards Association Technology Leadership Network for innovative uses of technology in the classroom.
Brishcar replied incredulously when asked about the importance of the award, one of only three given to classroom teachers out of 20 educators across the U.S.
He had just dismissed a classroom of about 25 sixth-graders at Warren County Middle School where he teaches science with a strong conviction that technology is making a big difference in how well his pupils learn.
"You're kidding me?" Brishcar said. "This is huge. I'm one of three in the nation. I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony on Monday and Tuesday. I'll be rubbing shoulders with some of the heavyweights of education."
He had just dismissed a classroom of about 25 sixth-graders at Warren County Middle School where he teaches science with a strong conviction that technology is making a big difference in how well his pupils learn.
"You're kidding me?" Brishcar said. "This is huge. I'm one of three in the nation. I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony on Monday and Tuesday. I'll be rubbing shoulders with some of the heavyweights of education."
Brishcar is first and foremost a teacher, but he also regards himself as something of an evangelist whose mission is to ease the transition from paper-based learning to digital technology, a transition that some teachers are reluctant to embrace.
"My philosophy is to bridge paper-to-digital because teachers are creatures of habit," Brishcar said. "They have to have paper in their hand."
In a news release announcing the award, the School Boards Association commended Brishcar for using technology to create "a classroom where sixth graders are becoming independent learners and thinkers capable of working in teams without constant cueing from a facilitator."
Instead of state-of-the-art equipment, he relies on 30 used and donated laptops, free public domain software, a server and a Moodle classroom management platform -- and he does it all with no Internet connection.
Class materials include a science textbook he authored that is available online at http://informstechnologies.blogspot.com/
"As the moderator of Yahoo's 2,500 member 'Middle School Science Teacher' user group and the 'High School Science' user group, he influences teachers around the world," the School Boards Association said.
Teaching middle school science is the latest of several careers for Brishcar, 57.
The others include stints as an aerospace, nuclear and mechanical engineer and an information technology manager and marketing director. He also founded and worked as president of a marketing and technology firm. He has taught middle school science for the last 17 years.
The others include stints as an aerospace, nuclear and mechanical engineer and an information technology manager and marketing director. He also founded and worked as president of a marketing and technology firm. He has taught middle school science for the last 17 years.
Brishcar said the technology has done much more than bring some notoriety to him.
The students are the beneficiaries, he said, citing improvements in their performances on the state Standards of Learning tests.
"I've got students who hadn't passed an SOL in their lives who are now scoring in the 80s and 90s," Brishcar said.
Nor is technology the whole story in his classroom. He showed a plastic bag filled with cards he uses to adapt the board game Sorry to the teaching of scientific concepts and terminology.
"It's not just about computers," Brishcar said. "They are just another portal to understanding."
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