| This prestigious award is to recognize educators who have exemplified the ideals of the T³ Program - that is, to enhance mathematics and science teaching and learning through the creative and enthusiastic application of handheld technology in their classrooms.
This year's awardees are Gene Olmstead and Ray Barton.
Eugene (Gene) Olmstead
Gene has been teaching for over 30 years and has taught middle school mathematics, calculus, geometry, precalculus, statistics and algebra. He received his bachelor degree in secondary mathematics from the State University of New York at Geneseo and then his masters degree also in secondary mathematics at Elmira College. Gene has been a T³ instructor since its inception. He was a participant at one of the first C2PC institutes at Ohio State Univ. in 1988, a counselor 1989 – 1991 for C2PC, and Transit. He is also a co-author of Explorations: Cabri Jr. Interactive Geometry Activities and Investigations, and a contributing writer of several T³ institutes, most recently CabriJr. Geometry, CAG, GEO, and NYSMathA/B. He has co-authored several other texts, and written many articles for my state journal on the use of technology in the math classroom. He has been a regular presenter of math/technology summer institutes, and workshops or sessions at conferences at the international, national, regional, and state/local level since 1988. Gene says “The best part of being a part of T³ is meeting awesome teachers, which has made me a better teacher, and making great friends over the years.” Gene is married and has a daughter. His hobbies include golf, geometry, and working on the house. All of which are never ending projects.
Ray Barton
Ray received his bachelor degree in mathematics from the University of Utah and his Masters of Education from Utah State University. He has been teaching for 23 years. In 1989 Ray was invited to attend a C2PC workshop at Ohio State University along with several other Utah teachers where he met Bert Waits and Frank Demana. Ray says that this experience changed his professional and his personal life. He returned to Salt Lake charged with excitement about the power of visualization and immediately began conducting C2PC workshops at Park City, UT. A few years later Ray attended the CalcNet program with Greg Foley at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. Shortly after this he went to Dallas along with 11 other teachers to develop the first national T³ institute. He had no idea how this program would grow. He has been involved in materials and curriculum development for face-to-face institutes as well as online courses and Explorations books. He says he has met some truly extraordinary people because of these programs and has become a much better teacher. Ray is currently a T³ Calculus and Statistics instructor. Meeting teachers and TI-er’s around the world while presenting at T³ institutes and conferences has reinforced his belief that teachers are exceptionally good people. Ray is married to Charla Barton. Charla has patiently taken him to the airport more times than he can count for T³ related trips. They have five children all of whom have taken graphing calculators out of his desk without his knowledge at one time or another to do homework or to impress their friends. Ray enjoys hiking, camping, biking and finishing the remodeling projects that his wife starts when he leaves town for T³ institutes.
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