Charles Geach- 2004 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award
L to R: Stephen Feldman, president of the AMF; Bob Crippen, astronaut and AMF board member; Charles Geach, 2004 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award winner; Laura Shepard Churchley, Alan Shepard’s daughter; James Kennedy, center director of the Kennedy Space Center; and Bob Henry, chairman of the AMF, corporate senior vice president of the Harris Corporation and president of the government communications systems division of the Harris Corporation on May 2, 2004.
Mr. Geach is an administrator of instructional technology for the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) in El Paso, Texas. Inspired by NASA CONNECT™, an Emmy®-award-winning series of free integrated math, science and technology instructional programs for students in grades 6 – 8, the EPISD developed NASA Connects to EPISD Live. Mr. Geach, a science teacher for 23 years, has been involved with the broadcast program since its inception in 1998.
While NASA CONNECT™ incorporates television broadcast, educator’s guide and Web activities, Mr. Geach introduced the interactive component of a videoconferencing system during the 2002 – 2003 school year. Students can now be seen and heard, which allows for greater dynamics in learning. Mr. Geach has used the technology of videoconferencing along with the wonders of space and science to create a fun, informative and educational program.
The award ceremony took place at the Radisson at the Port in Cape Canaveral. Astronaut Robert Crippen and Alan Shepard’s daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley, presented the award to Mr. Geach.