Technology at Balboa
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Donate to Keep Balboa Students Tech Smart
The Computer Lab's instructor is paid through the Balboa Spirit Club's COMPASS fund. Direct donations made by Balboa families and the community are what keep such programs running. Contribute now to keep our students computer-literate.
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Getting to Know Our Instructional Technology Specialist Mr. Richmond
Formerly Computer Lab, Balboa’s Instructional Technology Support program is one of the district’s best. This is due, in large part, to Mr. Stephen Richmond. For the past five years, Mr. Richmond has been showing our students that there is much more to computers than playing the latest games and using social media.
What is your background and training?
My B.A. is in English Literature. More relevant is my technical training which is my A+ certification in computer hardware and software.
What made you decide to pursue a career in Technology Education?
I have had an enthusiasm for computer technology ever since my first MS DOS class at North Hollywood High School. My 6th Grade class took a field trip to NHHS where they had the only computer lab in the area for that time. I got to run my first commands on one of those huge IBM terminals (at least seemed huge to me) and output was displayed on a single color monitor. I was hooked! I went home to instruct my parents that we needed to get an IBM computer for our home. I’m not sure how they phrased it, but I know how crestfallen I was to hear that it was not going to happen.
That story is shared by many people of my generation and illustrates some of the great changes that time has made. Not only is computer hardware more affordable than ever, but the operating system has been made available at no cost. Now a student can get their hands on $10 single board computers and flash the operating system to a $5 SD card. They can tinker around inside an operating system without fear of destroying it because it only takes a few minutes to reinstall a fresh copy.
What do you hope to impart to your students?
This is the most exciting time we've ever had for the teaching of technology. I am astonished that my students find it cool to type commands into a terminal. The multidimensional coding interfaces are great, but they still like the old tech. This year I will be making more of the command line / robotics interfaces available in addition to the standard core of Word Processing, Spreadsheets, and Video Presentations.
Why is Technology important to an elementary school curriculum?
Technology is just another language that we speak. The sooner the student is immersed in a language, the greater their literacy.
If you were to see a student ten years from now, what one thing would you want them to remember about you and your class?
I hope they remember that at Balboa, they got the enthusiasm and ideas about technology AND were shown how to take them home and start tinkering that day.
Formerly Computer Lab, Balboa’s Instructional Technology Support program is one of the district’s best. This is due, in large part, to Mr. Stephen Richmond. For the past five years, Mr. Richmond has been showing our students that there is much more to computers than playing the latest games and using social media.
What is your background and training?
My B.A. is in English Literature. More relevant is my technical training which is my A+ certification in computer hardware and software.
What made you decide to pursue a career in Technology Education?
I have had an enthusiasm for computer technology ever since my first MS DOS class at North Hollywood High School. My 6th Grade class took a field trip to NHHS where they had the only computer lab in the area for that time. I got to run my first commands on one of those huge IBM terminals (at least seemed huge to me) and output was displayed on a single color monitor. I was hooked! I went home to instruct my parents that we needed to get an IBM computer for our home. I’m not sure how they phrased it, but I know how crestfallen I was to hear that it was not going to happen.
That story is shared by many people of my generation and illustrates some of the great changes that time has made. Not only is computer hardware more affordable than ever, but the operating system has been made available at no cost. Now a student can get their hands on $10 single board computers and flash the operating system to a $5 SD card. They can tinker around inside an operating system without fear of destroying it because it only takes a few minutes to reinstall a fresh copy.
What do you hope to impart to your students?
This is the most exciting time we've ever had for the teaching of technology. I am astonished that my students find it cool to type commands into a terminal. The multidimensional coding interfaces are great, but they still like the old tech. This year I will be making more of the command line / robotics interfaces available in addition to the standard core of Word Processing, Spreadsheets, and Video Presentations.
Why is Technology important to an elementary school curriculum?
Technology is just another language that we speak. The sooner the student is immersed in a language, the greater their literacy.
If you were to see a student ten years from now, what one thing would you want them to remember about you and your class?
I hope they remember that at Balboa, they got the enthusiasm and ideas about technology AND were shown how to take them home and start tinkering that day.
This year, our students will be working on many new and exciting technology projects using different programs using their IPads. Click here to see what programs your child will learn this year.
