Richard Rho
St. Stephens & St. Agnes School
Technology Education Chair
Alexandria, VA
I am currently a Technology Coordinator & Department Chair of the Technology Department at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA. As the Department Chair, I oversee technology integration JK-12 and work with my team of technology coordinators on providing faculty with the latest on new technologies and students with support. As the technology coordinator for the Upper School, I create courses that provide students with relevant technology skill, help develop technical literacies, and cultivate 21st Century Skills.
Also, I provide both in school and outside of school professional development opportunities for faculty during which teachers come to learn about new technologies and what the tools could mean for their classrooms. Teachers are also introduced to the learning theories and educational studies behind the tools so they can understand them better and utilize them more effectively.
Some of the courses I teach:
Introduction to Programming & iOS Fundamentals
iOS App Programming
Introduction to 3D Modeling & 3D Printing
Entrepreneurship and 3D Modeling
Aerial Videography & Advanced Video Editing
Gateway: An Introduction to Educational Technologies,
Robotics I, II, III, IV (including mentoring a FIRST Robotics competition team).
Maker, Hackers, and Tinkerers
My courses are derived from my education background as well as my teaching experiences. My background includes a B.S. in Engineering from Columbia University, a M.S. Ed. from University of Pennsylvania, and additional educational coursework from the University of California, San Diego. I believe that courses that have their foundation in engineering are so essential for future generations who will face great problems. These courses require students to become open ended problem solvers; they will need to take a systems mindset, incorporate information from their courses, extrapolate other information from their life experiences, and apply their creative minds towards solving the problems presented to them. My courses also aim to teach students some of the skills that will aid them in college and beyond. These skills are valuable not only as a possible vocational skill, but also to give a competitive edge and imbue the 21st century skills that are so valuable to a student's development.