Using the grandeur of space to teach hands-on, standards-based lessons to teachers to impact the next generation

Who are Billy and Terry Sue?

Billy is a Professor of  Education Technology at Motlow College in Tennessee.  This is a rural college with approximately 5000 students.  He has won numerous awards based on his teaching excellence including a record setting six time winner of the Motlow Teaching Excellence Award,  in addition to the Regents Online Degree Program Teacher of the Year, the State of Tennessee Dr. Harold Love Community Service Award, and many others.  In November, 2011, Billy was selected by the TN Science Teacher Association (TSTA) as Science Educator of the Year in TN for 2012.   He is also a passionate amateur astronomer.   His astronomy programs received national recognition in 2011 by Astronomy magazine and the Reflector magazine as one of the most effective astronomy programs in the US. 

 Billy developed and taught the first online class at Motlow College in 1995.  He was part of the original development team for the Tennessee Regents Online Degree Program (RODP).     The RODP students selected him as the first ever RODP Teacher of the Year in 2002.  

He is a product of a rural public school system in southern Middle Tennessee.  When he was in the 5^th grade, he wanted to work for NASA and become an astronaut and go to the moon or Mars, however, due to the limited knowledge and experience of his teacher, she told him that such dreams were folly.  This set him on a quest later in life to make sure that no student would again feel that due to the fact that one was in a rural setting, students would limit their dreams.  It is with this passion that TeachSpace was first formed in informal lessons and speaking engagements at schools across rural Middle Tennessee during the late 80’s and early 90’s.  During the 90’s, TeachSpace started to become the program it is today with formalize lessons that are tied to the curriculum that are designed to make it easier for teachers to create excitement in the classroom.  Also, Billy and Terry Sue understand the need for on going support in the classroom.  

In addition to teaching at the college, he has worked for many years as a Faculty Fellow for NASA at  Marshall Space Flight Center.   There his expertise was used in the area of educational programs at NASA.  While at NASA, he has spoken and worked with many groups including the National Teachers of the Year, the NASA Education Teachers Workshop, and the NASA Explorers Schools program.   He, along with Terry Sue have also created and produced numerous educational television shows that are broadcast in Tennessee and also in Huntsville, Alabama.   Also, you may have seen Billy on the Nashville PBS station, for he is the Dell Tip Guy providing computer tips to parents during their early morning broadcast. 

He is active in state government with several technology and science initiatives and also has served on the Governor’s Task Force on Technology that was instrumental in placing the Internet in all of the counties in Tennessee for educational purposes.   He and Terry Sue just completed the pilot STEM camps for the TN ELC (Electronic Learning Center) that were given positive reviews due to the fact that teachers were offered practical and easy to implement curriculum ideas for their classroom. 

Terry Sue has had just as stellar career in the classroom and as a technology coordinator and elementary curriculum coordinator of a school system in Tennessee.  She has taught 4^th – 6^th grades in a rural public school.  In 1993, she was selected as the 21^st Century Classroom Teacher in her school system.  In 1995, she was selected to become the technology coordinator of her school system.    In this capacity, she has worked with teachers to help them acquire the needed technology skills and curriculum modifications so that they can integrate technology into their classroom.   To assist in this area, she developed and managed a small team of grant writers for her school system and has assisted other systems in her geographic area.  Due to her unique perspective of her classroom experience prior to becoming a Technology Coordinator, she has been very successful the area of technology integration within her school system.  Her work in this area has also been recognized nation wide.  She was asked in 2000 to consider teaching and working with teachers from around the country as a Marco Polo Educational Foundation Cadre Member.  She accepted this job and traveled all over the United States training teachers in the area of technology integration.  Her practical, no nonsense methods win praise with the teachers that she works with. 

In 2002, she was selected as a participant in the NASA Educators Workshop (NEW), a two week program conducted at Marshall Space Flight Center.  In 2003, she was selected to be the Educational Facilitator for the first group of teachers in the NASA Explorer Schools program.  She was asked to return in 2004 to serve in this capacity again.   She has won numerous awards for her methods in instruction and was selected at one of three Supervisors of the Year from Tennessee this past year.  In 2005, she was selected as AIAA educator of the year with that organization. 

She has conducted a large number of workshops for teachers in integrating standards in the curriculum with technology.  

She is now the Technology Director of Lincoln County schools in TN.

In addition, she currently teaches classes at Motlow College and for Tennessee Tech University.

Billy and Terry Sue have presented at 100's of Curriculum and Technology conferences across the southeastern United States.