The flickering screens, the sounds of tapping on the keyboards, the smiles on the young student’s faces, and above all else, the simple enjoyment of learning. This is what Terry Grissom says inspires him day in and day out.

Grissom is the technology coordinator for the Dallas County School System .

“What Terry has done with out technology system within the past year is absolutely amazing,” Dallas County School System Superintendent Wayne May said. “He has taken our school system to new heights that I never even thought were imaginable.”

Through Grissom’s guidance, May said, every school and the central office in the Dallas County School system is now connected to the Internet as one system.

“Almost every school in our school system has its own web page,” May said. “And through our Dallas County School system website, each school has access to every other school’s web page. And this has all taken place within the last year since Terry arrived.”

Grissom, who was formerly a teacher in Birmingham, said he became interested in technology simply through experimenting with computers in his own home.

“It was something that I just found really interesting,” he said. After being a student of computers for a while, Grissom soon became the teacher. In addition to his regular teaching career, he began to teach workshops on how to use different types of software.

While teaching a workshop in Birmingham, Grissom met May, and that’s when the superintendent realized that Grissom could be a real asset.

“When we recruited him, I knew he could fulfill the vision I had of technology in our school system,” May said. “All I can say is that I really do believe it was God’s guidance, or something like that, that brought Terry to Dallas County.”

May’s vision included such things as having every classroom connected to the Internet; websites for all schools; digital surveillance systems to create a safer school environment; and continuous and relevant training and support for teachers, office personnel, administrators and school board members.

“When we started last year,” said May, “we were only ten percent of the way there. Now we have accomplished almost 90 percent of the goals that we set out to accomplish, thanks to Terry.”

Grissom said the thing that inspires him the most about being a technology coordinator is just seeing the looks on the student’s faces when they finally get access to computers.

“Not only are they learning so much, they are also being entertained,” he said. “In today’s world where our kids are always staring at video screens, to make them learn, we need this type of technology. And these kids are learning so much.”

This summer the Dallas County School system will also be connected to the Alabama On-line High School, which offers special courses through the Internet that students would not normally be able to take through the school system.

“It is just extremely exciting for our teachers and students,” Grissom said. “And it makes my job worthwhile.”