RAY LUND
Teacher
Thornton Academy
Saco, Maine
Cable System: Time Warner Cable

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"The learner of today will have to become a multifaceted and multitasking worker of tomorrow, using ever evolving technologies for communication, creativity, problem solving, information gathering, synthesis of ideas and processes, along with delivering professional conduct. It is important that all our students have learning opportunities that will prepare them to make positive decisions for society as a whole."

When Ray Lund's teaching career began, he taught the traditional arts such as drawing, painting and pottery. In 1987, he introduced a course called "videography" with the reasoning that this was the new art medium for skill development. Thirty-seven years later, he now teaches a new media class in a space called the 4-D Arena, a studio designed specifically for time-based arts.

As a result of a long-time partnership with Time Warner Cable, the studio (modeled after Time Warner's own studios), was not only able to be built, but students are able to completely run their own television station, Thornton Academy Television (TATV). They have developed long-running shows and have made their TV station an important thread in the community.

Lund has expanded his work at Thornton Academy to include new media workshops and programs for the entire community. He has received a Disney American Teacher Award for Outstanding National Visual Arts Educator, Technology Teacher of the Year and Art Teacher of the Year. He is currently working towards an MFA in Computer Arts/New Media from the Academy of Art University.