Kuhn shares education, experience
By Dustin Zahorsky
January 27, 2009
It’s always challenging coming into a different school environment, but Dustin Kuhn, new assistant technology director, said he has not had any trouble.
“I have pretty much been familiar with teaching since I was young because both my mom and my dad are teachers. After high school, I went to Emporia State for two years and then transferred over to Flint Hills Technical College, which is a very excellent place to go to school as well. I'm comfortable in a school environment,” said Kuhn.
Kuhn enjoyed his time spent at ESU.
“I lived in Admire, which is right next to Emporia, so it was very close by. When I first was there, I was thinking about getting into education because both my parents are teachers, and Emporia State has computer programming. Also, they have information systems, but it really didn't have anything that focused in on networking. That’s why I decided to transfer to a tech. college,” said Kuhn.
He graduated in 2004 from Flint Hills Technical College with an associate’s degree in network technology. His first job was at an elementary school.
“While I was at Timberman Elementary, I was a building support tech. It is very similar to a computer lab AD. I supported the teachers with their technology questions, and I was in the computer lab when students came in. I also would help the teachers give directions to the students,” said Kuhn.
Kuhn is six college hours away from receiving his bachelor’s degree from ESU.
Communication is a huge factor in Kuhn’s job.
“I think communication is very important. If you are afraid to go meet and talk to new people, this job really isn't for you because you have to go up to them and show them step by step how to do it if you know them or not. You just have to always be friendly,” said Kuhn.
He said it has been challenging going from PC’s to Mac’s.
“Everywhere I have worked I have been with PC’s, so for a little while, Mac’s will be a little tough, but I will get the hang of it. It just takes practice to get to know how to do things, but the Mac’s are pretty cool. I really like the new computers Silver Lake got that are in the new library because you can do lots of different things on them.
“Also, the programs in the Apple environment are different. What I mean by this is you can't be expected to know everything. You kind of have to just go with the flow. Everything is different. You just have to learn it,” said Kuhn.
He said the reason he works late hours is to get projects done.
“Sometimes I'll stay late hours like if I start something, it’s a lot easier to go ahead and finish it instead of waiting until the next day to do it. I'm pretty sure I will have to stay late hours while I'm here. I have only been here for a month, but I'm sure I'll stay after hours to get my stuff done or help other teachers or students,” said Kuhn.
He said he is impressed by Silver Lake’s reputation.
“I picked Silver Lake because the location is really good, and as an outsider I was always impressed with Silver Lake. The community has always wanted what’s best for their students. Watching Silver Lake back when I was in high school, they were really good at sports,” said Kuhn.
He said technology will continue to advance.
“I could definitely see the speed of the Internet increasing tremendously fast. I could see down the road fewer programs actually stored at the schools. What I mean by this is like if you wanted to use Word, you could just type in 'Word' through the Internet and it will pop up. I see most applications being set through the Internet. I also wanted to add that I think projectors in the elementary level, and the smart boards, are very helpful. It’s another way of learning. Teachers can actually show how to do it instead of just describing it,” said Kuhn.
