The goal of Texas public schools is to develop a technology infrastructure that maximizes the educational benefits of all technologies while keeping costs down and improving collaboration and communication among all campus stakeholders. This infrastructure will provide easy access to tools needed to promote a society that collaborates and is truly connected. Districts must also have highly-skilled personnel that understand to maintain the needs of the districts infrastructure. Data-driven decisions allow for vast amounts of information and resources that tie directly to curriculum and instruction planning. The goals of the district are to provide a quality education for all students that are customized and personal to meet the needs of the 21st century learner.
Statewide, the level of progress is in the advance tech stage. Meaning, more students have more connectivity and access to web-based learning. Locally, my campus is lingering in the developing tech stage. This could be attributed to the lack funds available to allow for better technology to be more accessible, a lack of general staff knowledge on the uses of technology education, or multitude of other problems that face many small, rural school districts.
The need for change is obvious, campus leaders need to be exposed to the variety of uses technology can fulfill. Having meaningful district and campus wide professional development in educational technology will allow for the dialogue to begin and new educational mediums to be exposed and used. Knowledgeable school leaders can apply for grants to further their educational emphasis on technology and promote a campus striving to change to meet the needs of their students.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
The Spiraling Curriculum and Technology Application
The Pre-K TEKS lay the foundation for success in future grades. They focus on developing a shaping the learner to use technology and relate the use of technology to their everyday lives. It focuses on social and emotional development, language and communication, emergent literacy in reading and writing, and use technology in mathematics. Technology allows teachers to use a variety of teaching strategies to present material to students.
The spiraling curriculum tries not to focus for relatively long periods of time on some narrow topic, instead, a spiral curriculum tries to expose students to a wide varies of ideas over and over and build on those thoughts once the subject is brought up again. Technology Application TEKS use the spiraling curriculum model through continued use of correct terminology in the classroom setting, developing the ability to use different components of software and hardware interchangeably, talking about appropriate and inappropriate uses, effective communication techniques, and develop student’s efficiency with problem solving strategies. These approaches allow for increased mastery in technology knowledge and skills
The spiraling curriculum tries not to focus for relatively long periods of time on some narrow topic, instead, a spiral curriculum tries to expose students to a wide varies of ideas over and over and build on those thoughts once the subject is brought up again. Technology Application TEKS use the spiraling curriculum model through continued use of correct terminology in the classroom setting, developing the ability to use different components of software and hardware interchangeably, talking about appropriate and inappropriate uses, effective communication techniques, and develop student’s efficiency with problem solving strategies. These approaches allow for increased mastery in technology knowledge and skills
Texas Long-Range Analysis
The Vision for 2020 focuses on having students, teachers, and campuses fully linked to the digital age. This plan will allow for students to become competitive in the global marketplace. The plan calls for teachers to be trained through staff-development sessions that focus on the integration of technology into the classroom. Resources need to be set aside to ensure that this occurs and that campuses are ready for the phases of technology integration that will continue through the year 2020.
The goal of Texas educators is to produce a citizenry that can effectively compete in the global marketplace by providing students equitable access to resources and developing a direction of our schools technology programs. The 21st century learner expects for information to be relevant and applicable. It needs to be presented in a variety of settings that allows for traditional skills to be reinforced and critical thinking/problem solving skills to allow them to communicate in a technology-rich society. The integration of technology into Texas schools can transform the process of teaching by allowing for greater interest, creativity, inquiry, analysis, and collaboration.
Challenges that the state face consist of alignment of technology TEKS into all aspect of curriculum, allow for best practices in educational technology and develop new strategies, and creating and implementing new and effective teaching strategies. Professional development must emphasize the need and importance of technology and its many uses and teach teachers how to successfully integrate the skills needed for success. Educator preparation programs must collaborate with Pre K-12 schools to ensure that beginning educators are experienced and familiar with the technology used on Texas campuses.
School administrators directly impact the development and implementation of new technologies within the campus. By developing committees that incorporate campus stakeholders, the group develops the vision of the school and begins to expand the technology program to fit the state and national standards outlined to promote student success. Effective leaders must model and provide innovative learning environments by maximizing the educational benefits from the investment in technology.
Data-driven decisions allow for vast amounts of information and resources that tie directly to curriculum and instruction planning. The goals of the district are to provide a quality education for all students that are customized and personal to meet the needs of the 21st century learner. The use of data and surveys will allow for Texas leaders to understand the needs of students and identify the elements needed to support and develop students that can compete in the global economy.
The goal of Texas educators is to produce a citizenry that can effectively compete in the global marketplace by providing students equitable access to resources and developing a direction of our schools technology programs. The 21st century learner expects for information to be relevant and applicable. It needs to be presented in a variety of settings that allows for traditional skills to be reinforced and critical thinking/problem solving skills to allow them to communicate in a technology-rich society. The integration of technology into Texas schools can transform the process of teaching by allowing for greater interest, creativity, inquiry, analysis, and collaboration.
Challenges that the state face consist of alignment of technology TEKS into all aspect of curriculum, allow for best practices in educational technology and develop new strategies, and creating and implementing new and effective teaching strategies. Professional development must emphasize the need and importance of technology and its many uses and teach teachers how to successfully integrate the skills needed for success. Educator preparation programs must collaborate with Pre K-12 schools to ensure that beginning educators are experienced and familiar with the technology used on Texas campuses.
School administrators directly impact the development and implementation of new technologies within the campus. By developing committees that incorporate campus stakeholders, the group develops the vision of the school and begins to expand the technology program to fit the state and national standards outlined to promote student success. Effective leaders must model and provide innovative learning environments by maximizing the educational benefits from the investment in technology.
Data-driven decisions allow for vast amounts of information and resources that tie directly to curriculum and instruction planning. The goals of the district are to provide a quality education for all students that are customized and personal to meet the needs of the 21st century learner. The use of data and surveys will allow for Texas leaders to understand the needs of students and identify the elements needed to support and develop students that can compete in the global economy.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Survey Reflections
In comparison to the majority of my colleagues, I understand and use technology in a variety of settings. I continually use more of the mainstream components in my daily work, but have had experience with specific technology applications needed for specific tasks. I scored lowest on problem-solving with technology tools. I do not use a lot of the presentation components required for understanding by the state simply because I do not need to organize multimedia presentations for the different stakeholders involved with my campus.
I focus on technology in the classroom that incorporates the material needed for understanding and I typically do all the technology integration. Very little technology is used by the students, our school is not designed to ensure that all classrooms are wired and every student has appropriate access to the technology. Also, not all students have equitable access to Tech Apps and BCIS. Even at the junior high level, these courses should be woven into the requirements needed for promotion. If we expect that by 2020 all students will be technologically literate and have access to various types of technology, they need to learn the basics early and the state needs to set high expectations to ensure that students understand the application of technology in their daily lives.
I do have one issue with the TEKS survey, the questionnaire was designed in technical language. If students (and teachers) are not taught that technical language, then how are they expected to understand exactly what the survey is asking and what they are capable of doing with technology in the classroom? The SEDTA survey, while it was long, was thorough enough for me to understand how technology should be incorporated at my campus and the throughout the district. The majority of my students are technically illiterate and do not have access to technology. The staff and the different departments within the school use technology on a very limited basis. My campus definitely needs to connect with and get updated on the new trends to be competitive and produce students who will be competitive in the digital age.
I focus on technology in the classroom that incorporates the material needed for understanding and I typically do all the technology integration. Very little technology is used by the students, our school is not designed to ensure that all classrooms are wired and every student has appropriate access to the technology. Also, not all students have equitable access to Tech Apps and BCIS. Even at the junior high level, these courses should be woven into the requirements needed for promotion. If we expect that by 2020 all students will be technologically literate and have access to various types of technology, they need to learn the basics early and the state needs to set high expectations to ensure that students understand the application of technology in their daily lives.
I do have one issue with the TEKS survey, the questionnaire was designed in technical language. If students (and teachers) are not taught that technical language, then how are they expected to understand exactly what the survey is asking and what they are capable of doing with technology in the classroom? The SEDTA survey, while it was long, was thorough enough for me to understand how technology should be incorporated at my campus and the throughout the district. The majority of my students are technically illiterate and do not have access to technology. The staff and the different departments within the school use technology on a very limited basis. My campus definitely needs to connect with and get updated on the new trends to be competitive and produce students who will be competitive in the digital age.
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