Draft of National Education Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan describes how information and communication technologies are changing education. President Obama said during the Address to Congress that “by 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” We became educators because we believe that every child can really be anything they set their mind to be. However, the reality is that many students drop out before they graduate from high school. The students who do make it to graduation are unfortunately not prepared for postsecondary education or the workforce. The world is becoming more competitive and technology has taken part in making that happen. Now education must become a priority because the United States is unable to compete on a global level. Just the other day I saw a commercial with students from around the world discussing how important math and science are. The message from an educator in this commercial is that the United States is far behind other countries in this area. As educators we know that we need to close the achievement gap that has prevented our students from becoming successful individuals and vital parts of our workforce. The question is, how do we get there? Education reform needs to take place but it is not the only factor. Today technology plays a large part in our lives and education must realize this and follow the trend. Educators need to understand that the way we were not many moons ago is not what is best for our students today. We need to make sure that our professional development continues to focus on using technology in the classroom and that we actually use this once we are back in our classrooms.

Texas Technological Progress Report

According to the Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology our students are known as Digital Natives because they grew up with technology. However, most teachers are Digital Immigrants because we are new to technology because we have to learn it as we go since it has not always been around for in our lifetime. The 21st Century student has become a hands on learner on their own by using technology and tools to get the information they seek not only at school but also at home where many students have 24/7 access to it. As an educator, it is important that we take the opportunity that technology has given us to make teaching and learning more engaging for our students. We need to use all the technology resources that are provided to us and impact not only the curriculum but also the students. Through legislation we have been given many programs that will help our students learn to use technology tools that will make them empower and engage learners for the future. It will be interesting to see what happens to a lot of these state funded programs as the State of Texas undergoes budget cuts. All districts are preparing for these budget cuts but realize that technology has changed the teachers role in education and we have seen that communication with parents has gone up because of the 24/7 access to resources and student information. Our district adopted the logo “Do more with less” because we know that education cannot suffer because of budget cuts but must be more aggressive so that we can produce a 21st Century workforce that can change the world.

Teaching & Leraning as part of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology

Teaching & Learning
This focus area includes: patterns of classroom use, frequency/design of instructional setting using digital content, content area connections, technology application TEKS implementation, student mastery of technology application TEKS and online learning.

2008-09: Key Area Total - 13, Key Area STaR Classification - Developing Tech
2007-08: Key Area Total - 12, Key Area STaR Classification - Developing Tech
2006-07: Key Area Total - 12, Key Area STaR Classification - Developing Tech

Teachers use technology for direct instruction on a daily basis and to access resources for curriculum or lessons in the classroom. Technology is also a great tool for students to use in order to communicate & present information. We need to go a step further to make sure that we focus on making connections with our student’s lives & know how each one learns. Simply put teaching and learning must be done differently. We can no longer teach the old way where everything is teacher directed. This, however, remains in practice even after all the staff developments and research that has shown that it is not effective. The role of the teacher needs to change to allow for a more student centered way of learning and teaching in which technology can play a major role. This is important because it is not only preparing the students for a lifetime of learning but also helping the teacher to meet the needs of all students. I recommend that teachers find ways in which to involve their students within the teaching. Teachers need to bring technology into the classrooms in ways that students can understand and that are "real" for them.

Tabasco STaR Chart Presentation 2009-2010

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: It is an overview of the information from Texas STaR Chart results from 2009-2010.

Edld 5352 wk 2 ppt

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