Texas Long Range Plan for Technology

Teaching and Learning - Educators must be including technology in their everyday classroom curriculum and all students must begin taking an active role in their education. According to the report on the Lon-Range Plan for Technology, this is happening at an increasing rate - "Students and teachers statewide have been significantly impacted and classrooms are increasingly infusing technology into their curriculum to most effectively reach today’s learners." According to the information from the STaR chart data, more and more teachers are moving into the Advanced and Target Tech area. This progress is right in line with the nations progress and both are moving in an upwards trend.

Educator Prep and Development - Teachers are now graduating college having the background to sufficiently implement technology in their classrooms - which in turn motivates students to want to do better. Across the state, there are classes being offered to ensure that all teachers have the information to be able to use the technology in their classrooms. I know that in my district, there are constantly classes being offered on how to implement technology.

In looking at the data from the STaR chart, there has not been as much overall progress made in this area - with most teachers falling in the Developing Tech section; however, there have been improvements over the previous report.

Leadership - The long range plan provides a roadmap for leaders regarding the most effective way to implement technology and expectations for the faculty and staff. According to the STaR chart, leaders are providing the necessary resources to implement technology in the school. Half of all respondents are either Developing Tech or Advanced Tech - with slightly more being Advanced Tech. This is key for our schools - without effective leaders willing to take risks with technology, the teachers would not be provided with the technology they need to implement it in their classrooms. My district is definitely well-equipped with technology - unfortunately not all of it is effectively used.

Infrastructure - This is the section of the STaR Chart that appears to have made the most overall gains with most respondents in the Advanced Tech area. It is imperative to have a sound system in which students and faculty can trust that the system won't "crash" or "jam" up. Nationally and throughout the state the system is constantly being updated to meet the demands of the growing population. According to the report, 96% of homes in Texas have access to home Broadband service - unfortunately, this doesn't mean they all have the service. Although they are making strides nationally, they have set up several goals that will enable them to increase the number of homes having internet access.

References:

Texas Education Agency, (2010). Texas long range plan for technology, 2006-2020 Austin, Texas: Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from http://tpesc.esc12.net/eplan/lrpt.html