Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Week 3 Web Conference
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Texas STaR Chart
Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology
The National Educational Technology Plan 2010 by the Office of Educational Technology of the U.S. Department of Education declared that education must be a priority that is driven by two goals. The plan states that "by 2020, we will raise the proportion of college graduates from where it now stands [39%] so that 60% of our population holds a 2-year or 4-year degree. We will close the achievement gap so that all students – regardless of race, income, or neighborhood – graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers."
The plan goes on to say that "all learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society." Regarding teaching the plan states, "professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners."
To reach these two goals the plan suggests that professsional develoment be collaborative, continuous and convenient. The plan recommends that we develop and adopt technology-based content with online learning that creates opportunities for educators to collaborate with experts and other educators and inspires more effective teaching.
I support this plan, my only concern would be that along with the plan comes funding to help achieve all of our educational goals for both our educators and our students.
Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020
The first Long-Range Plan for Technology, 1988-2000 was adopted twenty years ago. The latest Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 was adopted in 2006. The first Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 discusses the progress of the LRPT from September 2006 to August 2008. These documents can be found on the Texas Education Agency website. Technology has changed and continues to change at an unbelievable pace since 2006. Education has also changed with the introduction of these technologies into our classroom, for administrators, teachers, and students alike. The goal now is to prepare our students to be successful in, as David Warlick states, an unpredictable future, one that we cannot even describe. Legislation was passed by the State of Texas to implement many programs to help achieve this goal. Data from the Texas Campus and Teacher STaR Charts was used to show progress of the plan. The report includes the Interim Report on the Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) and the Interim Report on the Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) as well as a report on all four domains of the LRPT. The services of the education service centers was included in this progress report. According to the Progress Report the programs and initiatives as they impact student and educators are positive. The report states that if the recommendations as set down by the Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 are employed and we teach life long learners of technology for the 21st Century our students will be successful.
Texas Long Range Plan
The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; or Infrastructure for Technology, is posted on the Texas Educaiton Agency website. The report includes recommendations in four areas:
*Teaching and Learning
*Educator Preparation and Development
*Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support
*Infrastructure for Technology
Domain 2: Educator Preparation and Development states that it is very important that educators stay abreast of all the resources available for professional development. (State of Texas, Texas Education Agency, 2006) They must be willing to increase their personal knowledge of teaching and technology and model that knowledge in their classroom. According to the 2008-2009 STaR Chart a majority of teachers rated themselves at the "Develping Tech" level. According the the STaR Chart descriptor that means most of our teachers use technology for administrative tasks and classroom management. They also use some online resources and less then half of them meet SBEC standards. Administrators of these teachers expect them to use technology and less than one quarter of the technology budget is allocated for professional development.
The Educator Preparation and Development is an area that is getting more attention today. Educational needs should drive staff development and technology needs, not the other way around. Mary Burns and SEDL in "From Compliance To Commitment:..." have shown that professional development should embed technology within the curriculum stressing a minimum set of technology skills within a collaborative, learner-centered environment. This strategy proved to be very successful.
Week 2 Web Conference
Our class was required to attend a web conference for Cohart 12 using a web cam and microphone. We logged on and Dr. Borel set up our accounts so that we could all see and hear each other. We used the embedded chat to help each other get videos on and microphones on or off. We received information regarding our Internship and Field-based Experiences and Activities. We discussed the Internship Handbook found in the Resources/Document folder. My experience using the web conferencing website has been smooth. I have been able to log on and participate in the both the practice and a required web conference. I look forward to learning even more exciting uses of technology as we continue on towards our educational goals. I am a technology specialist and I have been involved in technology since "punch cards" and it is still mind boggling to see what technology can do.