Blog Post #1: Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration

In an effort to promote academic excellence, the state of Texas has created The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. It is divided into three main areas: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. For the purpose of this assignment, I am going to focus on the area of Teaching and Learning.The area of teaching and learning describes how students should interact with technology in order to achieve academic excellence. It was determined that students should have access to all technological resource so that learning can be individualized and take place 24/7. Students should be able to use this technology to collaborate, construct knowledge, and provide solutions to real-world problems. An additional goal is that students will be able to use research-based strategies to improve achievement in all areas. Technology is also a tool for students to be able to communicate effectively. It is not just Texas, but that nation that has seen a boom in technology and has realized the importance it plays in the education of our students. In my district, I have seen great strides being taken in an effort to increase student exposure and education on the use of technology. According to data from the 2008-2009 school year, my campus was classified by the Campus STaR Chart as Developing Technology. During this school year there has been several technology improvements made to include the addition of 4 student computers in each classroom or access to COWs (laptop computers on wheels, up-graded computers for all teachers, and a smart board with projector installed in each classroom. Because of this, I foresee a much higher score on the STaR chart for 2009-2010.My recommendations for continued improvement include a network expansion as the current network the district utilizes has become slow due to the increase in usage. In addition, I would recommend more staff development on the use of technology in the classroom and ways to most successfully integrate it into specific content area TEKS.