Technology Leadership

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020:
Educator Preparation and Development

The basic vision of this section of the Long-Range Plan for Technology deals with necessity to adapt instruction in order to meet the needs of the 21st Century Student. Students need to understand they need to be life-long learners in all aspects of their education and that includes technology. As teachers, we must incorporate technology to support the curriculum and learning experiences that are dependent upon technology only. New teachers and experienced teachers must be aware of and model the appropriate use of technology. it is also necessary to provide continuous professional development, and just as important, the opportunity for teachers to plan and incorporate the new knowledge into lessons.

Progress that has been made in all areas but few have hit "target" for our campus. Preparation and Development is still a weak area. In regards to connecting the state goals, and campus goals there seems to have been a stalemate. Our campus score has stayed in the "advanced" range from 2006-2009, but the number has increased from 16 to 20. Technology training by the campus has definitely increased, but opportunities for teachers to explore the integration of technology and their curriculum is a downfall.

Trends in an increase in the leadership and instructional support and in the infrastructure for technology has increased. The availability of technology to teachers and students is adequate and now the building of support is an urgent charge of supporting technology integration into the 21st century classroom.

Recommendations to the school district are to give principals the adequate resources to provide and promote the technology expectations set forth by district administrators. Principals must model and provide essential leadership and instructional support in order to articulate clear expectations for their faculty and staff. Teachers must use and incorporate the technology opportunities afforded them for the promoting of their students to be technologically driven and ready in the 21st century.


Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020

Technology has become the focal point of the “21st century learner”. With the national education scene rapidly changing, states and districts must begin preparing our students for a new wave of life long learning. Across the nation, technology is quickly overtaking the traditional schooling techniques, however, not enough progress has been made on the local, state, and national levels. It is time for educators to begin to focus their efforts on preparing our students for the future by focus on the “Teaching and Learning” portion of Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology. This focuses on learning for all students in preparation for the 21st century. Including areas for students to collaboratively learn and expand their classroom beyond the walls of the traditional school. Teachers are encouraged to engage their students in distance learning opportunities and begin serving as more of a facilitator of learning, rather than the sole source of information.

According to the Campus Statewide summary for 2008, this area is one of the weaker areas. Only 26.4% of the schools are classified as either Advanced Tech or Target Tech. Most of the schools, 69.7%, are in the Developing Tech area. The goal is that by 2020 the majority of schools are in the Target Tech area. This trend holds true for RBMS as well. According to STaR chart data, this is one of lower areas for our campus. Each year has been better, but this area has yet to even reach the Advanced Tech stage.

My recommendations for this area are simple. Student learning is the focus for education. Currently our campus, according to 2008-2009 data, has received an Advanced Tech rating for two of the four areas. We have the infrastructure and our administration is providing the necessary supports. It is time for teachers to put into practice the knowledge they are gaining from all of the other supports. I feel that asking teachers to include technological strategies in each unit could help tremendously in improving this area. In addition, making data, such as STaR chart data, more available to our teachers, will help them see where improvements needed.

The U. S. Department of Education: National Educational Technology Plan: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology

The U.S. Department of Education’s draft of the National Technology Plan: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology lists the goals of the Obama administration as being: first, to increase the percentage of college graduates that hold either a two or four year diploma. The second goal is to ensure that all students are prepared to be successful in college or career pursuits upon graduation from high school. These are aggressive goals as outlined above. To accomplish these goals we must have regular evaluation, seek innovation, have prompt implementation, and constantly strive for improvement. Every school must have the opportunity to take advantage of the success. The programs must be strategic and coherent.
The goals are to have students with access 24/7 to the most current technologies available. There should be assessments in place that access the full range of competencies related to standards. The collection of data will be imperative to the program’s success. Educators and administrators will need to be provided the support and professional development programs to determine if the program is successful at all levels.
There are five areas in which the program focuses on. The first is assessment. We need to measure what matters. President Obama has called on our nation’s governors and state education leaders to develop standards that measure 21st century competencies and expertise. The second area of the program is teaching. This model focuses on teachers having the knowledge and skills necessary to teach the students. In this connected teaching model, the connection replaces isolation. Teaching becomes a team activity. In the third area, infrastructure is defined as people, processes, learning resources, policies, and sustainable models for continuous improvement. In addition to this is broadband connectivity, servers, software, management systems, and administrative tools. The forth area in this program is productivity. Education should learn from business. In the uncertain economic times we are living in, education could take lessons from the business sector. Education should reflect the times in which we live. The last area of this program is R and D. This plan calls for an organization with the mission of serving public good through research and development