STaR Chart Presentation

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Big STaR Chart Across Texas

This week I had a chance to review and study my campus' STaR Chart report. A STaR Chart is a technology survey developed by the state of Texas to see where teachers feel their campus is when it comes to technology. I looked at the past three years worth of data. There are four areas the state looks at; Area I - Teaching and Learning, Area II - Educator Preparation and Development, Area III - Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support and Area IV - Infrastructure for Technology. My campus has improved greatly in the area of Infrastructure for Technology for the past three years. We went from a 16 to a 19, with a 24 being the best. This category discusses various technologies in the classroom, Internet access, number of computers per student, technical support, local networks and distance learning. Our campus is right in line with the majority of districts in Texas. 57 % of the school districts say they are also at the Advanced Level. I believe that my district and campus have made great improvement and continue to advance each year. I do, however, believe that we still need more technology hardware in the classrooms such as SmartBoards, document readers, clickers and presentation systems to move to the Target Level. As technology improves and becomes more economical more and more schools will move into the Advanced Level and even the Target Level. I think my campus will be at the Target Level with one to two years.

Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS

When reviewing the technology TEKS for Pre-K students I find that the student will be able to do more than one might think. For instance they will be able to interact with and navigate through software and age appropriate websites. They will be able to use and operate input devices such as the mouse, keyboard, touch screen and voice/sound recorders. They will also be able to create and express their own ideas. Lastly and most important the Pre-K students will be able to learn new information while using technology. Learning while using technology will truly be the way of the future, if not today.

The TEKS for Pre-K lay a solid foundation for the students as the students will advance in their knowledge of technology. As the student get older their abilities will need to advance. They will not only be expected to know how to interact on a website, but how to search the Internet for meaningful information. They will also need to be able to create an appropriate presentation with the information found.

The TEKS spirals these objectives through-out the students public school career. For instance the ability to use various input devices (mouse, keyboard, etc.) is an objective from Pre-K to the 5th grade. Being able to publish a printed copy, monitor display, Internet documents and a video is an objective from the 3rd grade to the 8th grade. With the TEKS objectives spiraling through over and again for multiple years this allows students to grasp the entire concept of that objective and to truly master it.

The great thing about the technology TEKS is that they can be implemented in all subject areas. These are not only taught in a computer or technology class. Technology is used in every class from math to English and many electives. This means the students have many opportunities to sharpen theirs skills and master all technology objectives.

Texas' Technology Education Plan for 2020

After reviewing Texas' technology plan for 2020 I have to agree with it. I believe that all schools should have access to the Internet through broadband 24 hours a day 7 a weeks without interruption. I also really like the idea of students being able to have the choice of distance learning to challenge themselves or to be able to take classes that their local district does not offer such as duel credit and various electives. The 2020 vision also includes the need to keep teacher up to date on new technology and information on how to use the technology. This is extremely important. A teacher can not be expected to capture all students and keep their attention when using outdated technology and slowing moving lessons due to old equipment. In today's times the students usually know more than the teachers when it comes to technology and how to use it, at least doing the cool stuff. If the teachers can integrate never seen before software into their lessons than the students will be interested and want to be involved.

As a campus leader, I must have a vision and goals for the school and the teachers must not only know my vision and goals, but must buy-in and believe in them as well. The goals for administrators and leaders, of 2020 , will help the teachers to be prepared to use technology in a classroom everyday with confidence and comfort. This will may "buy-in" much easier.

Reflections of Technology Assessments

I recently had to take a couple technology assessments for a master's program. One was a technology application inventory which is produced by the state of Texas. The questions were yes and no answers, "Do you know what this is or what that is?" The domains covered Foundations of Technology, Information Acquisition, Solving Problems with Technology and the forth was Communication with Technology. I thought the questions covered all aspects of technology in education. I fill fairly comfortable with my knowledge of technology and would enjoy learning more. However this particular inventory shows I do have some... many weaknesses. The Foundation domain covered files types, copyrights, networks, etc. I understand how to save various files and why you save something as a different file. Where I struggle is with network committees and platforms. In the second domain, Information Acquisition, my results were split down the middle - 5 yes and 5 no. I can search for information on the Internet, but I don't know how to check for it's validity. I know what a search engine is, but again I'm not sure what a directory is. So I still have a good amount to learn in this domain. The next domain is Solving Problems. This was my best with 13 yes' and only 5 no's. This domain, to me, is technology I deal with on a daily basis as a teacher. Writing tests, editing documents, using graphics, paint, and integrating various subjects into my lessons. The last domain in the survey is Communication. I thought this would be a strong domain for me. I email daily with parents and colleagues. However, my results were again split down the middle - 6 yes and 6 no. As much as I email, I do not create newsletter, websites or databases for presentations. So according to the state I'm mediocre at best.

The second survey I had to take was SETDA survey. The questions in this survey were formatted with answer choices such as, pick all that apply, a range of 5 choices (agree, strongly agree, etc.) I will have to say many of these answers I have no clue on because, even though the questions are geared to teachers, I don't know what over teachers in other subject do in their classes. I also an not sure of the campus' and district's technology goals. This survey left me more frustrated due to the length (26 pages) and the fact I knew very little about technology in the school where I work.

Hopefully in the course I am taking I will have the opportunity to learn more about technology and understand how to do more as well.