Sunday, November 22, 2009
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.
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How is your campus' access for students? I feel like my school has a ton of hardware, but that the kids rarely get to use it. That's probably our biggest weakness in terms of technology.
ReplyDeleteHow often are the students holding the smartboard pens or sitting in front of computers?
The student access is decent. They get to use computers in the library were ever they want and after school. I let them use the smartboard about two or three times a week. I just depends on what I'm teaching. Their favorite thing to do is erase the past classes notes.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI blogged about the same thing! Infrastructure is really important when trying to improve technology. I remembered from the discussion board that you got to order a Smartboard for your class. I am guessing that not all classes have these. Is something the your staff is looking to getting for all of you?
You have a great blog! Keep up the great work!
I really wish my campus had a STaR Chart to evaluate. I think this is such a valuable tool fou you all to use with your campuses. If you end up acually being able to use your powerpoint on your campus, maybe you could secretly snap some pictures of teachers using the technology and include them in the the presentation! That would really be neat. I'm not sure if that would encourage or deter others from implementing it though ;)
ReplyDelete