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Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
E-Rate for Schools and Libraries
This presentation will fill you in on the basics of the E-rate discount program for schools and libraries for technology and telecommunications.
E rate for Schools and Libraries
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Saturday, March 5, 2011
The National Educational Technology Plan
The U.S. Department of Education has published a draft of the National Educational Technology Plan: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. The 21st Century learners must be involved in their own learning. They will not be passive learners. Students will use the capabilities of technology to participate fully. The schools must determine what students need to learn, when and where they should learn, how best to teach them, and how to focus these learners using the power of technology. Teachers can collaborate with other teachers using technology and determine the best strategies for teaching and learning. The classrooms will be fully connected to the internet with access to the information and tools to process the information. Teachers will be able to attend professional development sessions without leaving their own classrooms. The plan provides five goals along with recommendations necessary to achieve the five goals. For learning, schools need to adopt standards that reflect 21st century skills and the uses of technology to help achieve mastery of these standards. In assessment, teachers should use technology to increase timely feedback, find ways for both formative and summative evaluations, and protect privacy for these assessments. Teachers must have administrative support and learn to work in collaborative teams. The teachers will use technology for input, curricular information, software and application processes, and for finding other teachers or experts who can help with content or strategies. Schools must have the infrastructure necessary to provide technology and internet access to all stakeholders. The most difficult goal lies in productivity. The plan recommends that education be redefined from the amount of seat time to mastery of the standards. Technology should be used to make sure that all students who leave the school system are ready to apply their knowledge in the work force. The plan also points out that teachers in the American school system are provided less time for professional development and personal learning than teachers in other countries. I think that this is one of our biggest problems. The research has shown that teachers who keep learning and growing are more effective in the classroom. Even knowing what the research says, I don’t think that we will be getting any additional study time for teachers.
United States Department of Education Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming American education: Learning powered by technology. Retrieved from: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf.
United States Department of Education Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming American education: Learning powered by technology. Retrieved from: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf.
Reflection on the 2010 Progress Report for The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology
The 2010 Progress Report for the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology summarizes the improvements in the implementation of technology in Texas classrooms since 2008. The Progress Report outlines how the state is providing the technology necessary for the 21st century learners. The first section of the Progress Report discusses the effects of technology in the key area of Teaching and Learning. This is the section that I am most interested in and so my comments below will apply to this section of the Progress Report.
Over the course of the two year period under review in this Progress Report, the number of teachers who have reported increasing from developing tech to advanced tech on the STaR Chart has increased. I think that teachers are becoming increasingly more comfortable with the level of technology required to teach today’s students. In addition, the revisions in the Technology Applications TEKS helped define the necessary content for students. The state has also provided a number of grants to help schools implement technology and to research the impact of technology on student achievement. I would have liked to have been invited to participate in the Technology Immersion Pilots (TIP) program. Every student was given a laptop to use at school and to take home. The teachers and the students reported an increased student learning level that they attributed to the availability of personal technology options. But I was disappointed to read of these grant opportunities of which I was not aware. The report listed so many ways to get additional technology funding that I did not know about. Where do we find this kind of information? Our district has a grant writer but I don’t think that we applied for these grants listed in the Progress Report. Our district does not participate in the Texas Virtual High School Network. I don’t think that anyone has discussed the opportunity with the school stakeholders. I could see the benefits for some of the students but I’m just not sure about the advantage to taking a complete high school sequence at home alone. Our district does collaborate with the community college that many of our students will attend after high school. We offer dual credit courses over an Interactive Television Conferencing network. We also offer math and science courses but they are on-campus courses taught by high school teachers as adjunct professors. In the past, we offered calculus by ITV and found that many of the students needed more tutoring that could be provided using this format. The state continues to search for new ways to provide the best information to our students in ways such as online databases, digital textbooks, open source textbooks, and online tutoring programs. I am beginning to worry that teachers will be extraneous soon!
The report continues with updates in the key areas of Education Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure.
Education Preparation and Development is provided in large part by the twenty regional Educational Service Centers (ESCs). Each region is tasked with finding quality professional development for the schools in their area. In addition, Project Share has been developed to assist teachers to collaborate in professional learning communities, join in professional development courses, and find technology assets for use in the classroom and for continuing learning themselves.
Texas has advanced in the area of Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support by using the STaR Chart to assist with needs assessments and budget decisions for technology. The Educational Technology Advisory Committee (ETAC) stands ready to assist the Texas Education Agency with revisions to the Long-Range Plan so that the plan will remain valid for state and local leaders. The school leaders must maintain a vision of improved student achievement using the implementation of technology.
The Infrastructure of Texas school systems has also improved in the two years since the last Progress Report. The number of schools at the Advanced level has increased over the two year period between 2008 and 2010. Many schools have taken the opportunities provided by many different grants for the purpose of increasing technology tools in schools. But more work remains to bolster the connectivity with high-speed access for all schools and to replace equipment that is breaking down after extensive use.
References
The Texas Education Agency. (2010). 2010 progress report on the long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. Retrieved from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us.
Over the course of the two year period under review in this Progress Report, the number of teachers who have reported increasing from developing tech to advanced tech on the STaR Chart has increased. I think that teachers are becoming increasingly more comfortable with the level of technology required to teach today’s students. In addition, the revisions in the Technology Applications TEKS helped define the necessary content for students. The state has also provided a number of grants to help schools implement technology and to research the impact of technology on student achievement. I would have liked to have been invited to participate in the Technology Immersion Pilots (TIP) program. Every student was given a laptop to use at school and to take home. The teachers and the students reported an increased student learning level that they attributed to the availability of personal technology options. But I was disappointed to read of these grant opportunities of which I was not aware. The report listed so many ways to get additional technology funding that I did not know about. Where do we find this kind of information? Our district has a grant writer but I don’t think that we applied for these grants listed in the Progress Report. Our district does not participate in the Texas Virtual High School Network. I don’t think that anyone has discussed the opportunity with the school stakeholders. I could see the benefits for some of the students but I’m just not sure about the advantage to taking a complete high school sequence at home alone. Our district does collaborate with the community college that many of our students will attend after high school. We offer dual credit courses over an Interactive Television Conferencing network. We also offer math and science courses but they are on-campus courses taught by high school teachers as adjunct professors. In the past, we offered calculus by ITV and found that many of the students needed more tutoring that could be provided using this format. The state continues to search for new ways to provide the best information to our students in ways such as online databases, digital textbooks, open source textbooks, and online tutoring programs. I am beginning to worry that teachers will be extraneous soon!
The report continues with updates in the key areas of Education Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure.
Education Preparation and Development is provided in large part by the twenty regional Educational Service Centers (ESCs). Each region is tasked with finding quality professional development for the schools in their area. In addition, Project Share has been developed to assist teachers to collaborate in professional learning communities, join in professional development courses, and find technology assets for use in the classroom and for continuing learning themselves.
Texas has advanced in the area of Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support by using the STaR Chart to assist with needs assessments and budget decisions for technology. The Educational Technology Advisory Committee (ETAC) stands ready to assist the Texas Education Agency with revisions to the Long-Range Plan so that the plan will remain valid for state and local leaders. The school leaders must maintain a vision of improved student achievement using the implementation of technology.
The Infrastructure of Texas school systems has also improved in the two years since the last Progress Report. The number of schools at the Advanced level has increased over the two year period between 2008 and 2010. Many schools have taken the opportunities provided by many different grants for the purpose of increasing technology tools in schools. But more work remains to bolster the connectivity with high-speed access for all schools and to replace equipment that is breaking down after extensive use.
References
The Texas Education Agency. (2010). 2010 progress report on the long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. Retrieved from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us.
My Opinion about the Texas Long-Range Technology Plan and Educator Preparation
The Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 (2006) contains a plan for educator preparation and development. The challenge for teachers lies in being prepared to integrate technology that is not familiar to them. Teachers must continue to develop the technology skills through professional development opportunities and collaboration. The teacher education programs must train new teachers in the correct use of technology as well. Teachers, especially in critical shortage areas, should learn to provide distance learning courses so that all students will have an equal opportunity for these courses. The report provides recommendations for educator preparation and development.
In my opinion, teachers are not being pushed hard enough to adopt the use of technology in their classrooms. Our students deserve the best teachers with their best effort to teach students how to use these new tools for education. Too many teachers still believe that the students should be able to learn as they themselves learned in the classroom. Teachers still think that students should be able to sit and passively receive information from the teaching expert. On the other hand, I think that there are issues with the quality of professional development opportunities provided for teachers and educational leaders. By the time a workshop is developed, some of the technology is no longer current. In addition, some teachers will become comfortable with a software program and its implementation in their classroom and then they will not want to use a different product. The work for teachers who use technology does not end because there is always some new product to improve learning. Veteran teachers have been accustomed to developing a curriculum based upon a textbook. The curriculum would not have to be changed until a new textbook is adopted. The textbook adoption process takes years so these teachers did not have to really “work” on how to best present the content of their courses except in ten-year intervals. New teachers who have grown up with technology will also have to be taught how to use these tools appropriately. They will need to change their mindset from abbreviations and text shorthand to suitable and correct adult language. But most of all, teachers will have to learn to depend upon each other to share technology strategies so that our students will get the very finest education possible.
References
Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. (November 2006). Retrieved from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=5082&menu_id=2147483665.
In my opinion, teachers are not being pushed hard enough to adopt the use of technology in their classrooms. Our students deserve the best teachers with their best effort to teach students how to use these new tools for education. Too many teachers still believe that the students should be able to learn as they themselves learned in the classroom. Teachers still think that students should be able to sit and passively receive information from the teaching expert. On the other hand, I think that there are issues with the quality of professional development opportunities provided for teachers and educational leaders. By the time a workshop is developed, some of the technology is no longer current. In addition, some teachers will become comfortable with a software program and its implementation in their classroom and then they will not want to use a different product. The work for teachers who use technology does not end because there is always some new product to improve learning. Veteran teachers have been accustomed to developing a curriculum based upon a textbook. The curriculum would not have to be changed until a new textbook is adopted. The textbook adoption process takes years so these teachers did not have to really “work” on how to best present the content of their courses except in ten-year intervals. New teachers who have grown up with technology will also have to be taught how to use these tools appropriately. They will need to change their mindset from abbreviations and text shorthand to suitable and correct adult language. But most of all, teachers will have to learn to depend upon each other to share technology strategies so that our students will get the very finest education possible.
References
Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. (November 2006). Retrieved from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=5082&menu_id=2147483665.
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