As educators, our primary concern should be teaching and student learning. Ultimately, learning is the goal of schools. The state of Texas understands the importance of technology and education. There are numerous applications for technology in the classroom. Technology can make teachers more efficient, students more engaged, and community members better informed.
The Texas School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart evaluates technology implementation within schools. The STaR Chart uses four key areas to evaluate progress. I believe that Teaching and Learning is the most important area of the four. Teaching and Learning evaluates six sub-areas. These sub-areas include patterns of classroom use, frequency/design of instructional setting, content area connections, technology applications TEKS implementation, student mastery of technology applications, and online learning. My campus has made some improvement in Teaching and Learning. My campus earned a cumulative score of 15, garnering an Advanced Tech designation. The lowest sub-area score is online learning. My district has not embraced online learning. There are numerous professional development opportunities within the district, and teachers have been reluctant to participate in online learning ventures. The second lowest sub-area score is in content area connections. My district is beginning to create technology professional development specific to content areas. I believe this will help increase scores in this sub-area. In the state of Texas, campuses overwhelming earn a Developing Tech designation.
I believe teachers would most benefit from opportunities to collaborate with common content area teachers. Many teachers across the district are incorporating technology in new and innovative ways. These teachers should have the opportunity to share their knowledge and success. We have the resources within my district, we need to create a forum to although teachers to collaborate and learn from each other.
