Texas Long Range Plan for Technology

The Texas Long Range Plan’s vision is for students to achieve SBEC’s Technology Application Standards by the time they complete eighth grade. The state wants teachers to also have the skills of what is expected of an eighth grade student. Professional Development for teachers is an integral part of the vision. A district cannot expect teachers to know how to use technology with their students if they do not know how to use the technology. Usage of technology is just one aspect of the vision. Educators are expected to create a rich and rigorous environment for their students. The state uses the STaR Chart to help gauge the growth of schools and districts throughout the state. Our district is doing well with their growth and acceptance of a fantastic technology integration experience for the students. From elementary through secondary, our schools have shown a rigorous environment.

Throughout the state schools are looking for ways to utilize online learning. Blogging, forums, and other online learning environment such as Moodle, are great ways to utilize the internet for a greater purpose. Teachers can join these communities during times that are convenient from them. Educators do not have much spare time to go to training, so these online learning environments allow them to work on a project without all of the teachers being present at the same time. As our schools begin utilizing online learning environments for professional development, they will then be more likely to use the same environments with their students.

STaR

Campus STaR Chart

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by imaknight | Upload your own presentation

The halls of our school are talking.

As I work with many different teachers I see so many of them using a wide variety of technological tools. Many of the third grade classrooms are using Twitter as a useful communication tool. My favorite use of Twitter with these students was when I saw one class where a child had a week as the scribe. The students in the classroom take turns and get to "Tweet" the classroom events throughout the week. What a great use! Students will benefit from the use of Twitter and gain summary skills with the added benefit of great enjoyment. In many other classrooms, teachers are blogging with their students. Isn't this a great way to get students excited about writing? I see fourth grade classrooms utilizing Moodle which has forums, choice-surveys, chats, and so many more features to utilize with writing and other subjects. The Librarian is Skyping with video to a UP family who is touring the world. The librarian is then reading stories to correlate with the areas the family is visiting.




These wonderful examples of how global our school has become is amazing. The dedication of the teachers at UP is amazing and the students will benefit from these wonderful staff members.