Long-Range Plan

This assignment really opened my eyes to what Texas has planned in technology for all schools. It sounds very ambitious, but I truly believe we can reach its goals. I was very impressed with the recommendations given for each area: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. Being familiar with the plan will allow me as an adminstrator to make sure my school is working towards the goal. I will be able to assess progress and make plans accordingly.

Spiral and Scaffolding Curriculum

A spiral curriculum involves periodically revisiting key skills throughout a curriculum. Each time an idea is revisited it is done at a higher level of difficulty that is consistent with the learner's prior knowledge and abilities. It tries to not only build on that knowledge but also to go deeper. Students are encouraged to explore their own learning and eventually take responsibility for their own individual learning process. Scaffolding deals with the guidance provided by more skilled learners. It usually involves a three-step sequence. It starts by the adults or more skilled learners taking on most of the responsibility to complete a task. The second step calls for the adult or more skilled learner to contribute equally with the learner to complete a task. In the last step, the learner is responsible for completing a task on their own.

I chose to review the TEKS for the K-2 grade cluster. In the Foundations Domain, students will revisit the key skill of language skills including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, word division, and use of numbers and symbols throughout each grade level. They will improve each time as they acquire new knowledge and skills.

Pre-K Guidelines

Pre-K students will be able to use the computer to perform basic operations such as opening and navigating through software programs. They will use the mouse correctly and be able to name computer input devices. Students will use a CD/tape player, voice/sound recordings, and touch screen devices appropriately. They will use software applications to create and express their own ideas and recognize that technology allows them to access information.

This is the foundation of all learning to come. Students know what a computer does and what it is used for. They are able to use it to perform basic operations. This allows them in future grades to move beyond the bare bones functioning of the computer to more creative and interactive aspects.

Survey

The Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA survey results honestly surprised me. I thought that I was fairly computer literate, but after taking these surveys I feel like I am in the Stone Age of computer knowledge.

On the Foundations domain, I had 5 "yes" responses and 13 "no" responses. I had no idea what it was talking about with some of the questions such as interfacing digital and analog technology. I had 4 "yes" responses out of 10 in the Information Acquisition Domain, 9 "yes" responses out of 18 in the Solving Problems with Techology Tools, and 6 "yes" responses out of 12 in the Communication Domain. It is very humbling to feel you know next to nothing about technology. What is pretty sad is I am considered to know more about computers than many of our other faculty members. Obviously I have to strengthen all four domains since I am weak in all of them.

I chose to take the SETDA teacher survey. This was an interesting survey to take because it asked questions about technology that I had not thought about before. The general outcome of the survey revealed a couple of things to me. First, I have room to grow with technology both personally and in my classroom. I knew we had Kindergarten technology standards, but they had never really been talked about or given priority. I've already started looking at ways to integrate more technology into my classroom. Second, my school is trying to grow in technology use, but there are many areas such as access and funding issues that need to be addressed. I have the same computers from 9 years ago when I first began teaching. Another area my school can grow in is technology professional development. We rely heavily on Region 7 to address this area. It would be great to have workshops that really are tailored specifically for our school.

So, in a nutshell, my school district and I have plenty of room to grow in technology.