My Opinion on Education Preparation and Leadership in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020

The vision for Education Preparation and Leadership in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology calls for teachers to be proficient enough to transform learning through the use of various forms of technology. An additional goal to accompany this vision is that educators realize that the world is fast moving towards technology and that they need to be able to prepare students to thrive in that world. In order to do this, educators need to be willing to learn and attend professional development. I currently work in Somerset ISD and have taught there for 9 years. My district is very adamant about using technology in the classroom. According to the 2009-2010 Campus Improvement plan, teachers will integrate technology in the classroom during 70% of the instructional time. The district has provided a wide range of software, increased Internet access, scanners, projectors, Promethean ActivBoards, laptop carts for student use, Palm Pilots, various video equipment and printers. They are in the process of trying to obtain at least 1 digital camera per classroom and IPods so students can download teacher-created lessons onto them. In the past, our district has obtained both Target and Pave II grants. All of this has occurred within the last 5 years. To go along with this hardware and software, my district has also provided numerous opportunities for technology staff development. This mostly occurs during the summer when teachers have more time to attend training and to also provide the training. Several of our teachers have attended a Promethean Conference and presented their use of technology in the classroom. Each campus has a Technology Instructional Specialist to assist with the use of technology and a great deal of training is provided on our district website for teachers to access at any time. I feel this is more than most school districts offer. The district I live in, which is larger than Somerset, does not provide near the amount of technology in the classroom. The only time my son had access to technology was once every 2 weeks when he rotated to the computer lab. In the 5 years he attended elementary school, I did not see any student computers in the classroom. They were too busy building new schools to accommodate their growth and not spending the funds to update their older schools for the use of technology in the classroom. His current school is just now obtaining Smart Boards and I know of one teacher that actively uses open share programs and various technology such as headphones with microphones. Whereas some schools are vigorously promoting the use of technology, I see others that are still behind the times.