Texas STaR Chart Presentation

Presentation prepared for Lamar University EDLD 5352

STaR Chart - Teaching and Learning

The STaR Chart is an evaluation instrument used by the state of Texas education system to monitor and evaluate the level of progress schools are obtaining developing technology in their education environments. STaR is an acronym for School Technology And Readiness. The evaluation(chart) is broken into four categories: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation, Administration and Support, and Infrastructure.
I will will discuss Teaching and Learning in this blog as it pertains to the Jim Ned High School campus data as well as statewide data. The campus is classified as Developing Tech. Most odf the six areas surveyed were given 2's as answers. A 2 is a developing tech . As one of the teachers that took the STar chart assessment I think I can discuss these results with some expertise. I would say that the results are a fair representation of my personal results. I think I can speak for many of my fellow educators when I say that there is a frustration revolving around the use of technology. As we see much progress on our campus with infrastructure with better servers and school wide WAN systems, teachers feel as though they are ill prepared to use the technology with the amount of training they have received to this date. There is definitely a push by our administration to use technology in the classroom, and I and other teachers fully embrace this idea. The problem becomes to find professional development that will provide teachers with the hands on information they need to actually use the technology to assimilate their curriculum. It is my opinion that right now the technology infrastructures are beyond our abilities to use. One example is that we have school wide wireless Internet connections but we also have filters that do not allow teachers to access websites that would be beneficial. This is one of the problems that must be solved so educators do not become disenchanted with the process. People who teach classes at Service Centers have never used these technologies in the actual classrooms, so it is hard for teachers to trust such training. We must find a way for Advanced and Target Tech level teachers to collaborate with early and developing tech teachers such as myself.

Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS

At the end of a students prekindergarten years the following are the outcomes expected of the students as far as technology applications are concerned:
The child can open and navigate through software programs designed to enhance development of appropriate concepts.
The child use a variety of computer input devices such as mouse, keyboard, voice/sound recorder,touch screen, C.D ROM.
The child operates voice/sound recorders and touch screens.
The child uses software applications to create and express own ideas.
The child recognizes that information is accessible through the use of technology.

The technology applications TEKS are designed to be a "SPIRALING CURRICULUM". A spiraling curriculum is an educational method of building upon knowledge by revisiting a concept using different forms of representation in a continuing cycle and at a higher level of complexity.
The Texas TEKS for technology applications constantly allows the student a reinforcing curriculum such as building upon the type of software the student is engaged with and continually reinforcing the ethical practices of using internet resources.

Long Range Technology Plan Analysis

The long range plan on technology in Texas schools titled Vision 2020 is a comprehensive explanation and plan for growth in technology of the 21st Century school system. Vision 2020 begins with an explanation of why there is a need for change in the way curriculum is delivered to the students. The goal in teaching and learning must be to empower young citizens to to live and learn in a continuously changing 21st Century environment and to enable them to interact in a global marketplace.

The study lays out a plan to achieve goals, where basically every student in Texas will have access to all digital tools and resources available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week appropriate to individual strengths, needs, and learning styles. It describes how current teachers must change and how new teachers must be trained to facilitate this 21st Century technology approach to teaching and learning. It explains that their must be change from the top down as administration and leadership must model the practices of technology use. The infrastructure of the schools must be addressed for the entire vision 2020 to take place.

After studying the Vision 2020 long range plan I have a better understanding of how I must embrace new ideas and become an expert of sorts in new ways of using technology to deliver learning to an increasingly diverse population of students. As an administrator I will have to find ways to provide proper training and development of all educators.

Texas Education Technology Surveys

Every time I take a technology survey, which is at least once a year, I come away feeling inadequate. When I took the Technology Applications Inventory it was much the same feeling. Even though I was able to give affirmative answers on 40 of the 58 survey questions I felt that many of those yes answers were at the minimum range for saying yes. I use a significant amount of technology in the classroom in comparison to my practices only two years ago. The SETDA teacher survey was somewhat less ominous. This survey does not ask quite as specific and technical questions as the Technology Applications Inventory. I felt like I might have been a little above the curve after completing the SETDA. I am lucky to currently be at a school district that is taking a serious approach to increasing technology in the education of its students. The school board is currently providing i-Pod touches for each high school student. The faculty is currently training to prepare to use these instruments as learning tools.
Even though I did not really enjoy taking the Technology Applications Inventory I can see where it can be a useful assessment to see specifically where Texas educators are in their journey on the technology super-highway. I would rank myself somewhere above average , but I still have a lot to learn, and will continue to do so.