Educator Preparation & Development

The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology relies on growth in four particular areas in order for the vision to be met. The targeted categories include the learners, educators, leaders and infrastructure, and though I believe each one of these is equally important in attaining the plan's goals, I am going to look at the role of the educators in this ambitious plan for the state's educational system.

"Today Texas faces a critical urgency for all professional educators, both current and those who will enter the education system in the future, to have the skills needed to change instruction to meet the needs of this generation of Texas students." (The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, TEA)

The plan stresses the need for educator preparation programs that teach educators how to effectively use technology in the classroom. Once out of school, educators must be able to develop new learning environments that utilize technology as a flexible tool where learning is collaborative, interactive and customized. Furthermore, educators must know how to integrate the appropriate technology throughout all of the curriculum and instruction. These are tall orders and are not something that will happen without the proper training.

More than 5,000 teachers participated in NetDay Speak Up 2005, a survey assessing the use of technology in schools. Among the most interesting responses were that teachers find the primary obstacle to using technology in their classroom to be lack of time, rather than lack of training. Additional barriers include not enough computers and no home access for students.

Most teachers indicated that their pre-service preparation or school-provided professional development aided in their use of technology and all teachers reported a desire for additional professional development with the primary emphasis on integration of technology into the curriculum and instruction. All of these findings fall in line with my personal experience.

Teachers in Texas are primarily using technology in their classrooms to complete administrative tasks, such as communicating by email, taking attendance, analyzing data and recording student grades. While this is a start, it's not where we want to be technology-wise. Teachers need the tools and resources to help them integrate technology into both the curriculum and the instruction.

Resources
The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, TEA, http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html.