STaR Chart opinion piece

Technology is an area that I do not feel very comfortable with. When I look at our campus STaR chart, I notice that the area of Educator Preparation and Development is an area that our campus needs to improve in. When I look at the different levels of this area, I notice many things that our campus and even our district are not doing to help support our integration of technology. We have staff development in the summer to teach us how to use new technology, but we are not taught how to integrate this new technology into our curriculum. We are also not given the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers in the same grade level across the district to find ways to integrate all of this technology into our classroom. Teachers must be able to appropriately integrate this technology into the curriculum in order for our students to benefit from it.

We want our students to be life-long learners, and we also need to continue to learn as educators. In order for our students to continue to grow and be successful in the future, we have to lay the technology foundation for our students. I teach at an elementary, and I feel like many of the students know more about technology than I do. I think many teachers fear the “unknown”. Also, in order for students to be able to use technology in a way that will make them creative thinkers, teachers have to give up some control of their classroom in a way they are not used to doing. I think teachers have to continue to learn more and change their way of teaching.

Also, when I look at the Educator Preparation and Development area, I see this area as having a direct impact on the area of Teaching and Learning. I think if teachers had more support, they would be able to implement more technology in their classroom. I think the staff development of integrating technology needs to continue to be ongoing throughout the year, not just in the summer when school is not even in session for you to use the ideas right away.

Through looking at the STaR Chart, I have really been thinking more and more about my teaching in my classroom. It has really made me analyze the activities that I have my students do in the content areas. I have also thought about ways to change those lessons to integrate technology and still teach the same concept.

The Long-rang plan for technology, 2006-2020. (2006). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html.

School technology and readiness. (2009). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from http://starchart.esc12.net/.