In looking at the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, the area of Educator Preparation and Development stands out. We are no longer just integrating technology into our current lesson plans. We are shifting our realm of thinking because of technology. Not preparing our teachers to meet this change is not satisfactory.
Because the shift in thinking is so drastic, we must have staff development that meets the needs of the teachers. This training must include modeling the use of devices and also modeling in the lesson planning process and implementation. As teachers become successful implementing the basics of their learning, they will be motivated for tackling more difficult areas such as anytime, anywhere learning.
Educator Preparation and Development consists of the six categories of Content of Professional Development, Models of Professional Development, Capabilities of Educators, Access to Professional Development, Levels of Understanding and Patterns of Use, and Professional Development for Online Learning. Excelling in these categories means teachers are so confident and capable that they are able to demonstrate and mentor others as they use technology to empower students to be critical thinkers. These teachers log up to 30 or more hours of technology staff development and readily implement content learned through online coursework.
The scores for my campus have been stagnating over the last three years, putting us with 74% of the state’s teachers. I feel if we could achieve the classification of “Developing Technology” three years ago, we should have progressed to “Advanced Technology” by now. The score of “1” in the Access to Professional Development category is especially alarming. If teachers do not have access to learning, the program has no hope.
