Saturday, September 5, 2009

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology 2006 – 2020

The key to student success is making sure that students are fully engaged in their education and learning. The use of technology brings the world into the classroom and it also levels the playing field for all students. Distance learning offers all schools the tools they need to assist individual students in a variety of ways. Challenges however present themselves in that technology needs to be integrated seamlessly and aligned with the curriculum. Teachers need to mentor, facilitate, and exhibit flexibility and explore new ideas with technology.
Forney High School has shown a slight decrease in its progress toward reaching Target Tech. In 2006-2007, this campus was rated as Advanced Tech. Over the next two years, the classification for Forney HS decreased to Developing Tech. It appears that these results are consistent with the campus statewide results of a Developing Tech rating.
My recommendation to help foster the advancement from Developing Tech to Advanced Tech for Forney High School would be to assist the administration by providing relevant, hands-on staff development that incorporates a seamless integration of technology. Teachers need to be provided more one on one, just in time training to help them develop engaging technology integrated lessons. Students need tools and support to do new things in new ways. Studies show that educational technology is highly affected by student population, the software design, the role of the educator, and the level of student access to the technology. If everyone has the same goal in mind, student engagement and higher performance, then progress will be inevitable.