EDLD 5352 EA 1122 Thomas Warlick Week 1 Assignment Part 4 Technology Application TEKS Summary

The goal of the technology applications TEKS in the Pre-Kindergarten educational setting is to enhance students ability to acquire knowledge, problem solve, and communicate with others. Exposing and giving students regular access to computers at this age is a key part of the objectives. As mentioned in previous posts, the goal of the Technology Applications TEKS is to prepare students for the 21st Century economy that weighs so heavily on technology. The first step in this process is at the Pre-Kindergarten stage where students are exposed to a variety of technology resources. By exposing these students to these resources, the foundation is laid as students move into 21st Century elementary and secondary classrooms.

In review of the TEKS, students are expected to use basic computer input devices while navigating computer software that is age appropriate. The TEK that I found interesting was the one that expected students to be able to create and express their own ideas using technology. The examples of this included students writing and drawing using technology. Education has come a long way since the day of crayons and a Big Chief tablet. The students are expected to recognize that information is accessible through technology via resources like the Internet. While the skills seem overwhelming to a secondary teacher, as a parent of children that have grown up in the 21st Century, these skills are very age appropriate.

A spiraling curriculum is one that builds upon previous knowledge by revisiting a concept using different forms of representation in a continuing cycle and at a higher level of complexity. An example of the Technology Application TEKS being a spiraling curriculum is comparing the grades 6-8 Technology Applications (Computer Literacy) TEKS and the grades 9-12 Computer Science TEKS.

In the grades 6-8 foundations strand, students are demonstrating their ability to do various technology skills. While in the Computer Science objectives, students are expected to make decisions while using the various technology skills.

In the information acquisition strand, grade 6-8 students are expected to locate information using the Internet and apply strategies to locate information. In the high school TEKS, students are expected to use the information they locate in research and resource sharing. Instead of simply carrying out search strategies, they are expected to construct the strategies.

Within the grade 6-8 problem solving strand, students are expected to participate and complete tasks in electronic communities and collaboration. The high school students are expected to participate in learning environments that extend beyond the classroom walls and are meaningful activities within a larger community.

The communications strand in high school expects students to publish information in a variety ways not limited to basic software, Internet documents, and video. In the grade 6-8 TEKS, students are expected to use basic technology resources to publish information for others to read or view.

The comparison of the TEKS between grades 6-8 and 9-12 demonstrate how concepts are revisited and built upon to increase the complexity. The spiraling of this curriculum guarantees student learning is increasing on a step by step basis as one move through technology application coursework.