EDLD 5352 Section 1122 Thomas Warlick Week 2 Assignment Part 2

The Teaching and Learning Area of the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 reflects the need of shifting the roles of teachers and learners in the traditional classroom. As teachers serve the students of the 21st Century, they must take into account that these students will live in a world that requires the use of technology in every facet. The emphasis of the Long-Range Plan in this area is to actively involve the students in the learning process, instead of strictly recipients of the knowledge. Learning and teaching in the 21st Century must focus on connecting students' real-world experiences to the classroom. The modern classroom will extend beyond the traditional walls of the school. Students will need to be active learners in online and virtual communities to prepare them for real-world collaboration and communication. With the use of technological resources, schools should empower their students with the skills necessary to succeed in a global and digital world.

Progress in the technological teaching and learning area at the national, state, and local areas has increased due to legislative requirements. NCLB addressed the need for improvement by settings national standards for technology use in the classroom. An example of a standard in place is the requirement that all students become technologically literate by the end of their eighth grade year. Legislation has been passed that ensures that schools promote integration of research-based technological instruction in the classroom.

The Texas Campus STaR Chart allows schools to evaluate six focus areas in the teaching and learning key area. The focus areas include patterns of classroom use, frequency and design of the instructional setting using the digital content, technological content area connections, monitoring implementation and student mastery of technology application TEKS, and online learning in the classroom.

The data trends for the teaching and learning key area on the STaR Chart Statewide Summary indicate that most schools statewide in 2007-08 were in the Developing Tech classification. My campus was in the same classification for the 2007-08 and 2006-07 school years, but in 2008-09 report the campus was classified in the Advanced Tech stage. The data reflects the commitment that the local school district and campus has made to integrate technology into the modern 21st Century classroom.

My recommendation in this area is for leadership at the national, state, and local levels to continue to raise and improve standards for the integration of technology in the classroom. The funding needs to be available for schools to successfully meet the commitment to these standards. Teacher preparation and continued professional development will allow the 21st Century educator to meet the needs of all diverse learners regardless of geographical location.