Kip from the movie "Napoleon Dynamite" said it best when he seronaded his bride with his ode to technology. So do the teachers of Texas share the same passion for technology? Well that is why the state of Texas has come up with the STaR Chart. I have to admit, the first few times I received the email stating that I needed to complete this chart, I scoffed and went on checking my parent emails. It was not until I wised up and spoke with an administrator that I found out the meaning behind this survey. So when we started up our most recent class at Lamar University (Go Cardinals!) I was anxious to find out more about this STaR survey.
So what does STaR stand for? School Technology and Readiness. The seriousness of this is actually transforming. Ultimately, we as educators must look within ourselves to find out where we stand when it comes to integrating technology to our classroom. Like anything else in education we must be accountable to... well... everyone on what we are doing in the classroom. Are we meeting the needs of the new generation of Texans? I chose to look at one facet of this chart and will seek to grasp the trends behind our Educator Prepartation and Development.
I feel that this portion of the chart deals with two main ideas. First, being that of the new teacher. Are we preparing them for the new world of education. Being only in my seventh year of teaching, it has not been too long since I was on the other side of the desk. Even so, I have seen the integration of technology and education grow leaps and bounds since 1999. One push from the Texas Education Agency is that our educator preparation programs provide appropriat uses of technology to our teachers-in-training. They have to provide coursework that will give these students a chance to work with technology standards and their core subject. This seems to be an easy sell. Plus many of these educators are a product of the technology revolution. Many of these new teachers will be looked upon to educate their soon to be veteran colleagues.
The old dogs and their new tricks. The second part to this is teaching the veteran teachers how to use technology in the classroom. Still being relatively new to the profession I have become a custom to a certain way of doing things. This could be hard. However, if your district/campus provides opportunities for professional development (which they do) you should have no trouble seeking out technology hours. Looking at the SBEC requirements for technology standards should be sufficient for any teacher to have a guideline. Plus, as mentioned before, do not hesitate to share ideas with other teachers... especially the new guy with all the background in technology.
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