In 2006 The Texas Education Agency (TEA) published their “Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020,” which they presented to the 80th Legislature. The Plan was designed to raise overall performance by students using 21st century technologies, increase involvement by parents, improve teacher performance through technology-focused professional development, and promote a more effective and efficient use of fiscal resources. According to the report, “Texas must consider extending the traditional boundaries of the school year, scholastic age, and geographic location, and the state must provide both the technology and human infrastructure to facilitate, support and maintain information.”
The Plan is broken into three phases: the first began in 2006 and ended in 2010, the second started in 2011 and last until 2015, and the final phase ends in 2020.
We just began Phase 2 - so, how did your district do at meeting the TEA’s expectations? The expectations listed below were pulled directly from the 2006 report (download it here).
· Continue to refine and align curriculum content standards to reflect current research and meet the needs of the 21st Century workplace and higher education
· Continue to provide quality instructional materials, aligned to content standards, and delivered in print and digital formats to meet the needs of all students
· Continue to align assessment instruments to content standards and measure student progress
· Provide equitable access to technology tools for students and teachers, such as student and teacher workstations, productivity tools, online resources, interactive whiteboards, projection systems, and printers
· Provide on-going quality professional development for educators to ensure proficiency in using technology tools to personalize instruction and in using data effectively to inform instructional practice
· Provide opportunities for teachers to implement new strategies for enhancing teaching an learning through the use of quality instructional resources and technology tools
· Provide adequate connectivity in schools and classrooms to ensure effective use of technology resources
· Provide necessary technical support to ensure availability and reliability of technology resources
· Increase the Technology Allotment to at least $50 per student per year and fund from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund
According to the 2010 Progress Report (download it here) presented to the 82nd Legislature, we did well overall, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. And we are only in the beginning stage of Phase 2. In light of expected budget cuts, how will we reach the expectations laid out in the Plan? What are you doing in your district to reach the goals of the Plan in light of sever budget cuts? Is Technology at the top of your priorities list, or do other areas take precedence? Does the TEA need to reevaluate its plan to be more realistic with today’s financial realty?
