Blog Posting #2

There are several pieces to the Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology. The first piece of the report focuses on the Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP). With the TIP, every student and teacher is given a computer with wireless capabilities. This way learning can take place out of the regular school day, and can be used to involve not only the teacher and student, but as well, parents and the community. Some of the objectives of the TIP include executing a plethora of software, online resources, and other technologies that encourage and improve student achievement. Another objective is to encourage parental involvement as well as community involvement, as students are preparing for their futures in the 21st century.
The report places schools at either a higher Immersion Technology school or at a lower Immersion Technology school. Here are some of the major findings of both. In the higher Immersion Technology schools had strong district and school leadership, and had beneficial campus support for this pilot. They additionally had high quality professional development, not just brief meetings during or after school. Schools that were high performing held individual teachers accountable. Teachers in these schools had a positive attitude and agreed that student laptops helped to improve student learning. Schools with that were labeled lower Immersion Technology schools initially felt the same as the higher Immersion Technology schools, but failed to keep up with them. Teachers at these schools had a higher rate of turnovers; they were opposed to change and used lap tops as more of a free time activity than immersion within the classroom learning. Another trend that led to lower Immersion Technology schools was the irregularities in leadership, where not all administrators were on the same page as each other.
The next piece of the Progress Report reviews TxVSN which is a network that provides online courses for students in the state of Texas. TxVSN began in the spring of 2008 based on research showing the positive effects of online learning. The report explains the background and timeline of the TxVSN. In order for the TxVSN to be an effective experience for students, much background work was done to ensure that the standards were set high. At the close of the progress report in August of 2008, there was a lack of data regarding the effectiveness of this program, this was mainly due to because the courses were not available until November 2008. Currently, the TxVSN offers online courses under the two labels of high school and dual credit to 308 districts in the state of Texas.
The third piece of the Progress Report reviews the progress of teaching and learning. This data comes from partially from results from the STaR chart. The schools in Texas are progressing according to this data. From 2006-2008 the information shows that only 4% of campuses are Early Tech (a 1% drop). Developing Tech also dropped from 74% in 2006-2007 to 70% in 2007-2008. Advanced Tech increased as well from 20% to 25% in 2007-2008. The Target Tech stayed the same at 1%. The report also discusses the vision for teaching and learning called “Vision 2020”. This vision is based on that in the future students will be able to access digital resources that will provide a higher level of thinking and engagement that will be offered 24-7. This will help teachers offer more individualized instruction. Parents will be allowed the opportunity to become more involved with their children’s education as well as continue learn in their own education. In order for schools to improve to Advanced Tech and Target Tech, library media specialists will work with teachers to ensure students will have the appropriate technology literacy skills. These skills include knowledge of Internet safety and development of research skills using online databases and the World Wide Web. Some of the recommendations found in this part of the Progress Report include: additional funding, online research resources, standards, and a clear role of school librarians. The STaR chart data for online learning found that most campuses were in the developing stage. There have been steps taken towards online learning including the Virtual School Pilot, and the Texas Virtual School Network.
The next section of the report describes the progress of Texas educators. According to the STaR chart, most campuses (75%) were in the Developing Tech range. This percentage did not change from 2006-2008. Fewer campuses (a drop of 3%), though were at the Early tech stages in 2007-2008 which made the total 5%. The Advanced Tech campuses in 2006-2007 were at 17%, and then increased to 20% in 2007-2008, while the Target Tech stayed the same at 1% over the span of two years. To take educators to the next tech level, the report discusses some new requirements that are in place to ensure that this will happen. The report suggests that for teachers there is still a need for training and continual updates on the most recent technologies. There are recent standards regarding technology from the State Board for Educator Certification that new teachers are expected to know (via the Generalist Certificate) and that teachers currently should try to acquire. There are other technology standards teachers can strive for including an overall certification called Technology Application EC-12. There is also the Technology Applications Teacher Network that allows teachers to access resources regarding technology, as well as professional development that is available online. There are two main grants that the report describes to ensure that teachers are knowledgeable about technology and can apply it in their classrooms. They are: The STAR Grant in Action and The Intel Teach Program.
The fifth piece of the report encompasses progress of leadership, administration and instructional support. The STaR chart shows that there is progress being made. There was a 1% drop down to 2% (2007-2008) in the Early Tech stage, and there was a drop from 55% to 49% in the Developing Tech stage. In the advanced tech stage leadership had increased from 39% to 45% in 2007-2008. The Target Tech stage increased 1% to a total of 4% in 2007-2008. This report suggests that strong leadership is key in the success to better improvement of technology in a day to day environment. Leaders need to be cognizant of the fact that as technology is changing it is important to use the latest technologies to improve student learning. It was stated in the article that Texas has led the way in the area of planning. Some of the ways that this has happened is by creating the Educational Technology advisory Committee, the use of the annual STaR Charts, the creation of the State Board of Education Long Range Plan for Technology, the and the requirement by the state for districts to create their own Texas ePlan. In order to have technology there has to be funding. There are different ways funding can come about. One is through e-Rate which has given over 2.25 billion annually to all of the United States. Texas receives around ten percent of this 2.25 billion. There is additionally a technology allotment that the Texas Legislature that began in 1992. Districts receive $30 per student per ADA.
The sixth part of the report is focused on the progress in infrastructure for technology. This infrastructure is not just based on equipment, such as computers but also the infrastructure regarding humans-the staff that is involved or works directly with the technology. Much of the funding comes from federal funding and local funds for maintenance and capacity. The STaR chart shows that there is progress in this area. Early Tech stage went down 1% in 2007-2008 to 1%. Developing Tech went down 4% to 35% in 2007-2008. Advanced Tech increased from 53% in 2006-2007 to 57% in 2007-2008. Target Tech also increased from 5% in 2006-2007 to 7% in 2007-2008. The report shows how the infrastructure is progressing to meet recommendations from not only the TEA, but from the service centers and districts.
To ensure students stay safe on the Internet the report explains how the Texas Legislature mandated that the TEA compile a list of resources through that pertained to Internet Safety. Many things are being done to save the state money including the ESC’s use of the Texas Education Telecommunications Network to help alleviate costs due to traveling to Austin for meeting that are required.
The final piece to the report reviews each of the twenty Education Service Centers around Texas. This report includes the demographics of the area, the counties that it covers, and a mission statement. It also includes each of the four pieces of the Long Range Plan (Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership Administration and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology). In each of the four pieces it includes goals and what steps are currently taking place to ensure success.

Texas Education Agency. (2008). Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/comm/leg_reports/2008/08pr_to_lrpt.pdf