Week 2 Part 2, STaR Chart Opinion Piece

Educator Preparation and Development is the area from the Texas STaR Chart that I have selected to discuss. This area talks about how important it is for current educators and those who will enter the education system in the future, to have the skills needed to change instruction to meet the needs of this generation of Texas students (Vision 2020, P.23). Only through professional development can educators continue an ongoing learning process that will enable them to learn the new strategies and technology updates that will benefit their students. Technology has become a fundamental aspect in the education system and it is can impact curriculum and instruction, but for this to take place teacher need to learn to support the curriculum and bring about learning opportunities that would not be possible without the technology. In order to prepare 21st Century students that are going to successful in their secondary education or enter the workforce, teachers need to be capable and prepared to take significantly diverse roles, students, and technologies; through obtaining the skills necessary to get the job done. At our campus this area is in the developing tech progress, this seems to be consistent with the state results. In the last three years our campus has gradually improved from being early tech to now having a developing tech progress. We still have a lot of improvement to do and hopefully within the next couple of years we can become a campus with target tech level of progress. This will mean that in our classrooms teachers will be prepared to have regularly supported by technology and learner-centered instruction and projects are being delivered. Right now we do have a lot of technology available and our administration has implemented it into their tasks and classroom management. As educators and professionals we need to come up with the understanding that what worked for us twenty, ten or even five years ago will not be enough to get our students where they want to be. We need to encourage our students to use and take advantage of all the technology resources available to them. Locally, at our campus our administration has done an exceptional job bring in professional development for the staff to keep up with the technology and new programs that is going to benefit our students. Our principal is very aware of these changing times and has been able to purchase several technology equipment and programs to improve classroom resources and technology integration. For instance we just had a set of extendas (six computers in out classroom), ceiling mounted projectors, new teacher laptops with new programs, and in the math department we had smart boards installed. The students really get engaged when they get the opportunity to work with the smart board they think it’s the coolest think. Taking advantage of the technology and being prepared as educators will just make our students more ready for the 21st Century.