Blog Posting #2: Progress Report on Long Range Plan

In 2006 Texas created the Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 to address the needs of technology in education and to ensure that students are being prepared to enter a 21^st Century workforce. The main components of the plan addressed four areas: teaching and learning; educator preparation and development; leadership, administration, and instructional support; and infrastructure. In the past four years progress has been made in each of these areas. Teaching and learning has been significantly impacted by infusing technology into the curriculum to most effectively reach today’s learners. Districts now have increased access to important 21^st Century resources such as online learning, digital content, and online professional development. Distance learning opportunities, like TxVSN have also provided powerful tools for ensuring that students across the state have equitable access to quality education and instruction regardless to the school’s wealth, size, socioeconomic status, or geographical location. The second category, educator preparation and development, plays a major role in meeting the needs of students by increasing learning and engagement in the classroom. Texas educators now have a wide variety of opportunities for high quality professional development that uses a collection of Web 2.0 tools and applications to provide valuable resources across the state. Project Share is one of the newest technology based tools that offers teachers access to digital content through online repositories and state-owned instructional materials. The third category, leadership, administration, and instructional support requires vision-building, administrator commitment, and skilled leadership. The Texas STaR Chart assists district and campus leaders when they update their technology plans and conceptualize districts’ vision, benchmarks, and goals surrounding technology. This data is also used when applying for grants and E-Rate funding. The final category, infrastructure, is the critical element of support for all aspects of technology. Texas public schools, along with Service Centers and TEA continually work toward building a rich and powerful infrastructure to support the increased use of technology and digital content in classrooms. With these efforts, Texas is making significant strides towards the goals of the Long Range Plan for Technology to improve education for the 21^st Century learner.