Texas STaR Chart Discussion: Teaching & Learning

The Texas Campus STaR Chart is a tool that is designed to be used in helping campuses plan for the implementation, planning, budgeting and evaluation of technology projects. With the development of the global economy and the explosion of the internet, the use of technology has become a “hot topic” in education and something that the state of Texas cannot ignore, if it wants its students to confidently take their place as global citizens. The area of the Texas STaR Chart I would like to focus on is Teaching & Learning as I feel this is the area that is the most difficult to implement and improve since it relies not only on the educators at the campus who are required to integrate technology and, in particular web 2.0 tools, into their instruction, but also on the district and campus administration officials to provide sufficient support, training and infrastructure to make this job feasible. Without a district vision, the efforts of the educator will be lost as many aspects of this area cannot be achieved by educators alone. The Teaching and Learning area of the chart focuses on learning for all students in preparation for the 21st century and demands that students learn collaboratively, not only within their classroom but with their peers across the globe. Educators are required to connect their students with other classes, engage their students in distance learning opportunities, and guide them as a facilitator of learning as they develop into accomplished lifelong learners with abilities that transcend the banal confines of a classroom.

According to the Campus Statewide summary for 2008, Teaching and Learning is one of the weaker areas for most schools. The majority of schools (69.7%) fall into Developing Tech range and only 26.4% of all Texas schools are classified as either Advanced Tech or Target Tech. This is the case for my school, which has remained static in this area for the last three years. As aspiring administrators, we need to take note of this because we can only improve in this area if we provide training for teachers not only in technological applications but also in the methodology required to implement technology into every aspect of the curriculum on a regular basis.