Assignment - Week 2 - Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020

How do planning and standards help us know? How does a state help assist a district in knowing what students and teachers should know and be able to do?
First of all, the Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology is an exhaustive look at where we were; where we are; and where we want to be. Hence, the term Long Range Plan. The plan maps out, in great detail, the expectations for the state of Texas' educators, campuses, and districts. After reviewing the progress report, it's obvious, that no district, campus, or educator should have any doubts or questions about the expectations in the area of technology. There is a plan in place and this plan is the way the State of Texas has assisted districts in the area of what educators and students need to know.
Just as the state has mapped out, in the curriculum area, what objectives students must know, and what objectives educators must teach in the academic content areas, ( and this too is exhaustive ), in grades K - 12, the state has initiated the same type of goals, objectives, and expectations in the area of technology.
The way the state assess progress in the academic content areas is through the TAKS tests. The way the state assesses the Long Range Plan for Technology is through the STAR Chart.
We need planning and standards for the area of technology so that we can know what areas we need to focus on for training and implementation.
Case in point: On our campus in the key area of Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support has been a developing tech for the past three years. By analyzing the data, on our progress in this area, we must ask ourselves some hard questions. Why have we not moved out of the developing tech designation in this area? Why has this our designation for the past three years. We need for leadership to examine the District's Training Plan, and see where we need to add training for our leadership, so that we can move out of the developing tech designation into the advanced tech designation. Any training, on our campus for these leaders, must be valid, reliable, consistent and instructed with fidelity.
When examining these types of areas, in the progress report, we can see issues and areas where we have improved, and then areas where we need to improve.