technology - are we prepared?

The Educator Preparation and Development section of the STaR Chart measures the amount and usefulness of professional development received in the previous year, the amount of targeted technology training received, the educators’ levels of understanding and capability in integrating technology, and the educators’ ability to provide web-based learning opportunities. The 2008-2009 STaR Chart survey results for my campus show that Educator Preparation and Development is the weakest area for my campus. The survey indicates that our campus is still at a developing level, although we have shown growth in each of the past three years. These results indicate that there is still a significant amount of teacher training that needs to be done in order for our faculty to feel comfortable with fully integrating technology into the classroom.

The state-wide STaR Chart survey results show that the majority of schools are still in the Developing category for this area. Only 20% of the schools that reported were Advanced. This suggests that my campus falls within the normal range of advancement for most of the schools in the state. However, complacency is not acceptable. Especially considering that my school district spent tens of thousands of dollars putting a laptop computer into the hands of every 5^th-8^th grade student in the district, we should be scoring at an advanced level at the very least.

These results highlight the technology breakdown in my district. The infrastructure was provided without the training and preparation needed to make it truly successful. Before laptops were ever distributed, the school district needed to invest in extensive professional development training for the teachers whose classrooms would benefit from such an amazing resource. The school district still needs to provide significant, effective, ongoing technology training. Teachers need to be trained not only on the different software applications available, but on creative ways to integrate laptop use into every day learning.

It is imperative that the education system find ways to be on the cutting edge of technology, otherwise, we will not be able to adequately prepare our students to operate in today’s digital world.