We all agree that students in Texas schools today require new skills, new tools, new knowledge, and new opportunities for when, where, and how learning takes place. Because of this legislated requirement our schools must provide a wide array of learning communities, an environment demanded by today’s world and facilitated by today’s technology. As reported by the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, school connectivity presents tremendous challenges and implementing that connectivity offers new and exciting opportunities for transforming schools.
The connectivity challenge includes issues of support and maintenance for existing and evolving technologies. According to a 1998 study of eleven diverse Texas schools, “districts are developing a more formal support structure at the district level by adding support positions and defining the support process and procedures.”[i] According to data published by TEA the state of technology in Texas public schools is similar to the state of technology in public education nationally.[ii]
In the early days of technology use, most schools had computers in their libraries, a shared computer lab, and some schools (especially secondary schools) provided computers for teacher use. Current trends in technology infrastructure includes at least a few classroom computers in most schools, while some districts issue laptops all students and teachers. Most districts in Texas have technology departments with technology specialists in hardware, software, and teacher training. Now the challenges lie in staying current, maintaining the infrastructure, and providing training for teachers.
I think one of the most important issues we face in technology applications now is to be discerning in selecting applications for use with students. Since we have limited time with our students the tools we use to teach them and help them learn need to be carefully selected.
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