Texas Long Range Plan for Technology - Educator Preparation and Development

Preparing our teachers for the effective and teaching in the 21st century requires professional development that will provide them with the skills and tools they will need. This area measured on the STaR chart focuses on the following; content of professional development, models of professional development, capabilities of educators, access to professional development, levels of understanding and patterns of use, professional development for online learning.


Recent trends show that many efforts have been made to provide schools with more technology equipment. Many school districts have a goal of providing each child with a laptop or more SMART Boards. However, with all this equipment teachers need training for effective and efficient implementation.

I feel that much progress has been made by providing professional development to districts and campuses. However, based on our results from the recent years of the STaR chart, it is clearly not enough. The size of the district can have a lot to due with the amount of professional learning that they offer. Also the amount of funds that a school has will directly affect what training the teachers will need. If the school or district has no money for SMART boards, the teachers will not have training opportunities because they don't have the equipment.

The district I teach in is a very large district and has provided our teachers with a wide variety of equipment that we need to integrate technology. However, the training that is offered has been minimal. Teachers don't feel comfortable integrating technology if they don't know how. Technology can be "scary" to even veteran teachers that are unfamiliar with how to use it in their teaching.

Recent budget cuts in our district removed the professional development compensation to all teachers. This had a monumental affect on the amount of hours that teachers took over the summer and the course of the year. Unfortunately, the area that suffered the most was technology. Teachers took the classes that they felt they needed based on their content area and technology classes were somewhat forgotten.

I think that the number of classes offered at our district level was also too small. Teacher need to have the opportunities to take a wide variety of classes that will prepare them for even the basic technology integration. Not all teachers have the advanced knowledge and they should be able to take the classes they will benefit from them the most. This depends on where each individual is as a teacher that integrates technology and to what level.

I recommend that our district provides a wide variety of professional development in the area of technology. I think that these classes should include implementation of software programs, using the SMART boards, laptops, document cameras, etc. Teachers should not only be able to choose the classes in the area they feel they need training in, but also their technology experience level. This would look like a beginning teacher possibly signing up for a software integration class such as KidPix at the beginning level. Since he/she is not familiar with the program, the class will prepare him/her to learn the basics of the program and give real world examples of applications into the classroom. An experienced teacher that is very well trained and experienced with technology may sign up to take a class on SMART board use at the advanced level. The SMART board is an amazing tool to use in the classroom, but different levels of classes should be offered that will meet the needs to the teachers. One teacher may need to learn how to use it as a beginner and another may be very advanced and want to take their teaching with the SMART board to the "next level." I think it would be very beneficial to offer all technology classes at three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. We are constantly trying to differientiate instruction for our students, why not do the same for our teachers?

I think that a set number of hours should be required by the district in regards to technology professional development. If you give teachers the choice not to take them, of course, you will have those that don't. Our district requires that if you are GT certified teacher you take "update hours" each year. Why is that not the same for technology classes? Each teacher should be required to take a set number of hours of technology classes each year that will help them integrate technology.

I also feel that our district should provide some type of compensation to teachers for their participation in technology staff development. While most teachers would prefer that the monetary compensation returns, that may not be possible. However, something could be done (campus wide or district wide) that would motivate teachers to complete technology professional development classes.