Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology

I liked the overall vision and purpose of this plan. The plan does a great job of focusing on the idea that this ongoing change in technology usage is not just ideal, rather it is inevitable and that the suggestions and guidelines within are vital to the education and life preparation of our students. It recognizes that globalization is becoming more apparent and that the job markets and demographics of this country are changing along with it. Because of these changes, the qualifications and preparations that our students have will need to be significantly different from when we were in school at the same levels that they now are. Their world is already very integrated with technology and it would be counterproductive to not play on that and use it to our advantage.
Another strong and important point that was made was that the focus on education can not be as simple as passing on knowledge. With the digital age, students now need to be better at analyzing and assessing information for its importance and veracity.
As expected, teacher education will continue to be necessary. A big challenge is going to be that, as we learn how to implement and utilize the current technology in our classrooms, the technology is going to change along with our learning. In order to stay ahead of it, or at least current with it, we will need several different effective educator programs in regards to technology. Along with this need there will also continually be a need for good technology funding and a solid infrastructure that supports and enforces the learning and implementation that is going on.
All of this will be important to me as a leader on campus because it will be my job to make sure that all staff have this same vision and understanding of the direction that these changes will be taking us. It will be important to be able to recognize who is in greatest need of educator training and what areas of the technology on campus are in need of improvement and require attention and re-evaluation. It is also good to know that there are many advocates and supporters of these changes. Many times it seems like there is lots of opposition to these changes. They are going to happen and I am glad that I have been informed of the long-range plan that the state has for ensuring that these changes do occur and in the proper manner.