Educator Preparation and Development

Educator preparation and development can be defined as the degree to which educators are acquiring training and resources to meet the technology standards in the classroom. This includes multi-media use, the internet, completion of administrative tasks, use of online- resources for lesson design, and allocation of funds for technology so that students are also utilizing technology to meet the goals of the long range plan for technology.

There has been progress in this area locally, state wide and nationally. According to the state data more campuses are in the developing category than any other category. . This indicates that overall most places have identified training as an essential component to meeting the needs of 21st century learners and equipping them to function in a technology driven world. On my campus this is the area that has shown the most growth over a years time. If the staff are not trained and equipped to use technology they are less likely to use it as a driving force for instruction. It is imperative that the staff are trained continuously, aware of the standards and work collaboratively to create lessons for students.

Currently the trend is for teachers to use technology for tasks such as communication with stakeholders,
online resources for lesson design , video clips from websites such as unitedstreaming, brain pop etc. Many teachers are utilizing technology for creating power-points, for students as well. They also use smartboards, and Elmo's for delivering instruction for students.

The area that needs imporvement is preparing educator's to utilize techonolgy for learner centered instruction. Some of the obstacles include limited access to computers and other resources. Although, the resources are limited in many schools we are going to have to find a way to mangage our classrooms so that students are using the technology so that they are interacting with the resources and learning how to compete in a digital world. Ehancing the student's use of technology will also increase the engagement levels in the classroom and provide opportunties to provide real life expereinces of problem and project based learning. This will build critical thinking and higher order thinking skills that are imperative to becoming a productive citizen.


Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020.(2007, November). Retrieved November 22, 2009, from TEA website: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html