Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning

The goal of the plan for teaching and learning is to make sure all students are totally actively engaged in the learning process, and to give them the opportunity to use basic skills at home and in the community. We can no longer allow the old way of teaching. Students must have an individualized plan that fits their individual needs, not a one size fits all theory. One major new change that has helped greatly is distance learning. It empowers schools to overcome the potential limitations of their local resources. It also provides schools the resources to offer each student opportunities to learn things that formerly just could not be offered due to the cost. Learners of today have access to relevant technologies, tools, and services for individualized instruction anytime daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. They can also use information and communicate instantly and easily with groups of peers, and in a variety of ways. Learners of the 21st century must realize that wanting to learn more about a topic than what is taught is a valuable part of learning.
The development of this area is crucial to the success of the whole program. The development of new ways to teach, but even more importantly, providing the most up-to-date equipment has made this area strong. My district in particular, continues to give us the equipment and access to resources which will continue to develop the area of Teaching and Learning. New computers and opportunities for career development have helped my campus move toward integrating more technology into our curriculum. Our district has also received grant money to purchase Elmo’s and projectors to make students more actively involved in their learning.
The key area to success of this area will be that the teachers and students buy into the fact that change is necessary, and that we must be willing to adapt to these changes. The one certainty in life is that it will not stay the same. So many veteran teachers know so much less about technology than the students they teach. Instead of embracing this knowledge and getting students to help them, they feel intimidated and fight the change. To be successful in anything, one must seize the opportunities that are available to them and use them in a constructive way to become a better part of society.
My recommendations for this area to keep improving, is to continue teaching to every students’ individual need, and finding ways to fund the necessary changes even with all of the budget shortfalls districts are facing for the coming school year.