Week 1 Assignment, Part 3: Analysis of the Long-Range Plan for Technology

Global economics, urgency, and societal changes necessitate the creation of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006 -2020. This comprehensive strategic plan includes four domains: Teaching and Learning; Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. The main goal of the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology is to have a high quality, world class education for every student in Texas. According to the three-phase plan, by the year 2020, all the essential digital tools and resources would be accessible to all learners, parents, educators, and school leaders twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. This accessibility will provide all learners individualized, real-world learning experiences 24/7 that will allow them to acquire the skills and attitude of global citizens.

Teaching and learning will never be the same again as teachers become facilitators, mentors, and co-learners to guarantee that all learners will thrive in the world they will live as adults. In addition, teachers need to continuously find ways to stay abreast of the new trends in technology. Likewise, teacher preparation programs must include coursework that incorporate technology standards and how these standards relate to other core content areas. The third domain - Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support – accounts the important role district and school administrators play in ensuring that all students in the state of Texas acquire the essential technology skills needed in the 21st Century. Administrators need to personify 21st Century learners’ attributes. Finally, Infrastructure for Technology must offer safe, secure, and reliable high-speed connectivity among schools, colleges, business, homes, medical facilities, etc.

I feel empowered after reading and analyzing the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology. Knowing that the state has a concrete plan to steer its schools in the right path towards 21st Century motivates me to conquer my personal challenges. I aspire to be an asset to my school, the state, the nation, and the whole world. As an instructional leader, I have an enormous responsibility to support the state's technology initiative. This requires me to embody the attributes of a life-long learner. I cannot confidently say that I am a technologically-savvy person but I can start being one by showing my teachers and students that I take pleasure in manipulating digital tools and applications as well as learning new technology skills. To illustrate this, this course has forced me to go beyond my comfort zone, but I am learning and enjoying at the same time. This joy of learning and collaborating is I what I desire to share with my teachers and students.

Source:
Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020.(2007, November).
Retrieved November 24, 2009, from TEA website: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html