After looking over this extensive progress report for 2010, it seems that the majority of educators and campuses in Texas are on the rise in how they are performing in the 4 areas of this plan. In Teaching and Learning a majority of teachers rated themselves Developing or Advanced Tech. In the Educator Preparation and Development a majority of teachers were still classified as Developing Tech. I was somewhat shocked by this particular rating. This is an area that the campuses and districts need to really focus on, because the stronger our educators are when it comes to technology the more our students will benefit. For Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support, again we have an area where teachers were rated in the developing and advanced tech for the majority. And finally the Infrastructure for Technology area the majority of campuses were in the advanced tech range. This is not a surprise, because of the big push for technology to be implemented into our schools, I feel that districts have no choice but to make sure they are up to date in this area.
After looking over the report, when I got to the Region Education Service Centers I was very intrigued by the different things they have done to help score higher in the ratings and to support their teachers in the area of technology. I focused particularly on what my Region Education Service Center has offered in regards to helping the state reach its goals for this technology plan. I currently teach in Region 4. I am going to touch on all four areas of the plan and what Region 4 is doing to help reach the goals of this extensive plan.
Teaching and Learning: In regards to this area of the plan Region 4 has several things in place to help teachers reach their goals in this area. Some of these include offering the Comprehensive Curriculum, Assessment, and Professional Development system also referred to as the CCAP. This is a comprehensive online instructional tool that allows teachers to integrate all of the educational components that are critical to student success. The ESC also coordinates and provides training for statewide initiatives. These are just some of the things the ESC provides in regards to Teaching and Learning in the Long-Range Plan 2006-2020.
Educator Preparation and Development: In this area the ESC provides alternative certification preparation through distance education, customized staff development activities that will help campuses and districts meet specific curriculum and staff development needs, and they provide assistive technology training.
Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support: The ESC provides a number of ways it supports educators in this area. They provide The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) which helps with purchasing technology equipment. The ESC develops web-based applications that targets educators. They also review the PEIMS data and processes with the goal of helping districts focus on capturing all available state funds.
Infrastructure for Technology: The ESC for Region 4 provides internet access to 17 districts within their region; they also provide internet filtering and disaster recovery data back-up services to the districts in the Gulf Coast area. They also provide network development assistance for LEA local area networks.
These are just some of the many things that the Region 4 ESC provides to the districts, schools, and educators to help them with reaching the goals that have been set for us through the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020. The many different things that the ESC provides are definitely beneficial to the educators within our region it is just a matter of the district, school, and/or the teachers taking advantage of them.
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