Progress Report on Long Range Technology Plan

The 2008 progress report on the Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 shows that Texas has made progress in nearly every key area. It also highlighted areas in need of growth.
In the teaching and learning area schools are progressing toward Target Tech. Only 4% of schools were found to be at the Early Tech levels, where 26% were found at the higher levels of Advanced or Target Tech. State requirements for technology literacy have helped the growth in this area.
In Educator Preparation and Development there have been slight gains made. The report found that 21% of schools are at the Advanced or Target Tech levels. There was also a 3% drop in schools rated as Early Tech. In order for this area to grow, schools and districts must continue to provide meaningful and purposeful professional development for teachers.
The area of leadership, administration and instructional support also saw growth. There was a 6% increase from 39 to 45% in Advanced Tech. There were only 2% of schools at Early Tech and 4% were at the highest level of Target Tech. Leadership and Support for Technology was still at 10% early technology. Administrators need to support professional development in technology. It is important that they provide support and encouragement and have clear expectations in regards to technology proficiency and use in the classrooms. I think that this should be an area of focus in order to increase the use of technology in Texas schools.
The number of Target Tech schools in the Infrastructure for Technology area grew from 404 schools to 511 schools. There was also a 4% increase in schools reaching the Advanced Tech levels. INF 1 revealed that 60% of campuses are at Developing Tech, meaning that there are between 5 and 9 internet connected computers per student. In order to see growth in teaching and learning we must see growth in access to computers.
Overall, Texas has placed a great emphasis on the need for technological growth for our 21st century learners. As always, there are areas that need improvement, and this report showed the strengths and weaknesses of the state. In regards to administration, the key words are support, professional development, and expectations.