EDLD 5352 Week 1 Assignment - Part 2

Technology..........Well, I just discovered that I am farther behind on the technology highway than I thought. I never thought of myself as "computer savvy", but now I know I have more to learn than I originally anticipated. These surveys were very enlightening for me and my views of my school district. I tend to have some fears when it comes to attempting various programs on my computer. I have always felt very comfortable when using word processing programs, but feel some reluctance with some programs, such as Excel for spreadsheets. Over the past few months I have worked at gaining more knowledge in these areas, such as Excel and Powerpoint. The better I am at navigating through these programs, the more apt I am to use them on a regular basis in my classroom. I have realized through these surveys how much more rapidly I could learn these and other applications if my district would encourage more technology through staff development on technology. "Just getting by" is not acceptable for my students so why should it be acceptable for me? I can now understand the expectations of my school district when it comes to technology but I am very concerned for my district. I know they want me to use technology in the classroom; however, I would love to see more staff development within our district for better proficiency in these programs. This would also create a better understanding of how to incorporate these things into my lessons. I would also like to have a better insight on how to create more opportunities for underprivileged students in the technology area of their education.

Strengths/Weaknesses
strengths - ready to learn, do try to use as much technology as possible in my classroom, encourage students to do computer research and projects
weaknesses - not very knowledgeable on these programs, do not understand all the technology "lingo"

Assessments:
These assessments have opened my mind as to the areas that I must address in my own education. The way these assessments were broken down made you look at the various aspects of the educational system. Things became clearer in the way technology is addressed from the state level to the LEAs. The surveys have definitely made me desire the knowledge to become more technology savvy.

I agree with these assessments because they are a way to ensure that all students receive the greatest opportunities in a fast-paced technological society. Students in Texas must be prepared for life in a rapidly changing world, and with the use of these assessments, schools can maintain a check on themselves. We must be watchful of the students in order to to create productive members of society that we need them to become. Therefore, we as teachers must stay knowledgeable in every area that we expect the students to become proficient.