EDLD 5352 Week 2 Assignment - Part 2 (Using a Blog)

Educator Preparation and Development

As a teacher in the 21st century, we must effectively be prepared for the digital natives that enter our classrooms. We should be able to teach and learn in an information rich technology world. This requires adaptation to an environment many of us are not accustomed to. Texas faces the task of creating and preparing studnets for a future where they thirve, rather than survive, in a fast paced technological society. This becomes a monumental task for districts as they prepare veteran and novice teachers to implement these skills for the youth.

Currently my district seems to be moving in the right direction, but the progress is too slow. Things seem to be fairly stagnant, but hopefully with the hiring of a new Technology Director, advances will be seen. This director seems to be more open-minded and willing to step out of the box for education. Our director realizes that education is changing, and kids are coming from multisensory worlds and are fearless when technology is involved. She is also willing to teach us, or get us the training or tools we need to introduce a technology rich environment into the classroom curriculum. This entails providing staff development and hand on approaches to educating all teachers.

In our state and nation the trends are again to push a technology rich education. NCLB is a driving factor in this area; however, many districts struggle with finding the funds. We experience this in our campus, and we understand how many times we must accept what we have and wait for something better the next year. Unfortunnately, by that time, there is even better and greater technology available. Technology trends are a rapidly changing arena that educators struggle to physically and financially stay abreast.

Administrators and Technology leaders must be willing to sacrifice other areas of the budget to create a welcoming, nurturing attitude for technology. We must aggressively encourage veteran teachers and actively engage the novice teachers to create the enticing digital climate students need to motivate themselves in a learner-centered educational setting. The support of all stakeholders will be essential to Texas and the United States moving into a leadership role for technology.