Teaching and Learning: Are we following the plan?

In May 2010, the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD administered a Tech Literacy Assessment (Learning.com, 2010) to eighth grade students across the district. The intent was to assess their mastery of skills spelled out in the technology TEKS. Across the district, 73% of students met the Middle School Proficiency Standard; this passing rate is roughly in line with the state average on that same assessment. If this assessment had been TAKS or EOC, this performance would have received an ‘Acceptable’ AEIS Accountability rating. My district sets very specific goals for student achievement, and an ‘Acceptable’ rating would not be in line with those goals. The Texas Education Agency’s Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020, or LRPT, outlines the specific goals for different areas (‘domains’) of technological integration into public education. The LRPT introduces the Teaching and Learning domain by saying, “The key to success for all students is the assurance that they are all fully engaged in their learning processes and that there are opportunities in their schools, libraries, homes, and communities that stimulate and initiate this engagement.” (p.17) LRPT Teaching and Learning (T/L) goals state that all students will:

• have access to relevant technologies, tools, resources and services for individualized instruction 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
• use information and communication technologies to collaborate, construct knowledge and provide solutions to real-world problems and situations that are encountered.
• use research-based strategies in all subject areas to improve academic achievement.
• communicate effectively in a variety of formats for diverse audiences. (p.18)

This domain deals directly with student achievement on the technology TEKS, how the technology TEKS are imbedded in content areas, and what teachers, campuses, and districts are doing to improve student performance on the technology TEKS. In reviewing the STaR Chart data (the monitoring instrument for the LRPT) for both my campus and the state, I found that the domain of Teaching and Learning fell far short of target levels. In fact, in 2006 over 70% of reporting schools received a classification of either “early tech” or “developing tech” in the teaching and learning domain. This percentage almost directly reflects the level of tech literacy mastery among eighth graders. The connection that I make from this data: the less often students are afforded robust, dynamic opportunities for student-centered learning with technology in the content areas, the fewer students are exiting eighth grade with appropriate computer literacy.


Failure to take the needed steps forward begins at the top: Texas schools lost millions of dollars in technology funding in 2003 when the state legislature ended the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund and again in 2006 when the Technology Allotment was reduced from $30 to $27.14 per student ADA. (LRPT, 2006, pp. 63-65) Because having anywhere, anytime technology tools and resources available requires significant infrastructure, the loss of these funds severely impedes progress toward that goal. Without that reliable connectivity and access, the goal of complete student access and technology imbedded in all area of instruction simply cannot be realized.


And yet, at its core, the Teaching and Learning domain reflects the ‘boots on the ground’ in the battle to bring education and technology together. We need the supplies, resources and infrastructure; we need the professional training to develop skills and curriculum; we need leadership and tech support that enables new ideas. But in the end, this domain is the one where I can walk in tomorrow and make a difference. I can decide, right now, that in my classroom, the days of pencil and paper standing alone are numbered. 

 Resources: Learning.com (2010). District report – tech literacy assessment. Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD.

Texas Education Agency (2006). Long range plan for technology. Austin, Texas.
Texas Education Agency (2006). STaR chart letter. Austin: Instructional Materials and Education Technology Division.