Reflection on Technology Assessments

I took two assessments over technology. The first was the Technology Applications Inventory http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/techapp/assess/teksurv.pdf which is a self-assessment of requisite knowledge required for implementation of the Technology Application TEKS. This assessment is broken down in four stands of Foundations, Information Acquisition, Solving Problems, and Communication. The second assessment was a SETDA survey http://www.setda-peti.org/tools.html in which I took the teacher survey. This survey asked questions about technology policies, usage, and availability in my classroom, campus, and district level. As an instructional coach I spend all of my time with teachers, therefore, I thought the teacher survey was most appropriate.

Overall, I was satisfied with my knowledge level with the TEKS. At the most I had four "no's" in a section and that was in Foundations. I believe this assessment was an accurate reflection of my knowledge because it showed that I am very weak with some of the "formal" technology vocabulary and I also have not had much experience with creating image, audio, and video files. This is definitely a topic of interest that I have, but besides the video camera and regular camera that I have at home, my knowledge and programs for this type of technology is limited. Another weakness that I am not proud of is with spreadsheets. I create and manipulate them all of the time, but I struggle with using formulas and functions. I think this is something I could do, but it would definitely take me some time.

Moreover, this assessment showed that I am very good at collaborating with colleagues using electronic and on-line communications. I can create an effective presentation through power-point. However, I would love to involve video in my presentations. As an instructional coach, I don't use much technology with students but I facilitate and train teachers with technology for use in their own classrooms. I also create presentations for them to share in their classrooms with students.

Furthermore, as I reflect on the SETDA survey I see that my campus and district do understand that their is a correlation between student achievement and the implementation of technology within classrooms. Our school offers professional development with technology and in the summer rewards teachers with laptops for certain trainings. Math and Science teachers on our campus have Promethean Technology available in the classrooms. The best part about this technology are the student responders that keep students engaged and provide instant feedback on student progress. This survey did open my eyes to the fact that we are not getting our students involved in enough "creation" with technology tools (in mathematics). We use technology more as teacher presentation instead of student presentation of their knowledge.

Lastly, our district is definitely on target with technology. The survey showed me some areas of weakness that we have including computer availability in all classrooms and the need for faster Internet speed. A strength is parent communication through our on-line gradebook and email system. These assessments have been eye-opening for me. I do agree with the areas of strength and weakness that they show for both my campus and myself. I will continue to work in developing my skills for technology efficiency and success in the future.