Responses and Reflections - Two Technology Assessments

After taking the Requisite Technology Skills Assessment and the Teacher SETDA survey, I was a bit shocked at the results. The results of the two assessment have shown and proven to me that I am not a technology guru. First of all, this was the first time that I had ever placed my eyes on the Technology Applications TEKS. I am a theatre arts teacher and you would think that I would know so much more about the technology world but I do not. What needs to happen is that I need to make sure and research the technology that is out there and use it to become a better educator but most importantly a better leader.

In the Requisite Technology Skills Assessment, I did well in the Domains of Foundations and Information Acquisition. Out of the eighteen Foundation Domain questions, I responded "yes" to fourteen and in the Information Acquisition Domain, I responded "yes" to eight of the ten questions. Those two domains deal with the basics of technology that we use everyday which are the use of the computer for the basics of writing memos, assignments and using the Internet. Once I got into the Domains of Solving Problems and Communication the number of "No" responses were larger than the "yes" responses. One of the main issues I have is that I do not know how to work with spreadsheet documents. I do not know anything about using formulas in a spreadsheet. I do not use spreadsheets in my classes. I use them for my own teaching purposes like attendance and grade book but they have already been formulated by another teacher. Under the Communication Domain, I have made posters for our play productions but they have not been as elaborate as I would want them to be because I have not learned to use some of the publishing software that is available.

After taking the SETDA Teacher Survey, I have learned that technology is becoming greater in our school and our district. Our school, like all schools in our district, has a technical coordinator that is in charge of all the technology aspects that are used throughout the schools and the district. The technology coordinator of our school sends us reports of how many times people got on our school's website. She gives us inservices on new technology the district is wanting us to use. We take different surveys every year like the Star Chart Survey. The SETDA Teacher Survey has made me realize that I am not using technology enough in my content area. I use it with my advanced competitive theatre art students but I do not use it with my regular classroom students. I know that all our content area teachers are in the computer labs constantly using the Internet and classroom software that will help the students learn more about the content area being taught. As I mentioned before, we are offered technology inservices but what is lacking is the follow through. Since I do not teach a main content area, technology inservices are not offered to us as much as the content area teachers. I know the inservices are out there and I know my principal will allow me to attend; I just need to make the time.

Overall, I agree with the results of the assessments. I need to change my ways when it comes to the use of technology. I have noticed that principals that have been around for a while and were teachers before the Internet are not as technology savey as the new principals coming in to the profession. I was surprised to see that this class was one of the classes we needed to take. I wish that back when I was taking my education classes to become a teacher, this kind of class would have been offered. All I can say is that it is never too late to learn. I am ready for the challenge!