After completing the Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA Teacher survey I have decided that I am farther behind the times than I thought. I am considered a technological “go to” teacher among colleagues and pretty advanced in hardware/software trouble shooting. These surveys however, revealed to me that there is so much more that I am not familiar with and that my district really needs to step up it’s expectations for technology usage and implementation.
I wouldn’t say that I am strong in any of the domains required to be a leader on my campus yet I find myself trying to fill that roll in my limited abilities. As I answered these questions I learned that there were more foreign terms and capabilities than there were familiar ones.
I agree with these surveys as they revealed how much I need to learn as well as how behind my district is in their expectations for teachers and students in the area of technology. I need to advance my abilities in order to integrate technology into my classroom in more ways than simply a format for instruction delivery. I also think my district needs to step up their expectations. At the moment we are lacking the professional freedom to plan innovative lessons and we are limited to our scripted curriculum as well as designated supplementary materials for additional mathematics practice. If these limitations were lifted, professional development was supported, and time was provided to plan, integration of technology into lessons would improve.
I think that the survey showed lots of us that we are really behind the power curve. At least we can admit what we need to work on. I am in the same boat with the scripted curriculum and we don't have much wiggle room.
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