EDLD 5352 Educator Preparation and Development

The area of Educator Preparation and Development stands out to me. I chose this area because it directly relates to me personally and to my campus. This area discusses professional development experiences, models of professional development, capabilities of educators, access to professional development, levels of understanding and patterns of use, and professional development for online learning. How are teachers learning how to use technology in the classroom? What ways are they incorporating technology in the classroom? How are we preparing educators? These questions sum up what this area is discussing in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. The local districts, state, and nation are making progress in this area. With technology being a force in society, we have established groundwork for incorporating technology into curriculum. Teachers are being held accountable to technology TEKS and are being trained with various ways to implement technology across all subject areas. Learning is becoming more collaborative and interactive. The hold back is teacher preparation. We need to develop more professional developments that are hands on for teachers to become confident with the use of technology and equipment. Many times teacher are given the equipment, but are not confident in implementing the equipment in the classroom. This professional development should be on-going due to the ever fast paced technology society we live in. There needs to be a support system set up for teachers. This could include technology committee members, experts on campus, and or mentors. We must update the technology criteria for certifying teachers, the support for first year teachers, and the appropriate amount of staff development needed for teachers that are not technologically savvy. Technology support should be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rather it is on a hotline or online. Teachers may need support after hours and or on the weekends.