80% of the jobs 5 years from now do not exist today. Education is the only business still debating the usefulness of technology. Rod Paige

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Integrating Technology into Education

INTRODUCTION


According NCATE's Task Force on Technology and Teacher Education in their report Preparing Educators for the 21st Century Classroom, our College of Education (COE) must act with an attitude that is willing to take risks as we explore the effective use of technology in responsible accountable ways. We must inspire others to join us in respecting the potential technology can bring to education and learning. We must adapt to the ever changing face of technology as it rises before us and interfaces quickly across the globe.  We must stop asking and start expecting technology upgrades within our unit. We must remain fluid in this on-going self-reflective process as we dream new ways to integrate technology to advance learning for us all.

Our mission was to document a commitment to technology and to provide evidence of the integration of technology throughout our education programs.  Unable to locate specific guidelines for preparing this report, the NCATE Technology Committee emailed NCATE for guidance and carefully combed through numerous documents to inform the creation of a faculty survey to determine the College of Education's (COE) status among effective users and teachers of technology. Documents providing direction included but were not limited to the COE vision, mission, and values plus: NETs for Teachers, ISTE standards, NCATE Unit Standards, University Mission  Vision and Values, COE Conceptual Framework, NCATE BOE Reports and Checklists, Strategic Actions and Initiatives from the university draft '08, and the Distance Ed Program Vision.  In addition to conducting a college wide survey of faculty and satisfying NCATE's technology standards for accredited schools of education plus meeting all key indicators established by the National Commission on Teaching, interviews were conducted with the chairs of all Unit Standards Committees and SPA Report writers plus Chairs of departments within the COE to learn of the extent of technology integration throughout our many programs.
It was also noted that the state of Texas has a long range plan for teaching technology in the schools, Texas schools expect teachers to teach technology (TA TEKS facts sheet), and that this knowledge is tested on required state teacher exams where SFA currently enjoys a 100% pass rate.  Minutes were kept of meetings and a site map was created to facilitate location of specific documents and information.  

Results of our study were impressive.  Findings confirm and a personal case history attests to the transformation technology has made on this campus.  The COE is alive with technological growth from the ground-breaking telecommunications building ceremony to its ITS, OIT, ITV, WebCTNetNET, SFA-LAWN, ETVVGigaPop, TCBTC, ETRC, and more.  It appears our special  "hidden treasurewill not remain hidden for long.

Bottom Line - SFA's College of Education meets and exceeds all NCATE standards for technology integration
for both Educator and Other School Personnel for both Undergraduate and Advanced levels.

Please feel free to browse through these pages to see the evidence for yourself. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact me and I will return your request as soon as possible.

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn Abel, Chair
NCATE Technology Report

Committee Members
Marie Davenport davenportmk@sfasu.edu
Steve Josephsen sjosephsen@sfasu.edu
Robert Judy rjudy@sfasu.edu
Jarod Lambert lambertjm@sfasu.edu
Sally Swearingen sswearingen@sfasu.edu
Edward Wittel ewittel@sfasu.edu








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NCATE’s Task Force on Technology and Teacher Education was commissioned to help guide the development and implementation of technology expectations for teacher candidates and for accredited schools of education, and to guide the organization’s use of technology in the accreditation process. NCATE issued this report in 1997. It recommended that NCATE emphasize technology as central to the teacher preparation process. http://www.ncate.org/public/technology21.asp?ch=113
Technology and the New Professional Teacher:
Preparing for the 21st Century Classroom (1997) 
Task Force on Technology and Teacher Education

U.S. Secretary, Rod Paige, Technology Plan
Transforming Education ppt
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/docs_and_pdf/NETP2005.ppt#400,4,Economy

Updated http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/theplan/edlite-TearDownThoseWalls.html

Federal Support for Technology in K-12 Education - Gary Chapman
http://brookings.nap.edu/books/0815773579/html/307.html

  p. 307-8, 313, 342 by Gary Chapman
Copyright 2000, the Brookings Institution Press.
The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC 20036   Telephone: (202) 797-6000



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Debate Rages On
Federal Support for Technology in K-12 Education
Gary Chapman

"The first IBM personal computer (PC) was released in August 1981; a year later, Time magazine named the personal computer its "Man of the Year." A year after that, in l983, the U.S. government and its research partners implemented the technical decisions that created the Internet. The world has not been the same since."...

...Nevertheless, despite this immense transformation of modern, industrial societies, and the significance of computational technologies, no agreement exists on how to use this technology in education. ...One reason for this lack of consensus may be that, while the proper role of computers and networks in K-12 education is being determined, what learning means is being rethought....

...Educators face a daunting challenge to find the proper balance between building job-related technological skills and fostering the "whole person" in K-12 education. The debate is not new, but it is under new intense pressure because of the strong push to get computers and the Internet into K-12 schools throughout the nation. The novelty of these technologies, especially the Internet, means that their potential impact on learning in young people is not yet known. The intensity of the current debate, and the stakes attached to its resolution, make most teachers and school administrators desperate for some guidance. This is the challenge for experts and policy makers...

..."While all students should know something about computers and technology issues, the most important challenges facing k-12 schools have little to do with technology. The best of all possible worlds would be for computers and the Internet to become part, and probably only a small part, of a thriving academy of motivated learners whose time in cyberspace is significantly exceeded by time spent reading, visiting interesting places and people, having fascinating conversations, helping their peers, developing their physical and artistic talents, and enjoying life.
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Federal Support for Technology in K-12 Education - Gary Chapman
http://brookings.nap.edu/books/0815773579/html/307.html

  p. 307-8, 313, 342 by Gary Chapman

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