Technology Assessments

In all honesty, I never knew what technology knowledge was expected of me as a teacher. I never took the time to educate myself because I knew my technology skills were a small step ahead of others. Accessing the educators’ technology leadership knowledge and skills is extremely valuable. It lays out specifically what I am expected to know to successfully educate my students. There is also value in accessing the knowledge and skill level of student technology. After reading what was expected of a student in the eighth grade, I began to feel a little worried. I don’t believe that all of the students in my school are meeting those standards. I think core curriculum teachers are so focused on their subject standards, that the technology piece gets put aside. I can’t blame them. They are under so much pressure. Armstrong and Warlick (2004) have asked the question, “What do students really need to be learning today in order to be ready for an unpredictable future” (p. 20)? I think they should be learning core curriculum, but they should use digital tools in the process.

A pro of technology assessment is that teachers can identify which areas they and their students are excelling and lacking. The Texas star chart, for example, is organized in a goal-related way. Teachers can strive to reach the highest levels if they understand what the questions actually mean. That leads me to the major con of the assessment. In the past, I have found different technology questions to be hard to understand. Technology jargon is used so much that I fear like I have under rated myself in the past because I did not really understand the question. If others feel the same way, and I am technology literate, have they underrated themselves too?

Reference
Armstrong, S., & Warlick, D. (2004). The new literacy: The 3Rs evolve into the 4Es. Technology & Learning, 25(2), 20.