Technology Application TEKS for Pre Kindergarten to High School:
Overview and Website Resources
Traci Evans
Angelo State University
Technology
Applications standards were developed and adopted in 1998 for Grades Kñ12. The
TEKS in 19 TAC Chapter 126 describe what students should know and be able to do
using technology. The Technology Applications TEKS are divided into four
strands for all grade levels: foundations; information acquisition; work in
solving problems; and communication. The goal of the Technology Applications
TEKS is for students to gain technology-based knowledge and skills and to apply
them to all curriculum areas at all grade levels. Technology Applications TEKS
are divided into grade clusters for Grades Kñ2, 3ñ5, and 6ñ8, and courses for Grades
9ñ12. Students should demonstrate proficiency with the TEKS before they exit
the benchmark Grades of 2, 5, and 8. In addition to
the TEKS, Pre-kindergarten guidelines for Technology Applications were made
available to schools in early 2000. They communicate what three and
four-year-old students should know and be able to do using technology (1996-2010
Long-Range Plan, 2002).
Districts
must ensure that sufficient time is provided for teachers to teach and for
students to learn the essential knowledge and skills in technology applications
for Grades K-12. Specific curriculum requirements for this area are specified
in 19 TAC Chapter 74. The State Board of Education clarified the Chapter 74
curriculum rules related to Technology Applications at the high school level.
Districts must offer at least four of the Technology Applications courses in 19
TAC Chapter 126. This clarification became effective September 1, 2001. There
are multiple avenues of offering the Technology Applications courses including
distance learning. Many schools have taken advantage of dual credit/concurrent
enrollment in colleges and universities to provide instruction in the courses.
The results of these efforts have been to make it possible to teach the
Technology Applications courses when it may not have been possible in other
ways, especially for small, rural schools. All high school graduates are
required to have one technology application graduation credit under all
graduation plans. The State Board of Education approved courses to count for
the Technology Applications graduation credit. Students who take any of the
eight courses in Technology Applications TEKS, Chapter 126 receive this credit.
In addition, there are courses in Career and Technology Education that students
can take to earn this credit (1996-2010 Long-Range
Plan, 2002).
Technology
Applications TEKS continue to be applied across the curriculum in Grades 9ñ12.
In addition, they are the prerequisites for eight high school courses: Computer
Science I, Computer Science II, D
esktop Publishing, Digital Graphics/Animation,
Multimedia, Video Technology, Web Mastering, and Independent Study in
Technology Applications. The courses offer opportunities for in-depth study of
technology at the high school level. They differ from technology courses that
focus primarily on gaining technical skills such as computer repair,
networking, and understanding the ìboxes and wires.î Instead, the Technology
Applications courses are designed to prepare students with a background for
whatever they may choose to do today as well as in their future using multiple
technology applications for a wide variety of learning purposes (1996-2010 Long-Range Plan, 2002).
These ìtechnology literacyî student standards align with
the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Title II, Part D
Enhancing Education through Technology) to ensure that students are ìtechnology
literate by the eighth grade.î Rigorous state curriculum standards in
Technology Applications specify student expectations for the ìtechnology
literateî eighth-grader in Texas. While the Technology Applications TEKS are
specific to technology, it is expected that the TEKS at Grades Kñ8 are not
taught in isolation but are the proficiencies necessary for integrating
technology into the foundation and enrichment curriculum (1996-2010 Long-Range Plan, 2002).
Texas
has come a long way toward meeting these challenges for the 21st Century. The
rigorous content standards outlined in the Technology Applications essential
knowledge and skills clearly articulate what students should know and be able
to do using technology. The State Board for Educator Certification has adopted
standards for what all teachers should know and be able to do using technology
and those standards were based on the Technology Applications TEKS for students
in grades 6-8. Districts are providing campus technology specialists to assist
teachers in meeting these standards and providing rich learning experiences for
their students. Students and teachers across our state are demonstrating their
understanding of these standards through a wide variety of projects and
learning activities. Schools are helping our students learn how to learn. They
are developing skills and habits of learning that will last them a lifetime (1996-2010 Long-Range Plan, 2002).
The Technology
Applications web site was developed to provide official information and
resources for implementing the Technology Applications curriculum. It includes
information about the Technology Applications curriculum, TEKS, graduation
credit, professional development opportunities, and other resources. An online
brochure developed in collaboration among the TEA Educational Technology
Division and the State Board for Educator Certification was posted on the web
site to clarify information and provide the latest from both agencies in
respect to Technology Applications. The site is found at www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/ta.
From 1996 through 2002,
the Texas Education Agency funded the Technology Applications Center for
Educator Development (CED), a component of the Texas Center for Educational
Technology at the University of North Texas, to provide awareness information
and resources for implementing the Technology Applications Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). These resources have been useful to schools,
especially since there were no adopted instructional materials for the elementary
level or for most of the Technology Applications high school courses. The CED
developed and compiled resources for the Technology Applications TEKS at Grades
K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. This included resources for integrating these
Technology Applications TEKS across the foundation curriculum areas. Teaching
materials for the high school courses were compiled and posted. The CEDís
resources can be accessed from the TEA Educational Technology web site at www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/ta.
Technology Applications
Teacher Network Web Site
The Technology
Application Teacher Network is a collaborative project between the twenty Texas
Education Service Centers and the Texas Education Agency and is designed to
provide Texas teachers with resources to implement the Technology Applications
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in the K-12 classroom. This resources
features alerts on issues impacting Technology Applications instruction,
schedules for Technology Applications Professional Development Through
Education Service Centers, and model classroom lesson plans/activities. It also
contains technology integration ideas, promising practices videos and a
discussion board. The Technology
Applications Teacher Network provides coordinated Technology
Applications information, resources, and professional development from the 20
Education Service Centers and Texas Education Agency. The Technology Applications Teacher Network Web Site
resources can be accessed from http://www.techappsnetwork.org/TechApps/.
South-Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium (RTEC)
The South-Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium (RTEC) seeks to support educational systems in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas use technology to foster student success in achieving state content standards, particularly in schools serving high populations of disadvantaged students. The site can be accessed at http://www.southcentralrtec.org.
References
A Report to the 78th Texas Legislature from the Texas Education Agency. (2002). 2002 Update to the Long-Range Plan for Technology 1996-2010 [Electronic Version]. Texas Education Agency.
Educational Technology. (2003). Technology
Applications. Retrieved
Apr. 01, 2003, from Texas Education Agency: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/
SCRTEC. South Central Regional Technology in
Education Consortium.
Retrieved Apr. 01, 2003, from SCRTEC: http://www.southcentralrtec.org/
Texas Center for Educational Technology. (2001). The
Technology Applications Center for Educator Development, Sharing Technology
Application Resources with Teachers. Retrieved Apr. 01, 2003, from The Technology
Applications Center for Educator Development: www.tcet.unt.edu/START
Texas Education Service Centers. (2003). Technology
Applications Teacher Network. Retrieved Apr. 01, 2003, from Region V Education Service Center : http://www.techappsnetwork.org/TechApps/