July 2004 — SETDA
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Texas: Klein ISD Moves From Learning to Use Technology to Using Technology to Learn
One-to-One Computing
Every year, all Klein ISD employees complete a technology competencies self- assessment based on standards established in 2001 by the Texas State Board for Educator Certification. (These standards are the same as the eighth-grade TA TEKS for students.) Based on the results of the self-assessment, teachers choose to participate in technology classes offered year-round by the instructional technology staff. Campus administrators use the results of the self-assessment to plan for campus-based technology professional development, often taught by fellow teachers on the campus. In addition to district and campus classes, TIMs for teachers on their home campuses presented one-to-one training to meet teacher needs. As teachers completed their training, hardware and software were installed in their classrooms. Klein ISD was awarded two technology challenge grants for its work in educator preparation and development in the area of technology integration.
In 1998, working in grade-level and content-area teams, district teachers assigned specific technology TA TEKS to content areas. This created both a vertical and horizontal alignment of the TA TEKS, and assured that all students would be taught the TA TEKS in the manner defined by the Texas Education Agency. Today, Klein ISD is in the process of creating a fully aligned curriculum document for all teachers. By summer, the TA TEKS will be fully embedded within the core content TEKS at all grade levels.
Initially the distribution of hardware and software to teacher's classrooms was based on the completion of training or demonstration of proficiency. However, today, a majority of Klein ISD teachers are at the emergent or competent level in most categories of the technology competencies self-assessment. With a technologically proficient teacher corps, the district is now beginning a process of establishing a baseline standard of technology tools for all classrooms, which includes a minimum of four student workstations. The district's long-range plan for technology includes a one-to-one student-to-computer ratio by 2010.
'Using Technology to Learn'
In keeping with the technology literacy requirement of No Child Left Behind which states that "all students must be technology literate by the eighth grade," K-8 teachers of core content subjects in Klein ISD are required to submit a status report to their principals every six weeks that indicates how well each student is doing in mastering the TA TEKS. Ultimately, the district will include a grade for technology applications on all K-8 students' report cards. High school teachers build upon the basic level of mastery and assure that students can continue to use 21st century tools for learning as they continue into grades 9- 12. In addition, each student is required to complete one highly specialized technology applications course as a requirement in order to graduate.
Though grades on a report card can tell part of the story, the real proof is in the digital products and academic success of Klein ISD students. Today in Klein, it is not unusual to see students in the primary grades using presentation and spreadsheet software to learn math concepts, such as the example prepared by a first-grade bilingual student (see Figure 1 below). The district's fifth-grade students use databases and word processing tools to build a library of book reports. In addition, students in the eighth grade combine Internet research, word processing and spreadsheet tools to learn about presidential elections (see Figure 2 below). These are just a few examples of how Klein students are "using technology to learn."
