STaR Chart (Week 2, Part 2)

The STaR Chart is an online resource tool used for self-assessment of a campus' and district's efforts to effectively integrate technology across the curriculum. The area of the chart that I choose to discuss is "Infrastructure for Technology." Challenges remain in this area because not all districts and campuses have the connectivity and tools needed to integrate technology in the teaching and learning process or to deliver online learning experiences to meet individual needs. The individual areas that make up this part of the STaR Chart include: students per computer, Internet access/connectivity speed, other classroom technology, technical support, LAN & WAN, and distance learning capacity.

From the 2006-2007 school year till the present, our campus has yet to make any improvements on students per computer area of the chart. We have yet to get any rating higher than Advanced Tech in INF1 because our campus does not support the number of computers needed for each student. Overall all areas in the "Infrastructure of Technology," receive and Advanced Tech rating or lower each year. Most classrooms may have up to three computers if any. According to the U.S. Census Bureau for the 2005-2006 school year, there were 14 million computers available for classroom use as opposed to the 55 million that were enrolled in schools. That is a very large gap. Only 54% of the nation's schools had Internet, 84% of the schools had high speed Internet, and only 19% had distance learning programs. I have had the opportunity to visit all middle schools campuses in my district and it seems as though all classrooms are about the same in the fact that most classes may have anywhere from 0 to 4 computers. All campuses have high speed Internet, but what good are we doing for the students and meeting their individual needs if we don't even have the amount of technology needed to support it?

Overall I feel as though the only way to truly improve this area is to make all the funds and resources available in order for the technology to surpass all odds. Campuses, districts, and states need to make the budget for technology the number one priority to help meet the needs of students in the 21st Century. All campuses should be required to have "working" high speed Internet. One other suggestion that I would make is that all campuses, not just high schools, have distance learning programs available for students. Students are becoming more knowledgeable in areas that we never could have dreamed of. It should be our priority to make sure that students receive that knowledge through every imaginable possibility when they walk through our campus' doors.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s0252.pdf

http://starchart.esc12.net/