Today we are going to explore the Texas STaR Chart and how it effects us here at Kazen Middle School.
On today’s agenda we are going to be going over what exactly is the Texas STaR Chart, why and how we use the STaR Chart, our campus data for Kazen Middle School and come to a conclusion based on our data.
The Texas STaR Chart is the online assessment tool that you are asked to participate in every year. By doing this evaluative tool it allows the campus to use the data to make decisions about planning for technology, professional development that might be needed, budgeting for technology, and other areas that need to be improved upon dealing with technology. This tool was designed to align with the Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020. It assess needs in the areas of Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support and Infrastructure for Technology
We use the data from the STaR Chart to help us create our school’s technology plan. We also use the data we get from the chart to set our technology goals for our campus. We use the STaR Chart to measure your level of knowledge and implementation of technology in the classroom. We as leaders use the information to plan for professional development as well as determining our budget for technology use. The data can also be applied towards the allocation of grants for technology.
This bar graph shows the four areas of the STaR Chart. Each area shows how we did as a campus for three consecutive years. The green bar represents the year 2007-2008. The pink bar represents the year 2008-2009 and the orange bar represents the year 2009-2010. As you can see from year to year we remain steady in the areas of Teaching and Learning, Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure. However the year 2008-2009 showed some decreases. I believe that this has to do with the fact that our campus had many beginning teachers join our faculty.
As you can see this chart shows the four areas along with each of the three years. The last column shows the classification rating that we received in this area. This data corresponds to the data in the bar graph.
In 2009-2010 we were classified as Advanced Tech in all four areas. Our highest area in the 2009-2010 year was that of the Educator Preparation and Development area where we scored a 17. We have also steadily remained the same in the areas of Internet Access Connectivity Speed, Communication and Collaboration and Leadership and Vision. We as a campus are making improvements but there is more room for growth. Let’s make this year even better.
The areas in which we need improvement are budgeting, students per computer, distance learning capacity, planning and online learning. Budgeting goes hand in hand with the students per computer. We as a campus need to make sure that we have the funds to provide enough computers for the students to use in class and in the labs. In the area of distance learning capacity we need to make sure that we are providing instruction using online media such as video streaming, podcasts and more. In the planning area we need to make sure that our campus has technology goals that we are working towards.
In conclusion the Texas STaR Chart allows for us as a campus to plan our technology use and integration. We are making progress every year in all areas however we need to work towards integrating technology within the curriculum.
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