Responses and Reflections of Technology Assessments

After completing the Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA survey, it became evident that I had more weaknesses than strengths in educational technology. In general, I found through completing these surveys that I use the technology that is provided by the district for myself, but I do not implement technology into student learning in my classroom. It also became obvious that my district does not require or facilitate the consistent implementation of technology into student learning.
The Technology Applications Inventory was more of an analysis of my own uses of technology. I found that I was fairly adequate in the Foundations of Technology. I was in the middle on Information Acquisition and Solving Problems. I found that I was extremely behind in the Communications strand. I never use any of the publishing or design features of technology in or outside of the classroom. It was rather eye-opening to see the areas that I have either rarely or never used that were addressed in this inventory.
The SETDA Survey dealt more with the availability and use of technology in my district and classroom. I found that my district has minimal expectations and few requirements for technology implementation into student learning. We have access to labs and teacher usage for managerial purposes, but the usage by students was nowhere near the standards of this survey. The specific areas that I identified as weaknesses all involved the integration of technology into daily student learning.
I thought the assessments were extremely detailed and very thorough in their questioning. I felt they included so many areas of technology that I'm not sure any individual teacher would feel like they met all of these expectations. I feel there are other areas in my school where different technology applications are being met, and if this survey was looked at at the entire school level, I believe that collectively our school could be meeting many of the students needs.
These assessments did help me identify areas of technology that I will need to develop for a future in educational leadership. I became aware of the need for professional development needed for classroom teachers in the implementation of technology into student learning in the classroom. Integrating technology into our courses can help better prepare our students for their future.