Kentucky Academy of Technology Education Pages Are Changing

H.E. Luccock said, "No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it." The web pages created and posted by the Kentucky Academy of Technology Education have been our attempt to provide valuable resources that save educators time as they incorporate technology into their content. Our staff has been fortunate to have the support of so many teachers who have joined our band to locate and create resources to share with others. As Kentucky begins to adopt new standards and make changes that will once again make us think about how we need to move forward with technology, KATE thinks it is time to not only share the music from our band, but to join together as an orchestra of educators performing a symphony of teaching and learning each and every day. We are adding many new features to our webpage to make it a Personal Learning Network (PLN) for Kentucky educators. The pages will be evolving as new components are added. Suggestions for changes will not only be accepted, but other users will be able to vote and help prioritize the changes we will be making. We are using cutting edge technologies to develop our page and will be sharing those with you as well in the future. We will be showing up on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites. Please take the time to follow us and help us share the free resources with your PLNs.

Technology and Standards

Many blog and listserv discussions during the last several weeks have been about technology standards, technology proficiency, technology measurement/assessment, etc.

During the 90s, there was a great deal of focus on equity in Kentucky and the importance of providing technology tools in all of the classrooms of Kentucky. There were many of us who were so excited that Kentucky was putting technology tools in the classrooms. We were passionate about the power of technology in the hands of knowledgeable teachers to help all students learn in ways that provide the relevance and meaning that challenges them to high levels of understanding.

Since then there have been leaders in the Kentucky Department of Education and other organizations such as KySTE who have worked hard to develop and adopt benchmark standards to guide the progress of Kentucky students toward proficiency as required by the Kentucky Program of Studies and the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In fact, Kentucky technology leaders began reporting the numbers of proficient teachers and students in their districts during this school year.

It is obvious in every district that I visit what an important role technology is playing in today's learning environment and the tremendous key that it will be to the future of Kentucky. In the next few months and years, we must continue to call attention to the value of technology and the ways we use it in education. The Kentucky Department of Education has a page of important links to follow related to the implementation of Senate Bill 1. To achieve the revision of standards mandated in the bill, Kentucky joined the Common Core Standards State Initiative. This month Kentucky was the first to adopt core standards from this initiative in Mathematics and English/Language Arts. I have created a page where I will attempt to compile resources related to the Common Core Standards State Initiative and technology in Kentucky.

I was happy to see the emphasis that was placed on the new National Education Technology Plan that was introduced today and am quite hopeful that we can us the contents of this document as we strive to work together to ensure that we continue to draw attention to the need for technology and its importance to students in Kentucky and all of the states involved in the Common Core Standards State Initiative. Please share your ideas and suggestions.