Technology Education In Alabama

Alabama Course of Study

The Alabama State Department of Education's Course of Study for Technology Education divides the content into standards that support the overall goal of technology literacy, providing assistance to teachers for planning technology based activities. Key components of the curriculum are knowing and applying technology issues and applications for a variety of purposes.

The six major technology literacy standards as defined by the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) are as follows:

1. Basic Operations and Concepts,
2. Social, Ethical and Human Issues,
3. Technology Productivity Tools,
4. Technology Communications Tools,
5. Technology Research Tools, and
6. Technology Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Tools.

Integrating these strands into meaningful classroom activities provides opportunities for K-12 students to obtain and communicate information, to respond to communication, to use technology for learning and reflecting, and to apply critical- and creative-thinking skills for solving problems.

Integration Across the Curriculum

Technology is a tool for learning and increasing productivity. The technology content standards are designed to be used to enhance learning within and across all curricula. The grade K-8 content standards are grouped into grade range clusters to be integrated across the curriculum. Although grades 9-12 content standards are intended to be used for developing the required Computer Applications course, they are also intended to be used as a guide to integrating technology across the curriculum.

The International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) presents the curricular integration of technology as follows: "Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting. Technology enables students to learn in ways not previously possible. Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information ina timely manner, analyze and synthesize the infomration, and present it professionally. The technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions--as accessible as all other classroomtools.: (National Educational Technology Standards for Students, p.6)

Grades 6-8 Overview

Students in grades 6-8 possess a range of intellectual abiliites, learning styles, talents, and interests. These students are going through a transitional period that includes physical, social, emotional and intellectual changes. They are developing the skills to solve complex verbal and hypothetical problems.

In an increasingly information-oriented world, demands upon students to think on higher lvels are steadily increasing. Technology tools helpto augment and optimize their ability to process information. Students are provided with technological tools and knowledge needed to synthesize information from across the curriculum efficiently and appropriately.

The technology content standards for grades 6-8 are designed to complement all areas of the academic curriculum. The integration of technology enhances mddle school students' emerging abilities to analyze, sythesize and evaluate information. Students can use productivity/multimedia tools to demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences more effectively. Students can also evaluate the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and bias of electronic sources concerning real-world problems.

Computer Use nad Internet Acceptable Use Policy