Technology Applications TEKS Summary

The Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS are very basic; however, they develop a foundation of skills that will allow children to become confident and independent users of age-appropriate technologies, which is critical to the development of 21st century skills. By the end of the prekindergarten years, children should know how to open and navigate through age-appropriate software programs and be able to use those programs to create and express their own ideas. Pre-K students should also be able to identify a variety of computer input devices, including the keyboard, mouse, touch screen, sound recorder, and CD-ROM and have the ability to operate voice/sound recorders and touch screens. Ultimately, the goal of the Technology Application TEKS for Pre-K students is to allow them to recognize that information is accessible through the use of technology and develop the basis for their technological advancement in order acquire the skills they need to learn and grow throughout their lives.

By instilling technology skills in students during the prekindergarten years, Texas will ensure that its students have the ability to advance those skills as they move through their schooling and become competitive in the global marketplace when they enter the workforce. This scaffolding approach to teaching technology skills allows educators to systematically sequence content, materials, tasks, and support, so that children can accomplish tasks and develop new skills. Students are provided with support as long as necessary for them to be able to complete tasks independently and become proficient in the use of new technologies.

This scaffolding technique is visible in all of the Technology Applications TEKS. For example, in the Technology Applications TEKS for grades 3-5, students first develop the foundations, which allows them to understand the components of technology, such as the hardware and software, and then utilize those components to perform basic tasks, such as creating and saving a file. As part of the foundations, the students also learn how to use a variety of devicies, including keyboards, scanners, mouse, etc., and are educated about the acceptable use of technology and laws that pertain to copyrighted information. After students develop the foundation skills, they move on to developing information acquisition skills, where they learn how to use a variety of strategies to locate information using electronic resources and are able to understand the many formats in which the information is presented. At this point students also learn to evaluate the information for usefulness. Students are then taught to select and use appropriate computer-based productivity tools, such as word processing or presentation software, to express their ideas and solve problems. They must also use their acquired research skills to create new knowledge and evaluate their and their peers' work. Finally, students must communicate their information effectively and deliver their products through a variety of formats, including printed and digital displays, and assess their work to determine its relevance to the assigned task.