Empowering Students with the New Tech App TEKS: Crafting Effective 'I Can' Statements for Digital Literacy

 

Overview of the Tech TEKS image

If you are an educator in Texas, you are probably familiar with the new and updated Technology Application TEKS for the 2024 school year. The updated Technology TEKS demonstrate a significant enhancement compared to previous versions. While the former Tech Applications standards primarily emphasized digital skills such as typing and file sharing, the new standards incorporate elements of computer science, coding, and computational thinking. Below are the 5 new strands:

  1. Computational Thinking
  2. Creativity & Innovation
  3. Data Literacy, Management, & Representation
  4. Digital Citizenship
  5. Practical Technology Concepts

During our discussions on the implementation of the new TEKS for our educators, we recognized that there is a significant amount of new information for teachers to absorb. To facilitate a smoother transition, we considered the most effective strategies for rolling out these changes in a manner that does not overwhelm our teachers. The new TEKS contain extensive content that classroom teachers need to navigate. As a result, we determined it would be beneficial to simplify the language of the TEKS into a more concise and accessible format for both students and teachers. 

We were particularly inspired by the work of Melissa Piette and her development of “I Can Statements" in her district, as well as the collaborative efforts of Felecity Treptow and Brendan Kelly, who created the Technology I Can Statements in Apple Books. This is the inspiration that sparked a partnership between April Requard, Morgan Cave, and their teams at Richardson ISD (Lindsay Cross, Ashley Gideon, and Kelsey Ord) and Dripping Springs ISD.

As educational technology specialists, we suggest providing printed materials for teachers to display in their classrooms. Additionally, we propose organizing various opportunities for educators to collaborate and discuss how they are currently addressing these standards in their teaching practices, as well as identifying areas for improvement and growth.

View the Tech App TEKS I Can Statements (8.5x11)

Editable Tech App TEKS I Can Statements (8.5x11)

View the Tech App TEKS I Can Statements (11x17)

Editable Tech App TEKS I Can Statements (11x17)

11x17 printed poster for classroom
An example of the I Can Statements in an 11x17 poster

Elementary School (Implementation School Year 2024–2025):

Middle School (Implementation School Year 2024–2025):

Find the authors of this collaboration here:

Morgan Cave

April Requard

Kelsey Ord

Lindsay Cross

Ashley Gideon

2 replies

September 16, 2024

I was so happy to be a part of this team! I hope teachers find meaningful ways to use these I Can Statements in their own classrooms.

October 03, 2024

These are AMAZING! 🙌 Thank you for sharing. I am using your Canva template to adapt for our Montana tech integration standards and this is such a huge help. I will credit you all when sharing with our teachers - your hard work is appreciated.

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