School Technology Policies

Note: This article is available in a slightly different format in AASA’s Leader’s Edge newsletter. -christopher

As a school administrator, you are already aware of many of the budget-related impacts on everything from textbook purchases to cleaning supplies. On one hand, you need to trim the budget, but on the other hand, the demands of the schools are increasing as staff members try to do more with less. While the situation can be disheartening, technology still keeps moving, and so do instructional needs of students.

Many administrators feel that one place to cut budgets is in the area of technology. “With so many free resources available on the web,” those administrators might say, “why are we still paying so much for instructional software?” It’s a good question, but what you may not know is that sharks and pirates are often found in the open waters of the internet… and you, your school, and your district may pay a steep price for “free”.

1. Tighter budgets means increased scrutiny. Assuming that you are already budget-development savvy, your financial books will be inspected carefully as funding shrinks. You may feel a compulsion to buy discount computing equipment or supplies, but think through your options carefully. Most school districts struggle to maintain technology longer than its anticipated lifecycle. Would you feed discount junk food to an ailing relative? (Okay, this is a rhetorical question!) Using discount computing equipment on your network or substandard supplies in your printers will only shorten the life of these hard-working tools, resulting in a very real price tag when you have to replace the technology. The best investment you can make is to keep the technology equipment in good working order with the right supplies and the highest-quality replacements as possible. (Cuban, 2001, p. 193)
2. Just because it is free does NOT mean it is right. Every district has its own characteristics, behaviors, expectations, and investment in public education. What more and more administrators are finding is that “free” and “useful” share an inverse relationship. If you look for productivity software, learning resources, blogging tools, podcast servers, and forum applications, you can find all of these for free and waiting to download. Some tools even give provisions for enterprise use and implementation. If we take a page from business partners, educators would also be looking for the “Total Cost of Ownership”, or TCO. How many people will it take to convert to a free productivity suite? Are there compatibility issues with our existing software? Is the information provided by these educational tools accurate? Will our audience of students, teachers, and parents accept the change? How often (and, simply, how) will we manage upgrades to the tool? All of these costs are figured into the TCO, and you need to think clearly through the product lifecycle to examine the cost of the free tool. You may be surprised to realize it is more expensive in the longer term. (Shuen, 2008, p. 19)
3. Who has your back? Some districts in larger metropolitan areas have a local newspaper that loves airing your district’s news. One way to stay off of the front page of your local newspaper is to make sure that your purchases or decisions are consistent with the district’s vision and mission. Just because you are not purchasing as much equipment or as many services does not mean you are making the right decision for your school or your district. Work with the AASA, the National School Board Association, or other professional organizations to research the best technology purchasing options for a district or school like yours. Once you have formulated your plan, communicate the plan and solicit feedback from the School Board and district administrators to help others understand your decision-making process. (Creighton, 2003, pp. 87-94)
4. You DID read the fine print, right? Would you give a copy of your student data to people on the street? One of the most frightening shortcomings of free software and internet resources is the lack of protective measures for data kept online. Unfortunately, this means that data is often used for purposes outside of your students’ and teachers’ control when subscribing to free online services. To protect yourself from such challenges, read the fine print of the contract (and if there is no contract, then run, don’t walk, away from that vendor!) and ask a few key questions to help assist your decision-making:

• How long have you been in business, and what is your business model for the next two years?
• Where will the data be stored?
• How will the data be backed up?
• Who will have access to the data?
• If we no longer subscribe to your service, can you assure that the data will be fully destroyed or returned to us?
• What is the full list of clients (with contact information) using your product? (Wells, 2010, pp. 107-114)

Making decisions about spending shrinking budgets is a harrowing and thankless task. However, as a school administrator, you have faced larger challenges and succeeded. Avoid being swayed by the concept of “free”, because there are many examples of leaked data, disappearing vendors, and ballooning implementation costs that can add stress to your very full plate. Even if technology is not your strongest aptitude, diverse sets of resources are available through your district, your professional organizations, and your colleagues. Take advantage of these resources to make deeply considered, and deeply effective, decisions.

Learn More

For more on this and related topics, read Smarter Clicking: School Technology Policies that Work!, a joint publication with Corwin Press, AASA, and NASSP. Smarter Clicking is designed to provide ready, effective access to dozens of resources and processes to protect students using technology.

References

Creighton, T. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold & underused: Computers in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Shuen, A. (2008). Web 2.0: A strategy guide. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Wells, C. (2010). Smarter clicking: School technology policies that work! Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.