School Technology Policies

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

In most states, school budgets are receiving unexpected – and intense – scrutiny. There are so many competing demands for resources, and our economic environment is still languishing. Unfortunately, due to the nature of school district budget cycles and funding resources, the worst shortages may be on the horizon for the next school year. Is this the right time, then, to concentrate on innovation? Oddly enough, the answer may be “yes”. 

One of the interesting statements in Friedman’s book Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life is the idea that there are four components of our environment today that are critical to success as leaders (and perhaps as followers, too). They are social change, demands of a new workforce, technological shifts, and changes in organizations and markets. (Friedman, 2008, pp. 19-20) These concepts hinge on change itself, one of the most difficult-to-manage forces in schools today. Used properly, these four success factors can guide the way for school leaders striving to do more with less, and exceed the stringent performance requirements on their schools. 

Here are the four factors (using Friedman’s work as a springboard) from a large-school-district’s perspective on technology innovation:

1. Social Change. We have all heard the good, the bad, and the ugly about social networking, but the forces changing our society through digital communications cannot be ignored. Our students need schools that use social networks when necessary to make knowledge a resource for making decisions. Not only that, if we avoid this trend or outlaw it, our students, and our most promising new teachers, will work around us. Oddly enough, the tools that promote social networking are largely free, paid for by advertisers or other types of business models, such as premium subscriptions. 
    
   Many teachers would take advantage of safely using innovative social if they only knew how to do so safely and effectively. Moderated blogs, protected or “walled garden” social networking sites, or even some student-oriented discussion rooms can be used for classroom and extracurricular instruction, and many of them are available for free.
2. Demands of a New Workforce. Teachers emerging into the workforce over the last five years expect a great deal more from technology than more seasoned teachers. On one hand, they may need a crash course on protecting their image and building appropriate electronic boundaries, but on the other hand, these new teachers may bring new methods to finding instructional materials. As a leader, you may need to work more closely with these teachers to learn their education-related technology ideas that may be appropriate for other groups within your staff. Online resource banks, collaborative workspaces, video and podcast tools, and online polling may be tools that your newest teachers may have recently used in their college classes, making these teachers a source of free innovation.
3. Technological Shifts. Technology tools are becoming more customizable, more personal, and more flexible. They are also becoming more ubiquitous, in the forms of handheld applications owned by students. One site that I recently discovered thanks to a colleague was a response tool for smartphones that could be purchased for the school for about the same cost as a set of response devices. The students use their own phones to respond to questions, and answers are collected and displayed, just like other classroom response programs. (Click here to learn more)  Another was a mind-mapping presentation tool that has incredible online display capability and equally incredible educator pricing. (Click here to learn more) Many educators forget that technological shifts include better pricing for many products, and newer, cheaper, and more competitive tools emerge almost every day in many facets of education.
4. Changes in Organizations and Markets. If you have specific technology-related funds to spend, now is the perfect time to establish a vendor relationship where you are in charge. The vendors right now are anxious to establish and maintain customer relationships. Many already have educational pricing, but general tools, like productivity tools, web site development tools, administrative applications, and portal resources, may be available at reduced prices for educators. Another option is to work with other schools or districts to find out how they are accomplishing their goals or spending their funds. For example, some schools are writing subject-specific iPod Touch applications for the class sets of handheld devices that have already been purchased.  If other schools or districts have ideas that help lower your costs to achieve the same (or higher) goals, then this is another example of inexpensive innovation.

 At the end of the day, we must also ask ourselves to imagine the world where our students will enter a workforce either prepared or racing to catch up. Somehow, we must change to meet the students’ needs, the teachers’ needs, and our leadership needs to address our present financial challenges alongside our need to innovate. Your experience in negotiating agreements is important, and you can certainly lean on others to help you make the most effective decisions. With these tips, you can start a plan for innovation that is either low-cost or no-cost, and the students will benefit from your leadership and thrift! 
Friedman, S. D. (2008). Total leadership: be a better leader, have a richer life.

Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.