Budgeting
We have
to reconsider how we budget for technology in our school districts.
Too often we view technology as a single budget item and forget that there
are two distinct aspects of funding technology. First, we need to
budget for maintaining the technology we already have. This figure
will change as we invest in technology more within BCPS. This
includes replacement and repair of equipment, service agreements, and
training of staff. It does schools more harm than good to implement
new technologies at the expense of letting present programs and equipment
go unused because staff are not trained or the equipment is not repaired.
Second, we must have funds available to implement new technologies and
programs. This includes equipment, technical support, and training.
It is more important to make steady progress forward than to
unrealistically assume that one day the funding will become available to
do everything at once. In carefully planned phases, BCPS has set
both long and short-term goals in meeting our specific situation.
Budgets
are important to consider for the use of technology within a school
district. Too often technology is viewed as a single budget item
when in fact there are two distinct aspects of funding technology.
First, there is a need to budget for maintaining the technology that
already exists. This includes replacement and repair of equipment,
service agreements, and training of staff. It does more harm than
good to implement new technologies at the expense of letting present
programs and equipment go unused because staff are not trained or the
equipment is not repaired. Second, funds must be available to
implement new technologies and programs. This includes the
equipment, technical support, and training. It is more important to
make steady progress than to assume that one day the funding will become
available to do everything at once. This day will probably never
come.
Budgeting
Process
Technology
purchases can be funded through a number of sources, but what is important
is developing a process where the school district or building can
establish priorities. It is important to purchase equipment
appropriate for the use - elementary needs differ from secondary needs -
but at the same time, achieve standardization of models throughout the
district. In order to assure standardization, building technology
committees should select their prioritized needs from a comprehensive list
of equipment that the school district will support.
Equipment
Replacements and Relocation
In general, the life-span of computers purchased today is
assumed to be three to five years, but hardware is used in schools until
it is no longer cost effective to repair. This makes it extremely important to develop, as a part of our
Technology Plan, procedures a time schedule for equipment replacement.
It should be possible to extend the life span of technology
equipment by developing a plan to relocate equipment at different levels
within a school district when the usage changes at another level. For example, when the need becomes greater at the secondary level
for graphic capabilities, it might be feasible to relocate the present
equipment with elementary programs that do not require the same
capabilities.
Ordering
Procedures
Specifications
Equipment
specifications for audiovisual and computer equipment should be written
collectively by the people requesting the equipment with district
standards as a guide. The types of equipment should be determined by
discussions and requests from the building technology committees, the
repair records of that equipment in the past, and compatibility with
systems already in place. Specifications should be updated annually.
Buildings should contact the district technology coordinator for district
standards on equipment.
Warranty
period, ease of executing warranty repairs, delivery arrangements, and
accessories are important factors that must be considered when ordering
equipment.
Installation
All
equipment should be tested and installed by the personnel that understand
how to use the equipment upon delivery. In the purchase of any
equipment, the cost of installation should be considered.
A savings can be achieved through installation of computer equipment and
related peripherals by your own staff, but a determination about whether
they can effectively install the equipment before you decide not to
include installation as part of the original purchase must be considered.
From our past practice, it always costs more to contract for installation
after the equipment is purchased than at the time of the equipment
purchase. For large installations, we have used faculty volunteers
from the building involved to participate in the installation, thus
providing large savings. The key is to be able to provide adequate
supervision and direction to their efforts.
Upon
installation, all audiovisual and computer equipment should be inventoried
with our Fixed Asset System. Upon receipt of software and media
orders, all materials should be catalogued.
Without question, we are at a critical junction in education
in regard to how technology is used to enhance learning.
As schools and school systems invest a larger proportion of
their resources in technology, the need becomes greater to establish plans that
will both justify the expenditures for the future and provide a vision of what
is to be accomplished through the use of technology.
Computer System Platforms
