I received a bit of positive feedback from my last entry, so I thought I’d take a few minutes and combine culture with another popular topic – technology inventory.
First, a note on the inventory collection itself. In Kentucky, we may see some changes with our yearly technology inventory report that we ask school districts to complete. For years, we have asked school districts MANY questions about all aspects of technology, including the number of devices, projectors, numbers on various operating systems and software installations, etc. Our leadership created a bit of a stir during our last webcast by hinting that we may no longer ask districts to separate devices by age or hardware specifications. Instead of trying to determine how many devices are ‘old’ and in need of replacement, we may simply take a count and assume that a device that is in use must therefore meet the local district’s standard.
This was met by districts (and, admittedly, by some of our internal staff) by some initial questions. How will I compare with other districts? How will the state know how relatively old everything is? How will I leverage this report to fund the technology upgrades that need to take place? That last question is the crux of the matter. At both the local and the state level, this report and its data has been used to validate technology needs in our school districts. How do we move forward and, furthermore, what does this have to do with the culture of my school district?
A strong technology leader shouldn’t need a state-mandated report to demonstrate the technology needs of the school district. This report has previously helped CIOs, but I believe that this change will simply signal shift to better use of local data to inform district stakeholders about technology needs. To that end, let’s reflect on our local needs assessment and ask some critical questions.
One of my CIOs (follow him @ujdmc) is quick to analyze the relative age of staff devices versus the age of the devices supplied for students. Everyone should have a refresh cycle and these things will naturally fluctuate during a refresh plan. If, however, your refresh plan involves regular staff device replacement and a consistent “trickle-down” of those older machines for student use, that would definitely speak to your district’s culture. The goal is to take care of all users and the student/staff device health comparison is one that’s worth examining.
Relative age and performance of hardware also speaks to your culture. Don’t get me wrong – I understand that all districts have some users who believe that a two-year old device is ancient and in need of replacement. Put yourself in the place of one of your teachers. I assume they’ve acquired a good education, are entrusted with the care of quite a few children each day and are also asked to engage these kids daily with creative learning opportunities. If their technology experience is poor due to bad hardware performance, this needs to be addressed. Otherwise, you’ll frustrate your user(s) and imply that the poor state of the technology they use is of little concern.
Age and performance aren’t the only factors to consider as it relates to device deployment. Accessibility is another important consideration. Years ago, the debate was limited to desktops and the “labs versus classrooms” deployment conversation. Our own office was having that conversation… 15 years ago! With the introduction of so much mobile technology and personally-owned technology, the conversation has completely shifted. Even in 2014, though, we still see classrooms with a few dated desktops sitting the back. Are they being used? If so, for what? Today’s decision points aren’t simply related to the age of the device. What needs to be accomplished instructionally… and what type of technology best fits that instructional need? Perhaps those old desktops need to be upgraded. Perhaps they need to be replaced by a couple of laptops or tablets. Your situation may yield answers different from your neighboring districts. That’s fine. The goal here is that the technology leaders are asking the question(s) to lead to the right decisions being made.
While we’re thinking about technology performance, let’s not limit the discussion to the ‘computers.’ Our teachers are presenters, so we need to consider the classroom presentation technology. How old is that projector? How well does it work nowadays? I just did a quick check and it looks like a widescreen projector in the 3000 lumen range sells for about $600. The lumen ratings, resolution and format have improved quite a bit over the past few years. An ‘old’ projector is better than no projection capability at all, but the projection/display topic should definitely be part of your long-term technology refresh planning. Keeping this technology current tells your staff that they are valued and that their presentation quality is valued.
So, I end again by asking about the culture that you’re building with your technology decisions. Everyone can’t have the newest technology at all times, but a proper needs assessment will lead to a thorough technology plan that shows fair consideration of all needs. Most users will be cooperative if they know that there’s a plan and that they are a part of that plan. Take care!