What role does school administrators have in technology purchasing?

 





So your technology coordinator comes to you, the principal, and suggests that the school consider purchasing new devices? According to Frazier and Hearington (2017), "When, teachers, administrators, board members, community representatives, and students are all involved, a variety of needs and ideas can be expressed and vetted, and a broad base of support can be established for the plan" (p. 169). A principal must have a clearly defined purpose for the purchase. Are the new devices being purchased as replacements? What is the school's technology plan?

If the devices need to be replaced, then a few criteria have to be met. Most notably is the company's past service, the number of equipment problems related to the manufacturer, and its overall quality. If all of the criteria have been positive, the principal will most likely consider re-purchasing the equipment.

However, suppose the purchase is for new equipment. In that case, the school principal will expect the coordinator to develop a new technology plan or refer to the existing one. Most schools have a technology committee to help the principal make a sound purchase decision and stay within the budget restraints. The committee's job is to detail how the students and staff will integrate the technology into their classroom instruction. Additionally, the committee will have a clear and defined explanation of how it will benefit the students and staff population.

Sweeney(2019) lists the five criteria that a school should consider when purchasing technology.


1. Make sure the technology purchases are aligned with the goals and standards of the school curriculum.

The device or technology must be able to meet the needs of the students and teachers.


2. Make sure the technology purchase will increase student achievement.

There needs to be a measurable element that will enable teachers to track and monitor student achievement and

growth.


3. Make sure the school’s infrastructure can handle the new tech and protect students’ privacy.

Many online predators look for ways to entice and engage in inappropriate conversations with students.

A school's infrastructure must protect the students while they are online and provide a secure network

for them to access daily.




4. Make sure to provide ongoing support for all users.

According to Zimmerman (2018), teachers must be on board with the implementation. To ensure a successful integration of technology in a school, the stakeholders have to feel supported. Teachers need to know that someone is there to help them during the implementation phase. School administrators should provide ongoing support for teachers and staff. Part of the support process needs to include time for teachers to integrate technology into their classroom instruction successfully. The help may consist of professional development and one on one personal support.

5. Make sure that all stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process.

It is vital to include stakeholders in the decision-making process. Having the support of your stakeholders will make sure that there is a smooth transition into technology integration. According to Meador (2018), "When decisions are made through a process that is genuinely inclusive and transparent, people tend to buy in and support those decisions even when they are not directly involved." I strongly believe in including stakeholders and using social media to tell your school story. If the staff and students don't tell the school's story, others will, and you won't like the story they want to tell. Getting other stakeholders involved will help with trust issues. By inviting the stakeholder and having an open-door policy, you will have less resistance to change. The image below identifies some examples of stakeholders in schools.







  References 


DyKnow. (2019, January 4). Enabling Teachers to Teach with Technology  [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuqY9IcY8lc&t=29s

Edutopia (2019, May 9). A Student-Centered Model of Blended Learning [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/zrR-KIoggf4

Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The technology coordinator's handbook. International Society for Technology in Education. 

Meador, D. (2018, August 27). Transform Your School with Collaborative Decision Making

Office of Educational Technology.  Infrastructure to support everywhere all the time learning [Infographic]. https://tech.ed.gov/netp/infrastructure/


[Photo]. Gifer. Retrieved March 15, 2021 from https://i.gifer.com/FEUD.gif


[Photo]. Stakeholder map. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.stakeholdermap.com/stakeholders-in-schools.html


Sweeney, K. (2019, April 16). 5 Considerations for buying classroom technology. EdTech

magazine.https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2019/04/5-considerations-buying-classroom-technology

Zimmerman, E. (2018, August 27). What K–12 Administrators Should Think About When Integrating Classroom Tech. EdTech magazine ma.https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2018/08/what-k-12-administrators-should-think-about-when-integrating-classroom-tech















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