• What are we getting for our money?
• Does technology improve leaning?
• Does technology help us be more productive as managers of schools?
• How can we plan for the future?

What are you getting for your money? (We'll cover the next three questions in future articles.)

You're spending a lot already but like most administrators, you wonder if it's doing any good or if the money is going to the right places. Technology is portrayed as an ever-moving target and the only way to keep up is to spend more time and money chasing it. The pressure is real and it comes from all sides, parents, teachers, students and the business community.

Are you a leader or a laggard?

“The laggards in technology spending may not be preparing their students well enough for the technology-saturated world they face in higher education, the workplace and daily life today. Without a doubt, increasing numbers of students have access to computers, cell phones, digital cameras, wireless devices and other technologies at home. Schools have a critical responsibility to provide all students with the opportunity to use technology to learn important life skills.” (Losing Ground in Technology Spending, 2004, Grunwald Survey, COSN.org)

The pressure IS real but spending more is not the answer. Spending technology funds effectively in ways that increase school productivity is the goal. Understanding productivity in terms of student learning and school administration should define your technology vision. Knowing what you get and what you're paying for when measured against this vision is what turns you into a leader instead of a laggard.

So what are you getting for your technology spending? I've been hearing disturbing grumblings here in Oregon that became a common theme at this year's NECC convention in San Diego. Schools have been spending millions to provide 45 minutes a week on a computer to students with the rest of the computer time going to testing. Computers were not being used in classrooms because there weren't enough of them and when they were there, they were not working or were too slow.

One characteristic of effective leadership is data driven decision making. So what data do you have on your spending and how technology is used in classrooms? What data do you have on how technology is used to administer your schools?

I propose that we gather some data and see what we learn. It's kind of like going to the dentist; it may hurt but you know you need to do it.

I'm starting with a simple, 10 question survey aimed at classroom teachers. We'll deal with questions 2-4 in future articles. Please encourage your teachers to participate by taking the survey available at the following links:

• Technology use survey for elementary teachers
• Technology use survey for middle-school teachers
• Technology use survey for high school teachers

All responses will be anonymous.The results will be posted here on EdTech@nwresd.org.