Recommended Spending for Staff Development
As school leaders develop a vision for building a technology system that is utilized equitably throughout their educational community, they typically focus on the cost of wiring the buildings and purchasing hardware. Sadly, many schools have scores of computers that sit idle because teachers are untrained to use them. Not only do teachers need to know how to use computers and other technology, they also need to understand how to support student learning with technology. In addition, teachers are not provided with appropriate software, or adequate technical support to deal with problems as they arise. School officials fail to recognize the true cost of operating a technology system effectively. After the initial investment of purchasing hardware, other critical components of a technology budget include:
· Professional development
§ Cost of trainers
§ Materials
§ Substitutes
§ Other costs
· Software
§ Management software
§ Computer-based curriculum materials
§ Applications software
§ Productivity software
§ Special needs
· Technical support
§ Maintain network and other hardware
§ Help people solve hardware and software problems
· Replacement costs for computers and peripherals
§ Life cycle is at best about five years
· Connectivity
§ Connecting schools to each other
§ Connecting schools to the Internet
· Retrofitting older buildings
§ Upgrade electrical capacity
§ Improve heating, cooling, and ventilation systems
§ Security systems
§ Remove lead and asbestos from older buildings
In the 1980s, the business world developed a method for estimating the costs involved in implementing technology called Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Businesses wanted to determine the return on their investment for technology to control their computing costs and to make important business decisions. They included the costs of operating a network, training employees, maintaining a help desk and support staff, repairing computers, as well as loss of productivity when networks went down or users had to fix their own computers.
Although factors influencing the true costs of technology are somewhat different between businesses and schools, it is interesting to consider the differences in their TCOs. A survey was done in 1997 by the International Data Corp. of 400 school officials who had calculated that the TCO was $2,251 per year per computer for a school with 75 computers. A business of comparable size would have a TCO of $4,517 per computer. It was found that schools get larger discounts than businesses and they buy less-expensive computers. Also, software is cheaper for schools than businesses. Schools used their computers for at least five years, while businesses used theirs for only three years. Other data showed that in businesses, the ratio of computers to users was 1 to 1, while in schools it was 1 to 7; in schools the ratio of technical support was 1 support person to 500 students, while the business ratio was 1 to 50.
Professional development is an area that is severely neglected in school district technology budgets. When teachers are not properly trained, they will not utilize the technology and the school district will not realize the maximum return on the investment it has made. The U.S. Department of Education recommends that thirty percent of a district’s technology budget be spent on professional development. In an article by Rebecca Quick, published in the Wall Street Journal on November 17, 1997, titled “Paying the Price”, the following data was reported concerning technology spending in U.S. school districts. It indicates that schools in 1997 spent only six percent of their technology dollars on professional development.
Category |
1997-98 |
% |
|
Hardware |
$ 58.48 |
50 |
|
Software |
11.34 |
10 |
|
Supplies |
5.00 |
4 |
|
Training |
6.66 |
6 |
|
Service/support |
5.85 |
5 |
|
Internet |
2.34 |
2 |
|
Networks |
24.31 |
21 |
|
Other |
2.64 |
2 |
|
Total |
$116.62 |
100 |
*Amounts represent average dollars per student.
School districts need to consider all of the costs to successfully implement technology into their educational system. They especially need to recognize that unless their teachers are trained to use the technology effectively, money spent on technology is wasted. In addition, they need to provide the technical support teachers need to keep their systems operating smoothly.
Bibliography
Understanding the
Total Cost and Value of Integrating Technology in Schools. Retrieved June
5, 2000 from Apple Leadership database on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/LSWTF/IDC1.html
The Real Cost of Technology. Retrieved June
6, 2000 from National Semiconductor database on the World Wide Web: http://www.national.com/appinfo/thinclient/gen_RealCost.html
Fitzgerald, Sara (September 1999). Technology’s Real Costs. Retrieved June 7, 2000 from the electronic
school database on the World Wide Web:
http://www.electronic-school.com/199909/0999sbot.html