Purchasing educational technology, especially a large purchase for a school or even a district, can be a daunting task. There must be a plan in place to guide leaders in the most effective way to do so. This is important because you definitely do not want to waste money, especially in the education world where money can be very hard to come by. The picture below lays out the steps that can be used to purchase educational technology (McLemore & Rae, 2024).
NEEDFIND
According to McLemore and Rae (2024), step one is to identify a specific need that can be filled using educational technology by doing a needs assessment. Hearrington (2024) discusses the fact that planning for anything new always requires data to support the reason for decisions that are made. As a part of the needs assessment, it is important to consider the edtech that the school or system already has and decide if it is still meeting a need or if it would be better to find something more useful that would fulfill that purpose. It is also very important the decision makers involved in this process are well aware of what is available and how any of it could possibly be a solution. To make all of this possible, data from current technology can be used, feedback from teachers and students should be considered, and there are conferences that can be attended with expo halls that allow for a chance to learn first hand about new educational technology that is available. The annual ISTE conference is a great example (McLemore & Rae, 2024).
EVALUATE
The next step is to evaluate the potential technology and try to decide if it will meet the needs that the school or the system found that it had during the needs assessment. According to Miller (2020), it is important to consider the following:
- Efficacy
- The student experience
- Intrinsic motivation
- Zone of proximal development
- The teacher experience
PILOT
Piloting the chosen educational technology is an extremely important step. It is imperative to seek feedback from the students and teachers who will be using the edtech the most. After a trial period, there are several ways that feedback can be sought; surveys can be completed, interviews can be done, and observations can be utilized as well. All of this should provide the data needed to make decisions about whether to purchase the educational technology or not (McLemore & Rae, 2024).
PURCHASE
The final step in the process, according to McLemore and Rae (2024), is to purchase and implement the educational technology. There are many sources of funding that could be available to help with a large purchase such as this, including government funding as outlined below. The processes for purchasing vary from district to district, but there are always very important steps to follow to make the process as smooth as possible.
References
Frazier, M., Hearrington, D. (2024). Technology coordinator's handbook, Fourth edition: A guide to edtech facilitators and leaders. Portland, Oregon: International Society for Technology Education.
McLemore, C., & Rae, J. (2024, June 24). How district leaders make EDTECH purchasing decisions - edsurge news. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-06-24-how-district-leaders-make-edtech-purchasing-decisions
Miller, S. (2020, November 12). What matters most when you’re evaluating Edtech Tools. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/what-matters-most-when-youre-evaluating-edtech-tools/
.png)
.jpg)
Mallory,
ReplyDeleteGreat post about purchasing new technology for a school. This can be such a daunting task, but having strict policies and procedures for researching and acquiring the new technology is so important. When speaking about Omar Valerio, a CIO of a private school system, Torchia, R. (2024) states, "Valerio’s methodology for integrating new technology goes beyond being the first to try the next big thing. He selects new tech vendors through a careful evaluation process that takes all stakeholders into consideration." (para. 4). The mention of a careful evaluation process is an integral portion of the technology purchase. Frazier and Hearrington (2024) state, “Before preparing the specifications, it is usual to convene a hardware/software/service evaluation committee to identify needed features, help prepare the specifications documentation, and ensure that the identified needs are met.” (p. 31). Having a committee of dedicated, interested members who are prepared to put in the research is a considerable part of the process. Great article!
References
Frazier, M. & Hearrington, D. (2024). The technology coordinator’s handbook (4th ed.).
Portland, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education.
Torchia, R. (2024, Mar 14). How to choose and integrate new technology vendors in
education. EdTech. https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2024/03/how-choose-and-integrate-new-technology-vendors-education