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4 Steps to Making Technology Purchasing Decisions
Valerio has worked in the educational IT field for 35 years and understands the importance of educational technology and the importance of making decisions that impact the entire school. He shared the process of selecting a new technology supplier and broke it down into four steps.
1. Evaluation
The first step is to assess the school’s needs and the needs of its users. “You need to open those lines of communication,” he said, explaining how he’s working with other departments to better understand the gaps the technology will fill.
“I have a very close relationship with our curriculum director. I have always believed that instructional technology and information technology need to work together.”
He added that without that relationship, the solutions he invests in wouldn’t work. It may not fit the needs of the course, or it may be incompatible with the school’s current software. Both parties need to work together so that the end user has the best experience.
continue reading: Private schools face unique technology challenges.
2. Research
Valerio said he starts researching after understanding what each team is looking for in a new technology solution.
He researches vendor experience and often seeks references from other K-12 clients. He also assessed the cost of the technology. “Our policy has always been to require three bids,” he said. This allows him to accurately compare costs and ROI.
3. Pilot
A key part of Valerio’s evaluation is a pilot program for the new technology.
“Our vision is for the school to be a state-of-the-art technical school,” he said. “So, the way I started doing it was through a pilot program.”
The pilot allows Valerio and his team to test the technology within its ecosystem and understand how it works before rolling it out to all users. “I started training all my teachers and getting them on board,” he said. “I have to make sure I provide them with all the technology and train them so they feel comfortable. That way, they can start rolling it out to classrooms and students.”
4. Training
When initial attempts were made to train all teachers in the school on the new technology, Valerio noticed low participation from participants. “After five minutes of training, I lost all my teachers,” he said. “I’m very technical. Teachers don’t feel comfortable training me.”
His solution was to talk to department chairs and hire the most tech-savvy faculty to lead the training.
related: K-12 schools empower teachers to take leadership roles in professional development.
“As an IT director and chief information officer, I’m not very familiar with the classroom environment,” he explains. “From a teacher’s perspective, they can tailor the training to the classroom environment, which is a very successful thing.”
Valerio now has a team of 32 teachers who help lead professional development for their peers.
This process allows stakeholders to gain input from the beginning and ends with training and professional development tailored to teachers’ needs.
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