2013-2016 Technology Plan - Osceola County School District

Administrative and Instructional Technology
Who is Responsible Deputy superintendent of School Operations
Time Frame July 1, 2003
Fiscal Impact
Cost savings of standardization: $302,000 over five years (see Exhibit 6-15 Technician
Labor Hours Savings)
Source: OPPAGA.
Effective Support
3 The district provides support to assist educators in incorporating
technology into the curriculum. However, the district has no approach
to evaluating technology usage to identify underutilized systems and
determine whether the benefit of supporting these systems outweighs
the costs.
The district provides support for the integration of instructional technology into
curriculum however underutilized systems take up facility space, add overhead and
increase support costs.
Districtwide support
The Media and Instructional Technology Department district staff provides training and support to
coordinate the integration of instructional technology into the curriculum. Besides developing and
conducting training sessions to incorporate technology into the curriculum, technology resource
specialists instruct and assist in the classroom, answer support calls, and provide school-based technology
guidance focusing on instructional services. Instructional support services are prioritized according to
need. Service requests considered emergencies are handled first. Emergencies are defined as a program
being down so that students are unable to work. Other requests such as program updates, assistance with
backup, and the configuration of new clients are assigned to technicians and completed as time permits.
On-Site instructional technology support
Most schools in Osceola have at least one technology contact on site to assist with the effort to integrate
technology into classroom activities. To assist tech contacts, district staff meet regularly with them
providing support and training for instructional technology integration as well as tips on troubleshooting
equipment and repair. However, technology specialists can spend more time supporting the integration of
instructional technology into the curriculum if they do not have to handle the maintenance and repair
issues that result from keeping outdated systems in the inventory.
Assessment of software inventory is needed
Another factor the district should consider in providing effective support to schools is the number of
applications being supported. The larger the number supported, the higher the overhead costs. Although
reducing the number of supported packages will reduce the support costs, it is also important to provide
the appropriate level of support to proven applications. Without regularly assessing the relative
effectiveness of specific applications on student achievement, it is difficult to determine where support
should be focused.
Although schools have the authority to purchase software that is not recommended or supported by
district staff, the Instructional Media Division staff is available to assist schools in evaluating, purchasing,
6-14 OPPAGA
2013 Educational Technology Plan 14/40 School District of Osceola County Florida