2013-2016 Technology Plan - Osceola County School District

Administrative and Instructional Technology
Action Plan 6-8
Develop and implement processes to evaluate the effectiveness of specific technology
initiatives on expected student outcomes.
Strategy
Establish a Software Standards Committee that in conjunction with the Technology
Standards Committee and the Department of Planning and Evaluation would work
together to develop procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of specific technology
initiatives on student outcomes.
Action Needed Step 1: The committee should analyze the issues relating to the evaluation process and
propose a policy that will provide guidelines for evaluating technology
initiatives on student outcomes and present their findings to the District
Technology Committee.
Step 2: The District Technology Committee should review and refine the proposed
policy and then take the necessary steps to incorporate it as Board policy.
Who is Responsible Deputy superintendent of School Operations
Time Frame July 1, 2003
Fiscal Impact
This can be accomplished with existing resources.
Source: OPPAGA.
9 The district bases technology acquisitions on the results of research and
planning. However, the district should consider disposal costs of
technology acquisitions.
The district regularly evaluates new hardware and software and searches for the best
purchasing plans to serve a school and/or the district as a whole.
District evaluates products before acquisition
Requested software and instructional technology materials are selected for evaluation by the members of
the District Instructional Technology Contacts Committee or one of the curriculum resource teachers
from the Media and Instructional Technology Department. The evaluation entails accumulating
information from a variety of sources about the product including current users. The Information and
Technology Services also assists in determining the compatibility of new products with currently
supported systems and ensures that technology acquisitions decisions are based on district and state
standards.
Technology purchases are ordinarily budgeted expenses. The main sources of non-recurring funds used
specifically for technology are Public Technology Funds, Technology Literacy Challenge Funds and E-
rate. District funds are available for capital improvements, the Instructional Media and Technology
Department, the Information and Technology Services Department including network support. Targeted
grants also provide funding for specific projects. For example, the Technical Education Center of
Osceola (TECO) received a grant for a Wireless Communications training program. Also, through Title I,
federal funds are received to improve access to technology in schools where communities need funding
assistance. The district uses strategies to leverage its purchasing power through volume buying, as much
as possible. Annual expenditures are tracked and have been reviewed by the Auditor General’s Office.
Other acquisition considerations
Although the district makes computer agreements that take into consideration price, warranty options,
training alternatives, and standardization guidelines, it should also consider the costs of maintaining and
staffing a repair facility to service out-of-warranty equipment, the labor involved in disposing of and
OPPAGA 6-27
2013 Educational Technology Plan 27/40 School District of Osceola County Florida