Improving Access to Technology

Online Lesson Contents		Introduction
Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Improving Use of Current Equipment Part 3: Financing New Purchases of Technology Part 4: Managing Donations		Access to technology is a major issue in California schools. California ranks 45th in the nation for its ratio of computers to students; there is typically one computer to 14 students in any given California school. This compares to the national rate of one computer for every 10 students. These figures change based on a number of variables. When only multimedia computers are counted in California, the computer to student ratio is one to 37--compared to the national rate of one to 24. Studies have also shown that these ratios vary based on the economics of a community; more affluent areas have better ratios while more margined communities have less. On average California K-12 students spend 20 minutes per week using computers. This online module deals with strategies for improving access to technology in California schools.
		Goals
		Student will understand methods for improving use of existing school computers. Students will develop at least three strategies for financing school technology projects. Students will understand the pros and cons of accepting computer donations in schools.
		Assignments
		Read materials in this online lesson and follow links to other World Wide Web sites. Go to the threaded discussion forum titled, "Online Lesson 2- Improving Access to Technology," and respond to the following question: How does your school/or a school in your neighborhood's ratio of computers to students compare to state and national figures. What strategies can be employed to increase access to technology in this setting?

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What are the patterns of technology use at your school?		Part 2: Improving Use of Current Equipment
		There are a number of factors that make for the successful use of technology in schools. Some of these factors include: training, maintenance, administrative support, learning applications, and access. If teachers and students have difficulty getting to computers (i.e. they're in a distant lab; none of them work right; "...we only have one.") access is an issue. Schools often work to improve access through creative use of existing equipment, long term financial planning, grants, and donations. This module considers each of these areas as a means of improving access to technology. Creative Use of Existing Equipment Some of the answers to a school's computer access problems can be addressed by thinking differently about how existing workstations are distributed. School technology committees do well to monitor resource use. The following observations can help leaders plan for more efficient use of existing equipment: Time in Use- How frequently are computers being used? Are computers in constant use or do they sit idle for more than 50% of the day? The placement of computers used less than 50% should be evaluated. Can they be placed in a different location that will improve student/staff access?   Patterns of Use- What programs do users commonly access? Are there patterns for individual users or groups? Efficient use matches available hardware with user needs. As an example, observations at a middle school found that its lab of new multimedia computers were used exclusively for word processing. The yearbook class at the same school struggled to run the latest desktop publishing software on its set of older model computers. Planners switched the arrangement and found that they improved access without compromising user needs. Observing patterns of use may suggest more efficient placement of equipment. The following table is shared as means of matching hardware with user applications:  PC Family of Computers Year Introduced   Model/Processor   Common Uses 1985     1987 1989 IBM XT     IBM AT / 8088 286     word processing, databases, spreadsheets, off-the-shelf software, text based on-line applications 1992 1994 1995 386 486 Pentium I these processors are capable of running early versions of Microsoft Windows; they can support applications listed above along with some multimedia programs; many of these computers came with CD ROM drives 1998 2001 2002 Pentium II Pentium III Pentium IV above plus popular web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer; they also have desktop publishing and multimedia capabilities   Macintosh Family of Computers Year Introduced   Model/Processor   Common Uses 1984 1986 1988 Macintosh 512 Macintosh Plus & SE 68020    word processing, databases, spreadsheets, off-the-shelf software, text based on-line applications 1992 1994 1995 68030 68040 Power PC these processors can support applications listed above along with some multimedia programs; many of these computers came with CD ROMs 2000 2001 G3 G4 above plus popular web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer; they also have desktop publishing and multimedia capabilities that extend into sound and video editing

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			Part 3: Financing New Purchases of Technology
Buying a computer is like purchasing an ice sculpture in July. -David Thornberg			Technology is constantly changing. Futurist David Thornberg compares buying a computer to "purchasing an ice sculpture in July." Computer industry experts agree that there is roughly an 18 month longevity for "new" technology. At the end of 18 months the hardware is "old." "Schools frequently have a difficult time understanding this concept," according to Laura Century of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Century goes on to say, "There is a misperception among administrators and business managers that when a school buys computers they're buying something like a water heater or furnace. In reality they're buying tomatoes!" The frequency of change challenges a school's financial resources. A number of different strategies have emerged to help schools deal with this problem. The United States Department of Education published a document in January 1998, titled "Investing in School Technology: Strategies to Meet the Funding Challenge." The web address to this site is http://www.ed.gov/pubs/techinvest/index.html Strategies from this document are excerpted below: Establishing Purchasing Collectives This strategy builds on the fact that it is more cost effective to make purchases (e.g., of computers) in large numbers. By establishing purchasing collectives, comprising multiple, or even all, districts in a state, the state is supporting local districts' abilities to capitalize on this purchasing strength by negotiating lower rates. This strategy has an additional advantage in that it will foster the development of relatively similar educational technology programs across different districts in the state. Over 20 states already have either informal consortia or formal cooperatives for buying school technology. 27 These arrangements are particularly useful for small, rural, or low-wealth districts, but even large, high-wealth districts that think they have enough buying power to "go it alone" should not overlook the potential benefits of joining a purchasing cooperative or consortium. The muscle power of purchasing cooperatives can be used to negotiate not only favorable pricing terms but also non-price terms as well. The California Department of Education sponsors a buying and licensing program for K-12 schools in California known as C-SMART (Cost-Effective Technology for Classrooms). C-SMART is a resource that leverages the buying-power of California public schools to negotiate special pricing arrangements with manufacturers and suppliers of educational technology instructional resources. C-SMART lists product names, pricing agreements, and vendor contact information (C-SMART is not a vendor). California public school educators can locate pricing information in the following categories: hardware resources, software resources, distance learning resources, electronic reference resources, instructional video resources, and web-based learning resources. Leasing Leasing is a mechanism gaining general acceptance as an ongoing way to fund technology and keep it current. Not only does it save time and effort usually required to reach closure on grants and bonds; it also links expenditures more closely to an implementation timetable and provides flexibility for the possibility that the useful life of equipment may be shortened or extended. The lease agreement can be made through a vendor, a finance company, or another agency. Agreements can cover arrangements with multiple vendors simultaneously. Lease purchase financing is one of the most flexible instruments for supporting technology funding strategies. It is essentially a purchase agreement with the initial purchase costs spread over several years. It provides competitive interest rates often associated with bond issues, but with the ability to flex payments and terms to fit the school's timetable, the product's expected useful life, and budget constraints. Lease purchase arrangements also allow school districts to operate within a fixed budget. The lease is usually structured to be funded from the operating budget, which generally is easier to access and use than the capital budget. School districts, like other agencies of state and local governments, qualify for tax-exempt leasing. These leases usually include non-appropriations language, which means that if the institution does not appropriate funds in each subsequent year, the lease can be terminated (with return of equipment) with no legal obligation or liabilities going forward. That language also precludes the lease funds from being considered long-term debt and may eliminate the requirement for voter referendum. Some of the major computer hardware manufacturers sponsor lease/purchase programs for schools. Apple Computer describes their offering at the following web address: http://www.apple.com/education/financing/ Compaq Computer describes their offering at the following web address: http://government.hp.com/financing.asp?agencyid=135&am=0   Using District Education Foundations Local education foundations provide one of the most viable long-term solutions to the problem of creating dollars to fund technology, according to some educational technology advocates. Currently, most education foundations are established simply as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) fundraising organizations that supplement and enhance the standard educational fare. Contributions are tax deductible, and donors may be given the option of making contributions for general or designated projects. Usually, teachers are allowed to apply for the funds raised by the foundation through mini-grant programs. Typically, foundations establish in their by-laws what percentage of their earnings goes to mini-grants and what percentage goes to an endowment. For example, one education foundation in St. Vrain Valley, near Boulder, Colorado, invests 50 percent of all contributions to make the foundation self-perpetuating. The Williamston Schools Foundation in Michigan ensures that a proportion of the $50,000 raised annually is reserved to fund large-scale projects. Usually, all grant expenditures by a foundation are approved by an executive committee. Education foundations may also consider expanding their traditional role by providing venture capital, seed money, or other funding to provide technology and professional development. For example, a 501(c)(3) foundation is eligible to obtain technology systems under a tax-exempt lease and provide the systems to schools at a competitive interest rate. Many school districts are so small that individually their chances of attracting grant funds are small. In these circumstances, a foundation can be established to serve several small districts. For example, 17 small school districts, with a total of 35,000 students, are encompassed by the Cape Educational Technology Alliance (CETA) in rural Cape May County, New Jersey. CETA was established to help obtain grant money for educational technology, but the foundation also facilitates technology planning, staff development, purchasing, and maintenance for county schools. Setting up accounts and establishing non-profit status can be considerable hurdles to the formation of educational foundations, so it is essential to get professional help. In CETA's case, for example, an accountant and an attorney on the board helped to establish the organization. Grants Schools often look for grants to develop and support technology initiatives. Funding opportunities range from "seed programs" focused on one teacher or an individual classroom project to school wide activities aimed at invoking systemic change. Grants are generally sponsored by one of the following entities: Funding opportunities range from "seed programs" focused at individual classrooms to school wide activities aimed at invoking systemic change. Government Agencies- state and federal authorities promote programs and policies through a number of grant programs Independent Foundations- one of the largest sources of funding, these organizations are designated by the IRS as private non-profit groups Company Sponsored Foundations- supported through a portion of a company's profits; Hewlett Packard is an example of a local company that provides generous support to schools Community Foundations- serve specific geographic areas such as a city or county; the IRS considers these as public charities The World Wide Web provides a wealth of information related to grants. The list below offers some starting points:   Grant Writing Information from the George Lucas Educational Foundation Staff at the George Lucas Educational Foundation maintain a wide array of information about educational grant opportunities. Grant Writing From A Guide to Networking a K-12 School District, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Funding Alert from the Northcoast Technology Assistance Project CTAP Region 1 maintains a section of its website offering current information about funding opportunities.

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			Part 4: Managing Donations
			Well intentioned organizations and community members often donate computer hardware to schools. Until recently teachers, administrators and board members have gratefully accepted anything that has come through a school's doors. Dealing with donations has given schools reason to pause and question their open door policies. Andrew Trotter writes about some of the issues in an article titled "Computer Donations Pose Dilemma for Schools" in the January 28, 1998 issue of Education Week. Sorting through equipment school officials have found jewels mixed in with junk. One school official in Santa Rosa lamented on the situation saying, "...it's extremely time consuming to figure out what works, what doesn't, whether it's worth fixing, and what to do with it if it doesn't." In some cases, equipment donations have created liabilities where the school has had to pay hazardous materials fees for the removal of items. A 1997 Rand Corporation report titled, Computer Donations- A Review of Selected Private Sector, NonProfit and State Programs, by Walter Baer and Gwendolyn Farnsworth made the following observations regarding computer donations: Schools can benefit from donated computers. While donations of used equipment should not replace funds for new purchases, refurbished used computers can extend limited school budgets and speed up the process of bringing educational technology into the classroom. A properly refurbished, donated used computer should cost roughly one-quarter to one-third that of an equivalent new machine. Schools certainly need multimedia, Internet-capable computers in classrooms, but they can also make productive use of less advanced machines for some classroom applications and for many administrative tasks. Transferring equipment in good working order is essential. Gifts of nonworking equipment are usually counterproductive for both donors and recipients. While this may seem an obvious statement, many teachers and school administrators can readily cite examples of receiving inoperable or incomplete donations that were of no use to them. Some schools or districts have computer repair capabilities in their vocational programs and will accept nonworking equipment as training material for vocational classes. However, the majority of schools want donations of complete working systems that will operate reliably upon delivery. Refurbishing provides more and better equipment for schools. Recyclers report that, at most, 25 to 35 percent of the donated computers they receive can be transferred as-is. The rest are missing key components, need repair, or must be disassembled for parts that can be used in other machines. If the recycler has funds to buy additional parts and components, the usable output can be doubled to 65-70 percent of incoming donations. Moreover, recyclers can often upgrade donated computers into more capable machines that are more suitable for classroom instruction.   Schools should ask questions about donated equipment. The Software and Information Industry Association has assembled the following list of questions for schools to consider when they're presented with donated equipment: Opportunity Costs Will the acceptance of this hardware preclude the purchase of more current technologies? Will the acceptance of this hardware send the right message to your students and community? Will the benefits to the donating institution or business outweigh the problems faced when the equipment is used in an instructional setting? Software Does the computer run the software that you currently have? Does it come loaded with software? Has this software been transferred to the school per the specifications of the license agreement? (Although all license agreements vary, generally you should receive a copy of the license, original manual, and original diskettes.) If not, what is the cost of getting legal copies? Do you have legal copies of the manuals? Does the existing software meet your needs? Does it fit into your existing program? Do your teachers and students need training to use it? What's the cost of developing a teaching program that takes advantage of the software?Hardware Is the donated computer a brand and model you already have? Does the donated computer work? If not, what will it cost to fix? Does it have upgrades and peripherals you are using? If not, what will they cost to install? Is it a current model? What will maintenance cost? Are there parts still available for the hardware? Training Will your teachers or students need training to use the computer? If so, who will provide the training? How long will it take? How much will it cost? Do your computer coordinators know how to use the computer or how to help teachers integrate the computer into their work with students? If not, how much time will it take for them to become familiar with the donated computer? Maintenance Do your teachers or computer coordinators know how to troubleshoot or repair the computer? If not, who will perform these functions and how long will it take? Do your teachers or computer coordinators know how to solve problems with the software? If not, where will they get help? Networking What is the cost of integrating the hardware into your existing networks? Will the hardware work with your current network strategy? Will the hardware support future network improvements? Instructional Needs Can the hardware run the software you use to support instruction today? Can the hardware be modified cost-effectively to run the software you use to support instruction today? Is the hardware useful for drill and practice, simulation, multimedia, or other everyday classroom tasks? Does the hardware speed impact the use of instructional time and materials? Is the hardware able to be used without additional student instruction? Is the hardware "student-proof"? Does the hardware work with the peripherals and software to support students with special needs? Is the hardware the best instructional tool for use in your classroom? Many schools are adopting policies related to donated computer equipment. These policies control the flow of donations and better select equipment that can be used in classrooms. A sample policy for computer donations can by found at the Puyallup School District's web site. It's appropriately titled, "Donations of Computer Equipment." Some schools are working with computer recycling centers to manage donated computers. Here's a list of some bay area organizations that are involved in computer recycling: Computer Recycling Center Working to keep electronics out of landfills, the computer recycling center collects, repairs and distributes pre owed electronics to schools and other organizations. San Francisco Bay Area Computer Recycling and Reuse Directory A comprehensive listing of businesses that are involved in computer recycling. Businesses can be sorted by zip code, city, and activity category. Alameda County Computer Resource Center Sporting a banner that says: "Obsolescence is just a lack of imagination," this non profit organization aims to help schools, non profits and marginalized people.

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