Sustaining Technology Through Time

Online Lesson Contents		Introduction
Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Total Cost of Ownership Part 3: Technological Carrying Capacity Part 4: Web Resources		As we move into the future with technology there is a recognition that we're dealing with relentless change. People leading these changes know that hardware acquisition is only the first step in staying current. Training, technical assistance, and software upgrades need to be added into the "total cost of ownership." This online module addresses questions concerning computer sustainability through time and offers strategies for helping schools meet the challenge.
		Goals
		Students will understand concepts related to the "total cost of ownership" of technology in schools. Students will forecast the total cost of technology for one year at their school. Students will develop at least three strategies for sustaining technology over time at a given school.
		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 6- Sustaining Technology Through Time," and respond to the following question: What are your observations of schools you've been involved with in relation to the topics brought forward in this online lesson? How are these schools doing in sustaining technology over time? What suggestions would you make if you were in the principal's chair?

Go to Part 2- Total Cost of Ownership

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Teacher productivity and student achievement equate with "billable time."		Part 2: Total Cost of Ownership
		The evolution of new technology is occurring at such a rapid pace that most schools are not able to keep pace. Newer more powerful generations of computers are coming out every 18 months. Evolving software applications, the Internet, miniaturization, and more durable plastics add to the mix. Publishers and communication companies feverishly whirl about to establish their stake in the new economy. Problems occur when schools develop technology acquisition schemes that forget underlying support and operation costs. Questions about maintenance, compatibility, training, software, technical support, Internet service, and "upgrades" are discovered after the fact. The resulting budget overruns short shrift the original technology plan and/or takes money away from other valuable school programs. Educator and futurist Ian Jukes refers to this as, "ready, fire, aim thinking." Total Cost of Ownership Schools aren't the only organizations in America dealing with "ready, fire, aim" thinking. Many businesses are struggling with it as well. Organizational specialists who have studied issues related to the successful integration of technology refer to it as the "Total Cost of Ownership." Excerpts from an article written by Dean Sherry of DCC Technology Management Group are included below: Imagine you are a small business owner, and you decide you need a total network solution. You go to your magic Information Technology (IT) vending machine, you put in your quarters, push the button for PC’s, and your desktops appear. You turn on the PC, and you discover you need software. Back to the vending machine, more quarters, and you get an office application package. But once you open the software, you discover you need training on how to use it. Back to the vending machine for training. Months go by, and it’s time for an upgrade, maintenance, repairs, new addresses for network communications, etc. After three years of putting quarters in the machine, it’s time to dispose and start all over again. You stop and wonder, "Just how many quarters did I put in that machine?" You might be shocked to find the sum of the quarters isn’t the only factor wreaking havoc on your total cost of ownership (TCO). The real TCO is the sum of all hard, soft, and hidden costs associated with an asset over its life cycle. So what are those hidden costs? Well, the hidden costs come from what can be called the TCO snowball effect. A study by Infonetics consulting firm found that the forecasted budget for hardware and software is outstripping the budget for support 4 to 1. In other words, companies are purchasing more IT equipment than they have people to support it. When a network solution is not properly supported by expert personnel end users perform actions that they aren’t properly trained to do. When end users don’t know how to fix something, they spend time troubleshooting, supporting their peers, and reading up on IT tasks. These are unproductive modes to be in and cut into billable time. End users should be spending time doing their jobs and generating revenue.   The issues raised above are remarkably to similar to those experienced by schools trying to integrate technology in learning. Teacher productivity and student achievement equate with "billable time." True costs of technology ownership in schools incorporate costs for hardware, software, staff development, upgrades, maintenance and support. Schools that wish to forecast the true annual costs of technology can use the following form: Total Cost of Ownership Planning Sheet   Expense Area   Details/Examples   Estimated Annual Cost   Hardware   computers, printers and other peripheral devices     Software   operating system, virus protection, applications, software upgrades (major application software is generally revised and upgraded once a year)     Initial Computer/Network Setups   retrofitting for power, networking, security, ergonomics and furniture; "out of the box" hardware and software setups   On Going Maintenance and Support   maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, and technical support for hardware, software, and network services     Staff Development   formal and informal training opportunities, peer coaching, release days, visitations, etc.     Networking   file server(s), wiring costs, network interface cards, hubs, routers, Internet services, network software     Other:         . As an example, planners at Napa’s New Tech High School have projected that they will be purchasing software revisions for their major software applications every year, replacing all hardware every three years, and upgrading/replacing their network every five years. Added to these costs are expenses for staff development, maintenance and technical support. The New Tech High School Communication Director says that they are looking at a need to generate twice the State’s annual daily attendance allotment to keep their model program running. Apple Computer and Microsoft Corporation have developed a series of web resources to help schools understand the Total Cost of Ownership. Please look at these materials and see what their planners have considered. Do the companies present reasonable solutions or is TCO a new marketing scheme?   Understanding the Total Cost and Value of Integrating Technology in Schools (PDF) Apple Computer presents a white paper based on a study of the costs and values of K-12 educational computing in America. The study includes educational computing market analysis as well as the findings of focus groups and over 400 interviews with educators throughout the United States.   A Microsoft Case Study: The Christina School District Christina School District wanted to reduce support personnel requirements, improve delivery of instructional and administrative software, and improve overall service to its desktop users. By standardizing on the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system for both servers and desktops, Christina School District was able to save IT administration costs.

Go to Part 3- Technological Carrying Capacity

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			Part 3: Technological Carrying Capacity
How many computers can a school support with their budget allocation for technology?			Are there limits to the number of computers a school can support? Borrowing from the study of biology, scientists speak of an environment’s carrying capacity (i.e. the amount of grassland in an area and the number of herbivores that the land mass can support). In a similar way, school environments have a limit to the number of computers they can support. School technology leaders might consider their school’s technology carrying capacity. The basis of this idea is that: a. technology budgets are limited b. schools cannot support an infinite number of computers Given these two concepts, how many computers can a school support with their budget allocation for technology? Factors would include: hardware, software, maintenance, staff development, and technical Sapporo. Gathering together yearly allocations for these items will yield an annual technology budget. Setting technology budget priorities and recalculating costs over the course of a year will give schools a perspective on the number of computers a school can truly support. Schools generally find that their population of computers exceeds the number that they can adequately support.   Developing a Formula for Sustainability Working towards the development of a formula for sustaining technology in schools, here are some points for consideration:   Budget Principles School technology budgets should include line item allocations for: hardware, software, maintenance, and training. Hardware should represent no more than 50% of the total school dollars available for technology- remember that software, maintenance, and training costs are present. When buying computers, remember that you're buying tomatoes and not furnaces. Limit the number of computers purchased in one year so as to stagger the rate of aging. Consider lease-purchase agreements.  A balanced tech budget includes computers -and- camcorders, calculators, portable word processors, tape recorders etc. Strive to spend the maximum amount of technology funding on staff training and curricular development.    Planning Issues What technology resources are currently available? How can these resources be used in better ways? Establish a criteria as to when computers will no longer be serviced or replaced. Establish a policy for the donation of computer equipment to the school (i.e. what's the minimum level of technology that you're willing to support?). Minimize the amount of hardware and maximize its use; consolidate computer use among departments/grade levels; redistribute technology that isn't being used; consider alternative scheduling arrangements.  Computers, depreciate and become obsolete very quickly. Maximizing use insures that technology dollars are well spent (24 hour use per day is the most desirable; 2-3 hour use per day is the least desirable). Avoid setting up labs and complex file servers that will sit idle for more than half of the school day and demand maintenance and service contracts hoping that staff will see the technology value and use them.  Maintenance of technology- a broad approach incorporates all of the following: troubleshooting guides for users to refer to when problems occur staff first aid training (treatment of minor computer/network afflictions) student techsperts: a league of student experts that maintain software and do minor service and maintenance under the supervision of a school staff person parent/community volunteers; a group committed to the reliable operation of campus technology school or district maintenance/technical support person (examples from the business world provide a ratio of one full time support person for every 40 computers

Go to Part 4- Web Resources

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			Part 4: Web Resources
Most educational technology budgets only address the cost of hardware and software acquisition, about 25 percent of the actual lifetime cost of technology...			CoSN/Gartner TCO Tool & Case Studies The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is a nonprofit association that promotes the use of telecommunications to improve K-12 learning. Its members include state departments of education, state networks, school districts, schools, individuals and companies that are committed to this goal. Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. The CoSN/Gartner TCO Tool & Case Studies bring together the best elements from both organizations in this resource. Technology's Real Costs- Protect Your Investment with TCO A September 1999 article from Electronic School offering more perspectives on the total cost of ownership from the perspective of school trustees.   Information Regarding the Selection of an Operating System in Public Schools Is it less expensive to have one exclusive computer platform at a school? This article begins exploring costs between Macintosh OS and Windows OS.   Portical Resource Matrix- Operations & Maintenance From the Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership: Publications, models/examples, people/organizations, hardware/software, and vendors to support operation and maintenance efforts.

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