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December 1, 1998
The Six Commandments of Technology Implementation
in a New School, or
What Starting a Technology Program Really Requires
by Jason Collette
Implementing a technology program in a new school may seem a Herculean task, but you
can do it if you follow these Six Commandments.
1. Thou Shalt Never Lose Sight of the Prize
So what is the prize? It’s the vision that you and the founding team establish at
the beginning of your technology venture. Creating a vision for technology must be the
first thing you do because it will guide all other decisions you later make. When creating
that vision, it is imperative that you and your team collaborate and include
everyone’s best ideas in one comprehensive vision.
2. Thou Shalt Cherish Voice Mail Even as Thee Curse It
Your job will depend heavily on voice mail. Nine times out of ten, when you call a
vendor for a question about a product, you’ll get the company’s voice mail
system. This also holds true when you call a department at the county or district office.
This will be extremely frustrating because you will want and need information quickly, and
getting voice mail doesn’t help you. You will come to cherish voice mail, however,
when you’re in vendor meetings and planning meetings or at lunch and a vendor calls
you back with information you desperately need.
3. Thou Shalt Be Flexible
You must be flexible. No matter what date you have for completing something, events
inevitably will be beyond your control. Vendors will mail your order to the wrong school,
purchasing will misplace your request for a purchase order or—worse yet—turn
down your request and require you to start all over with something on the bid list. When
these challenges arise, don’t panic. Instead, work with your teammates to come up
with another plan of attack.
4. Thou Shalt Always Know Where Everything Is
Inventory is vital. With the sheer numbers of products you will receive over the
months, you must stay on top of your inventory rather than let it pile up. Keep
spreadsheet records of everything you request and receive: monitors, CPUs, software, and
cabling. Keep copies of the requests for purchase orders and check things off as they come
in so you always know what you have. You can also save yourself a lot of legwork by
keeping a record of what has been sent out and to which room. All of the hard work you put
into inventory will reward you greatly when the process is finished.
5. Thou Shalt Sacrifice Thy Personal Schedule for the Good of Others
Sacrificing your personal schedule goes along with flexibility. Just as you expect your
teammates to give you a hand when you need it, you must make yourself available to
everyone on campus to do at least some of what they ask, whether moving boxes and
furniture or driving away bats.
The job’s hours also will be different from what you’re probably used to.
Your average workday will begin early and end late. Weekend visits will become the norm,
not the exception, but when you see the teachers and students working with the technology
and learning in leaps and bounds, you’ll feel rewarded for all of your hard work.
6. Thou Shalt Involve Others in Thy Process
You won’t be able do everything by yourself, no matter how many hours you put in,
so you must recruit help from many sources. You’ll find that spouses, future
students, friends, and parents are more than willing to help. When you do invite help,
make sure you have something for them to do; if they don’t feel they are doing
anything useful, they won’t want to come back. And be sure to show your appreciation
of their efforts; everyone likes to know their labor is noticed.
When it comes to making purchases, get input from your teachers, students, and other
educators. No one knows everything that’s available. By talking with a lot of
different people, you’ll get many great ideas to incorporate into the school.
Your job requires a tremendous amount of work. It seems as if you’re always in a
meeting, and the piles of boxes grow overnight. Fear not, the job can be done.
Simply observe these keys to success:
- planning
- organization
- communication
- determination
- follow through
Planning is the key to everything that follows. If you have nothing to focus on,
you’ll work twice as hard as necessary. You must be organized because of the sheer
volume of materials you’ll be dealing with. When it’s effective, communication
will save you many headaches, so be sure your teammates are aware of what you are doing,
keep in contact with your bookkeeper on purchases, and talk with your vendors about your
orders. Determination is what will make the seemingly impossible possible, and following
through will ensure that no loose ends are hanging out there.
What Else Should You Consider?
Here are four more items to consider as you do your work.
- Pay a third party to do your installations. This alone will free you to take care of the
hundreds of other things you must do. And if the installers are also your vendors, then
they can send back faulty materials and equipment more easily and with no questions asked.
- Dispose of cardboard and pallets. If you were so inclined, you could build another
school from the cardboard and pallets that will come with hardware and software purchases.
Arrange with your school’s or district’s waste-management department well in
advance of deliveries so you don’t have mountains of cardboard and pallets taking up
valuable space.
- Get started on the job immediately. If you are pursuing this job while working
elsewhere, let your supervisor know so she or he can find a replacement for you quickly.
Every day is valuable; you cannot afford to lose even one. Worse yet, trying to meet the
responsibilities of two jobs is exceedingly stressful.
- Have someone immediately explain the county’s or district’s or school’s
purchasing processes. Having some kind of handle on how things work with purchasing will
save you a lot of frustration as you put together orders and define your action plan.
E-mail: Jason Collette
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