| Does Technology Pay? Investing Wisely Takes Discipline |  |
| This article notes the importance of identifying and tracking the specific changes that a district may be making, to see if the district is getting a high return on it's investment. The author talks about the fact that technology needs to add value - it has to do something new, and it has to do something better. The author also discusses the difficulties faced when trying to measure ROI, and some important points to think about before investing in new technology. At the end of the article, there are links to additional ROI resources. |  |
| Gauging Technology: Costs And Benefits (PDF) | |
| This article offers strategies for calculating technology costs and assessing value. It stresses that the CTO needs to know the costs associated with technology, they need to understand the consequences of tech purchases, and they need to be able to measure the benefits of techn so that they can make informed decisions. | |
| Maximizing The Educational ROI Of Your District's Technology Program | |
| This presentation discusses how to determine and maximize the ROI for technology implementations. | |
| The Learning Return On Our Educational Technology Investment | |
| This resource is a paper for people who want to learn aobut how to make their technological investments wisely. It summarizes research and draws out implications for getting a higher return on your technological investment. | |
| 14 Tips For Negotiating Software Agreements | |
| A short article that provides information on how to successfully negotiate contracts with software vendors. | |
| Community Engagement | |
| Chapter 5 of this report provides general information on what good community engagement looks like, and then details many case studies where districts have engaged the community using many different technologies and methods. Also provides a list of resources and sites at the end. | |
| Community/School Partnerships: A National Survey (PDF) | |
| This survey offers insights into how school/community partnerships are structured, and what kind of relationships schools and districts have established with external stakeholders. | |
| Crafting Service Level Agreements, Part 2 | |
| Two school technologists offer advice and strategies for crafting successful service level agreements. | |
| Dear Public: Can We Talk? | |
| This article identifies some key worries that many people are experiencing about public education. The authors then discuss "authentic engagement" - substantive give and take between those who have a vested interest in the decisions being made. Authentic engagement is an alternative to traditional approaches used for engagment in public education, which the authors believe is an expert-driven process. This article provides an approach to authentic engagement, as well as examples. | |
| Guiding Principles For Business And School Partnerships (PDF) | |
| This is a resource that is designed to "help educators and business leaders develop relationships that support mutual goals and that offers long-term, sustainable benefits." The document includes the guiding principals and case studies. | |
| The Business/Education Partnership Forum | |
| The Business/Education Partnership Forum is a resource for anyone involved with or interested in building successful partnerships between business and education. The Forum offers a directory of resources, list of organizations active in the field, and regular updates of news and announcements through its free monthly e-newsletter. | |