Sustainable Technology Program - Survey and Action Plan Builder

Learn How to Craft A Sustainable Technology Program

We asked 269 educators how they sustain their technology programs. The most successful schools develop multiple sources of revenue, they trigger strong community engagement, and they prioritize daily support and training for teachers.

Take this assessment and get an easy-to-follow action plan that will help you with sustainable funding for your technology initiative.

Untapped Opportunities

The data suggests that the majority of schools already have funding sources available that can be harnessed for technology programs.

• Only 14% of schools report “re-budgeting” as a major source of technology funding, however administrators report it’s the most viable and immediately available funding strategy.

• Respondents shared that grants are one of their most effective sources of funding, and over a quarter of schools who apply are raising over $20,000 per year. Over half of schools are not yet applying for grants.

• 43% of those schools that do fundraise, raised over $10,000 each year – and one in five raised over $20,000 each year! Only about half of schools are fundraising right now.

• Schools report that mentoring and peer-coaching programs immediately increase the availability of IT support, and can also lower IT support costs. 66% of schools are not yet implementing mentoring programs.

• In practice, many administrators are developing strong community ties and easily garnering new support from many sources. Over 1/3 of respondents tell us they don’t yet receive donations from outside organizations.

About the Course

All of the recommendations were supplied by other schools through a survey of 242 educators, 27 interviews with technology leaders, 28 one-computer-per-child implementation sites, and collected during a year-long study of how successful schools are sustaining their technology programs. The course takes about 30 minutes to complete. You can take it as many times as you like, and instantly get an action plan for the parts of the course that you’ve completed.

The elements of the assessment include:

1 - Getting Started

2 - Sustainability of a 1:1 Technology Program

3 - Funding for Technology

4 - Arguments to Obtain Technology Funding

5 - Fundraising

6 - Re-Budgeting

7 - Student Mentors

8 - Community Engagement

9 - Professional Development and Training

Behind the Assessment Tool: The Sustainability Study



The Project: In 2009, Digital Wish launched the School Modernization Initiative, a one-computer-per-child initiative in 28 schools, directly providing 79 teachers with curriculum and training, and 1,294 students in grades 4-6 with computers. After the first year of implementation, the schools hit a stage where they were comfortably absorbing the change and started asking questions about sustainability. The A. D. Henderson Foundation commissioned Digital Wish to study how schools are sustaining their technology initiatives, and develop free resources that would model best practices.

Participants:

242 Survey Respondents

27 Phone Interviews

28 School Site Implementations of 1:1 Computing Initiatives

We asked how they sustain their technology initiatives.

About the Survey:The survey data was collected through anonymous surveys conducted on www.surveymonkey.com. The data collected here shows anecdotal trends, self-reported by technology leaders who volunteered to participate in the project.

Download the Complete Study Here: https://bit.ly/St1ShN