Czubaj, Camilia. Planning for Technology. Journal of Instructional Psychology, Mar  2002, Vol. 29, Issue 1 p.15-22.

           

            In Camilia Czubaj’s 2002 article, “Planning for Technology,” she states that rising enrollments and rapid developments in technology are the two primary reasons why communities need to renovate their schools.  In 2002 the National Education Association (NEA) estimated that it would take $322 billion dollars to renovate American schools, making them less crowded and “internet friendly”.  Technology that most students in America are learning on is outdated. “This occurs because schools are not profitable, they cannot keep up with the costs of technology development as businesses can” (Czubaj, 15).

            Czubaj also states that the focus on technology has been to acquire it, not to use it effectively. The author believes that in order to effectively integrate technology in the classroom, “planning should precede purchasing and training or professional development should precede implementation”.  She backs up her theory with statistics, only 3% of classrooms are using technology effectively and 59% are using outdated technology.  She also gives a formula for spending available technology dollars: For every $2 spent on hardware, $2 should be spent on staff development, $1 be spent on software, $1 on facilities, and $1 on technical support. In percentages this comes out to 105% total – 30% on hardware, 30% on staff development, 15% on software, 15% on facilities and 15% on technical support. “If the only focus on is on hardware, technology will fail” (Czubaj, 17).

Once technology has been implemented, assessment of technology should be on going and technology plans should be looked upon as “works in progress”. Czubaj believes technology plans should be “revised regularly and be kept brief.”  She also believes that technology in schools should be not only for students but for entire communities.  Technology in schools should be available for community use in the morning and in the evening. She believes that by extending the “stand alone computer school to an entire community hub”, life-long learning will be sustained. The six design principles for using schools and community technology hubs are:

1.      Enhance teaching and learning and accommodate the needs of all learners

2.      Serve as centers of the community

3.      Result from a planning/design process involving all stakeholders

4.      Provide for health, safety, and security

5.      Make effective use of all available resources

6.      Allow for flexibility and adaptability to changing needs

This article directly relates to Standard TF-VII. B Follow procedures and guidelines used in planning and purchasing technology resources. However, I found the article to be very negative and the author did not provide any charts or explanations of how she came up with her budget formula or the information that only 3% of all classrooms are using technology effectively.  I would like to believe that this is not true. As for letting the community use technology resources in the school, there are pros and cons. Safety and security for students should be a top priority. I don’t think just anyone from town should be allowed to wander in and use a computer. Then one would also have to debate using internet filters so that people are not looking at pornography in a school computer lab.