Technology Product Management Models

Technology product mismanagement can cost districts hundreds of thousands of dollars. This report profiles and compares technology product management models from districts with a record of superior technology performance (e.g., two profiled districts won awards for technology innovation).

Technology product mismanagement can cost districts hundreds of thousands of dollars. This large amount of waste stems from four key factors:

Lack of effective teacher training on existing technology products Poor communication between district-level technology administrators about available technology products, which can lead to overlapping purchases or subscriptions to the same product across schools within the district Technology purchases incompatible with existing district infrastructure Unclear expectations for who evaluates, manages, and purchases technology products

This report profiles and compares technology product management models from districts with a record of superior technology performance (e.g., two profiled districts won awards for technology innovation) to explore how these districts address the above four factors.

Centralize technology product management

Centralization can help administrators align technology purchases with district infrastructure and priorities and to prevent redundant purchases. Centralization, however, can also stifle experimentation and technology innovation.

Technology product management model archetypes District technology administrators control all technology funding (i.e., schools do not have technology budgets). District technology staff research, procure, and manage technology products for all schools (i.e., no school-level technology differentiation). School-level administrators and teachers have no or little say in the technology products they want to use.

Drawback: Complete centralization can discourage technological innovation and cause potential teacher pushback if administrators force teachers to use technology that teachers find useless.

  District technology administrators control little to no funds for technology purchases. School-level staff research, procure, and manage all products in use at their school. While individual schools may implement technology products consistently across classrooms, there is significant variation between schools in the district.…