This past June, I gave a TEDx presentation called “Mastering the Moment: Learning in Times of Economic Crisis.” The presentation was based in part on CoSN’s Mastering the Moment initiative, which aims to help education superintendents, CTOs, and district technology leaders drive successful ed-tech programs while facing the most serious economic crisis to hit the U.S. in generations.

 

According to the American Association of School Administrators, superintendents are projecting 275,000 jobs to be lost in education this coming academic year. As K-12 schools across the country are trimming spending, CoSN’s Mastering the Moment guide can help you prevent your ed-tech program from becoming another budget casualty. It can show you many ways to respond confidently and thoughtfully to budget challenges, helping you prepare your district or school to come through the crisis with your technology programs intact. In fact, the guide could position you to run a smarter, stronger, more cost-effective ed-tech operation in the future. Here are the specific tools Mastering the Moment provides:

 

Expert Analysis

  • An up-close look at the economic forecast for district and schools, insight into today’s challenges and opportunities from ed-tech and policy experts, and information on funding possibilities 
  • A sneak peak at evidence indicating that technology could be a prime target for across-the-board budget cuts, which could decimate tech programs that already are underfunded and understaffed

Long-Term Strategies

  • Three comprehensive, transformative approaches to making the most of ed-tech dollars, now and in the future:
    • everaging student-owned devices to increase access to technology
    • Employing cloud-computing solutions to drive down technology
      acquisition and maintenance costs
    • Implementing Web 2.0 collaboration tools to stimulate teamwork
  •  A smart strategy to understand and articulate the value of technology with a business mindset, using two powerful
  • CoSN Tools:
    • Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which measures all cost of technology and
      quantifies the effects of proposed budget cost
    • Value of Investment (VOI), which quantifies tangible and intangible benefits of
      technology—and connects those benefits to missions, goals, and mandates

 Short-Term Tactics

  • More than one dozen immediate cost-saving actions
  • Three options that can save money and mitigate painful budget cuts:
    • Going green to reduce energy use
    • Fine-tuning the IT support infrastructure
    • Joining a consortium to buy hardware, software, and supplies at reduced prices

 Small Investments, Big Savings

  • Five smart ways to streamline technology costs
  • IT management software that can help reduce hardware and software spending
  • Tips on getting your “IT house in order” so you’re ready for better times

 Online Resources and Tools

  • Practical info and interactive tools available on CoSN’s website

Unfortunately, all too often in times of a great crisis, fear leads to paralysis. As we try to find our way to success in the current economy, I encourage you to consider the risks of standing still. School technology programs—and all the proven benefits they offer to educators and students—could get slashed and burned unless strategies for careful decision-making are put into play. And slash-and-burn budget cuts could set the stage for long-term fiscal and educational setbacks. As an education leader, how do you plan to navigate the budget blues? How will you guide your school or district to success in the future?

 

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“Mastering the Moment” is the theme of the CoSN 2011 Annual Conference, March 14-16, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.