technology. The question is whether or not the plan is something that schools can actually
follow and, if it is, is it being followed? Track down your school's/district's technology plan
and read it. Does it have the term "Strategic" in the title? If it does, then it is designed to
provide direction for the institution and is probably filled with phrases like "preparing our
students for the 21st century." This phrase is strategic, but it isn't specific about HOW we will
prepare our students for the 21st century. Strategic plans MUST be accompanied by
implementation plans that provide objectives and timelines for the goals listed in the strategic
plans.

Don't have a plan?
Although the technology staff development plan should be part of a larger plan, this article is
not about creating technology plans. That will be covered in a later series. If you don't have
your technology staff development as part of your technology plan, that's OK. Developing a
comprehensive technology plan can be a year-long process. Waiting until your technology plan
has been developed can mean another year of staff and students ill-equipped in using
technology. If you are one of the fortunate folks who work in a district/school that has
technology plan and is systematically following that plan for the integrating technology into
the curriculum, then Congratulations! You can skip ahead a couple of paragraphs and continue
reading. If, however, your school/district doesn't have a technology plan, or the plan doesn't
seem to be directing the administrative actions, follow these steps for identifying your needs so
that you can create your staff development technology plan.

What's in a Staff Development Technology Plan?
A technology plan (or any plan) must have four parts: 1) Identify your present situation (needs
assessment), 2) Identify where you want to go (vision), 3) Identify the territory between your
needs assessment and vision (gap analysis), and 4) Create a plan for getting to where you want
to go (technology plan).

Identify your present situation
Before you can decide where you are going, you must first understand where you are. What is
the current status of your 1) physical technology and available resources, and 2) teachers'
knowledgebase, wants and needs.

Physical Technology
Physical technology encompasses all of the hardware, networking, software, peopleware and
additional resources in your system. It would be best to place this information into a database
for easy access and reporting. Figures 1 & 2 suggest record formats you might use to place all of
this information in a couple of databases: one for Technology Hardware/Software and another
for Technology Resources. While at first, this may seem a bit cumbersome, it will be useful
when you want to do technology and expertise comparisons between schools or departments.

Hardware
The hardware includes the type, quantity and location of machines in your system. This isn't
the same as a serial number-based inventory. It is meant to provide a picture of critical masses
of machinery which can help a technology coordinator realize hardware strengths in the
school. This isn't limited to computers, it should include a wide-range of machines including
VCRs, camcorders, televisions, cameras, audio recorders, laser disk players, and photocopiers.

Networking
This identifies how your computers and peripherals are connected. It ranges from a lab full of
computers networked to a local server (LAN) to a full school or district networked together to
share data, video and audio (WAN).

Software
What is available for students and teachers to use? Identify single licenses, lab packs, and
network/site licenses. What software can be given to students and staff to use at home as well
as at school because it is free/shareware or allowed in the site license?

Peopleware
Identify the personnel you have to support technology in your school/district. Who can repair