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New Tool Launched to Help School Leaders Manage Technology
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Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Tool Now Available Free of Charge for School District Assessments
For Immediate Release
May 19, 2003
Contact:
Rodney Ferguson
Jodie Pozo-Olano
202/457-8100
Washington, DC - Estimating the total cost of technology in schools and districts - especially when taking into account the maintenance, operation, hardware, and software - can be an overwhelming and expensive challenge for school leaders. Just released, the TCO Tool can help schools make sound budgetary allocations, provide an organized approach, establish a baseline for investments, and determine maximum benefit in managing technology.
The tool is a milestone in an ambitious initiative to help schools and districts manage their computer networks in a cost-effective way. The concept of determining overall technology costs - a concept known as Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - can help education leaders conduct the most comprehensive assessment possible of technology needs and costs. With the increased understanding that the TCO Tool can provide, school leaders can then better manage staff, resources, and instruction with an eye towards increased accountability and higher student achievement. The tool, along with instructions for use, can be found at www.classroomtco.org.
The Web-based tool, a vendor-neutral, free resource available to all schools and school districts, was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, developed for the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) by Gartner, and sponsored by the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium (NCRTEC) at the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).
The tool has been designed with several additional objectives in mind:
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Providing school leaders with tangible documentation to demonstrate that schools are making sound budgetary allocations
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Providing a practical, organized approach to determining for budgeting and planning educational technology needs and capabilities
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Encouraging schools to consider their own situation and goals to establish their own unique baseline for technology investments
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Helping districts identify how they are spending their money and where they can gain maximum benefit from their technology investments
In late February, school leaders were encouraged to begin gathering the specific data necessary to use the tool, including an inventory of their technology assets, staffing and salary information. Now these districts can move to the next step - inputting their information to start the process of creating district benchmarks for evaluating the costs, both direct and indirect, of managing their technology networks. The TCO analysis can assist school district leadership in more effectively manage and utilize technology as an instrument in raising their students' achievement levels.
CoSN and Gartner have also gathered information from four "case study" school districts of varying sizes in California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Utah that provides valuable information on how to utilize the TCO analysis. The case studies also provide lessons about technology management practices that the districts learned while using the TCO tool.
"We believe that TCO allows for a strong connection between wise investment decisions and instructional choices that lead to higher student achievement," said John Bailey, the Director of Technology at the U.S. Department of Education.
Drawing information from about 100 different pieces of data collected by school technology leaders will be able to assess their own situation and goals to establish their own unique baseline for technology investments based on an evaluation of costs associated with networks, computers, software, technology management, training, and other related items.
"The TCO tool helps school leaders put technology in place to affect student achievement based on their own needs and capabilities," said Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking. "It also allows for ongoing, flexible updating and upgrading of needs and costs based on the evolution of technology."
Business partners have provided additional support for dissemination of information about the tool. They include Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Texas Instruments, 3Com, AOL@School, AT&T, Blackboard, Dell Computer, eChalk, Inspiration Software, Palm, Plato Learning and the Center for Digital Education.
"Understanding the true cost of the distributed computing environment will help schools become better managers of the technology," said Bill Rust, Research Director, Gartner. "The TCO tool provides them with business information that can be used as they wrestle with decisions regarding their current and future technological effort and how it can best support education in their district."
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,500 clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner's businesses consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting, Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, in more than 90 locations worldwide.
About the Consortium for School Networking
Founded in 1992, CoSN (www.cosn.org) is the preeminent national voice on the use of the Internet and information technologies to improve K-12 learning. It played a leading role in creation of the E-rate and other key national education technology initiatives over the past decade. It is a "CIO-type" organization for education technology leaders from the school district, state and national level.
Supporting Quotes from TCO Sponsors
"From working with schools every day, we know that school leaders need a long-term view into how technology investments support and add value to their schools' instructional and operational goals. We support this TCO tool to help schools make the value of technology in education real. Along with their assessments of student achievement, school leaders now have a powerful set of tools to help every student realize their full potential.
Timothy Magner
Executive Director for K12 Education
Microsoft Education Solutions Group
We are pleased to sponsor the development of CoSN/Gartner's Total Cost of Ownership toolkit, which will provide schools another essential technology planning tool. Through our Empowered Education™ initiative, Sprint consults with and advises school districts across the country about their communications needs, providing them with solutions that improve student achievement, increase family involvement and help schools maximize their technology investments.
Ralph Hodge
President of Business & Wholesale Markets
Sprint
At America Online, we commend CoSN for developing the Total Cost of Ownership study to help educators develop effective long-term strategies for technology investment. Educators can benefit from real world examples from schools across the country and apply these creative solutions to their own school or district. We are proud to be a sponsor for this important project that furthers AOL's commitment to helping educators and students benefit from the power of the Internet in the classroom.
Terry Crane
Vice President
Education and Family Products
America Online
Now more than ever, school districts must demonstrate a real return on their IT investments. Increasing IT efficiency while reducing the cost and pain of managing technology so that educators can focus on the business of education is a key imperative for HP. We are proud to be a sponsor of the CoSN 'Taking TCO to the Classroom' and believe the findings from this project will allow school districts - and HP - do an even better job of cost-effectively managing technology.
George Warren
Business Director
K-12 Education Line
Hewlett-Packard
Intel is very proud to be a sponsor of the CoSN/Gartner Total Cost of Ownership study. The value of the TCO tool is exceptional as it now provides an easy way for schools and districts to make quality data driven decisions and make good investment decisions for their technology dollar.
Terry Smithson
America's Education Marketing Manager
Intel
3Com applauds the research being undertaken by the Gartner Group and the Consortium for School Networking on the Total Cost of Ownership in K-12 education. By providing schools with this type of information, administrators are better equipped to make wise technology investments, which will help to keep costs at a minimum while ultimately supporting the educational goals of the district.
Mary Sherwood
Education Marketing Manager
3Com
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