Open Options | People & change

Including stakeholders
Change

Including stakeholders

Stakeholders should have ownership.

A good tech plan can only be created and implemented with stakeholder involvement. Stakeholders may include administrators, instructors, other staff, students, parents/guardians, community members, and technology experts. Only a group can accurately answer questions like, "Where are we now?" and "Where do we want to go?" Decisions should be made as a group to foster buy-in and to erode resistence to change. Stakeholders who feel included and empowered, who feel their needs and goals are being addressed, are essential for effective implementation.

Stakeholders are rightfully resistant to dictatorial mandates.

Most stakeholders will accept short-term hardship for long-term gain, but only if they believe it's only short-term and the goals are worthwhile. Some stakeholders will always be "ahead" of the plan by integrating technology on their own. Praise their initiative and invite their expertise.

Communicate with stakeholders early and often. Planning should be an open process.

Most stakeholders probably aren't familar with all the aspects of their school's technology, much less possible open source solutions. Stakeholders need to feel some mastery of the options without being overwhelmed by technical details or complex controversy. Current users recommend downplaying the "revolutionary" mood of the open source movement, and instead focus on the cost savings of useful solutions.

Many schools are already using open source on the backend. As stakeholders examine their current technology and expertise they may find unexpected existing capacity. For example, a district network technician who maintains open source email and Web servers may be an asset in migrating to Linux thin clients in schools.

Are some educators already using open source, at work or at home?
Can you convene a tech planning committee with diverse, open-minded stakeholders?

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Change

Change is good & bad.

Good tech plans address change as both desirable and problematic. Change is inevitable because technology has a lifecycle from affordable to obsolete. Continuous improvement is desirable and schools should be learning organizations. At the same time schools already have certain technology and staff, and this status quo strongly defines what's possible. Schools face numerous other challenges and concerns, with limited time and other resources. As an organization, a school needs to prioritize change to avoid too much general disruption or impact on morale. The school should balance any major changes to technology with other changes, and only try to make major changes during relatively calm periods in the calendar (e.g. summer).

Churn and burnout are real hazards.

Opportunity costs are a hazard of change. By choosing a popular solution (e.g. Microsoft Windows), schools minimize the risk of incompatibility with future programs. Schools should look to their needs and goals when considering whether the other advantages of open source are sufficient to warrant the risks.

A good tech plan addresses the need for training and support, especially during and soon after any major changes. Given the hectic daily life of most educators, it's better to err on the side of excess support, if possible. The open source community may be a valuable asset for supporting stakeholders.

Have you recently made major changes in technology?
Will you be making major changes soon?
Are you able and willing to experiment?

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Open Options is a product of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. These materials are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. The following acknowledgment is requested on materials which are reproduced: Developed by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Oregon.

This Web site was developed and maintained by the Northwest Educational Technology Consortium. The federal funding for the regional technology consortia program ended on September 30, 2005, and no further updates are planned unless additional funding becomes available. However, much of the content is still useful and NWREL will continue to provide access to this site to support educators and to meet its own technical assistance needs.