By 2009, all schools should have a quality network, installed and certified by a registered contractor to your schools system's documented specifications, delivering at least 100mb bandwidth capacity to all desktop computers throughout the school, with 1000Mb links between buildings.

If your school's network doesn't meet these specifications then the other suggestions on this page become less irrelevant. If your network isn't reliable, the whole agenda for advancing the use of technology in your school will go nowhere. Fast.

You MUST have a quality 100/1000Mb network as the basic foundation of any technology-based activity in your school.

All new network installations in schools MUST be warranted for a minimum of 15 years, and be installed by a certified installer to your school system's specifications.

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Are your school's Campus Distributor (CD) and Building Distributors (BD) 100/1000 Mb switched hubs?
  
  
• Do you have 1000Mb uplinks between buildings?
  
  
• Does your network meet your school system's specifications?
  
  
• Do you have a manufacturer's 15/25 year warranty on your network?
  
  
• Do you have an accurate drawn plan of your school's network?
  
  
• Do you have performance test results for your school's network, provided by the installer?
  
  

If you have answered "no" to any of the above questions, then rectifying this situation should be the first thing that you do.

Once you have a solid, certified network as detailed above, you can then provide reliable access to a central data storage area for all school personnel (if required) - for both teaching and admin staff, and students.

This central storage area is generally known as a file server.

Whether you even need a file server, and if so, the type of file server that you choose to use, how this file server is setup, and how it is accessed by staff and students depends to some extent on "local conditions" - the size of the school, staff expertise, student needs, etc.

One size and configuration doesn't necessarily fit all learning environments.

For more information about file servers and their configuration for your school, contact your local school system's ICT Adviser. I have also published some general information about files servers in the Servers and Network section of this site.

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Do you have a central storage area (a file server) on your network?
  
  
• Is it easily accessible by ALL staff and students?
  
  
• Is it used by all teaching and admin staff?
  
  
• Is the log-in process suitable for all students and staff?
  
  
• Are student and staff files secure?
  
  
• Does the use of a file server enhance your school's teaching and learning environment?

Having decided to store all your resources on a central file server, a backup regime must be implemented to ensure that the data stored on the file server is safe in the event of fire, theft, vandalism or mechanical failure.

This backup can be as simple as manually copying stored data across the network to another computer in a different area of the school, or to a USB flash drive.

Preferably though, it will involve automatically copying all user files to removable media and storing them off-site.

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Are you regularly backing up student and staff files?
  
  
• Are those staff that use independent computers (eg counsellors, admin staff, temps, etc.) having their files backed up regularly?
  
  
• What would happen if your the computer containing all your staff and student data files was stolen tonight?
  
  
• What would happen if the hard disk in your file server crashed today?
  
  
• What would happen if a non-backed up computer (admin, counsellor, etc) was stolen tonight?
  
  

If you answered "aaagggghhhh" to any of the above questions, then you need to urgently consider a data back-up regime for your school.

If you have already implemented such a regime, test it.

• Can you easily retrieve data files at short notice?

Schools are about learning outcomes, and generally not about learning to use the latest office software (unless students are in a specific vocational course).

If a child is writing a story, or creating a slide show, or creating a podcast, or a movie to enhance their understanding of a curriculum topic - they will be using application software related to that task.

But who decides which software?

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Have you recently reviewed the software that is being used throughout your school?
  
  
• Have you surveyed the options to ascertain what particular applications are available that will assist in motivating students to meet learning outcomes?
  
  
• Do younger students need to use an advanced word processor or other commercial "office" software to meet their learning outcomes?

Check out Wazza’s software pages for a list of software options that may suit a variety of curriculum applications at your school.

Endeavour to have a consistent desktop interface, operating system and application software on all computers throughout the school.

With hardware and software upgrades released so frequently, this is often easier said than done. However, with careful hardware acquisition and disposal planning, and a knowledge of school software licencing options, this goal is achievable for all schools.

Software Update (Mac) and Windows Update (Win) make the automation of this process much easier, for the OS at least.

Tools such as CarbonCopy Cloner, NetRestore and DeployStudio (Mac OS X) and Altiris and Reflect (Win) are useful for the time-saving replication of entire hard disk images.

Some planning questions to consider.....

• What differences exist between computers in different parts of your school?
  
  
• Do all computers in your school have the same "look and feel"?
  
  
• Can staff and students access their files from any computer (including cross-platform environments) throughout the school?
  
  
• Do you have a software licensing regime, and a software register?
  
  
• Does your school have a procedure for the "turnover" of older computers?

Before we can formulate a plan (or a map), we need to know:

• Where we are now;
  
  
• Where we want to be in the future;
  
  
• Why we want to be there;
  
  
• When we want to be there;
  
  
• How are we going to get there?
  
  
• Who is going to help get us there?

Once we have defined that information, our work in developing a plan, or a map, is a lot easier.

There is some interesting background reading, and some planning documents, that might help this process at Wazza's School Planning page.

Also remember to keep the whole technology "thing" in perspective - this is only one area of a whole school plan, and it is supporting the overall needs of the broader school curriculum.

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Do you have a school technology plan? Is it workable? What are your real goals?
  
  
• Is your technology plan linked to your school's management plan and the school's professional learning plan?
  
  
• Do you have a "Plan B"?
  
  
• Does your ICT plan include the opportunity for positive personal achievements for school staff?
  
  
• Do you evaluate/review your plan regularly?
  
  
• Is your plan more than just "another piece of paper"? - ie does everyone support the goals, and are the outcomes measurable?

The implementation and development of your school ICT plan needs a manager.

A teacher (or teachers) at your school should to be identified as the Learning Technologies Manager(s) and have access to the resources to explore, experiment, implement and model the use of ICT to support the school curriculum.

A Learning Technologies Manager (LTM) (or ICTM) must have the interest, the time, and a budget, which permits them to:

• attend regular inter-school meetings
  
  
• keep abreast of ICT initiatives in other schools and school systems;
  
  
• keep abreast of relevant local, state and national workshops and conferences;
  
  
• experiment with the use of new technologies in the school;
  
  
• engage students and other teachers in the use of new technologies in the curriculum.

The LTM should not be expected to be a technical expert in all areas of the school technology infrastructure, but needs to be able to develop and maintain contacts in their school system & the commercial world who can provide technical support where necessary.

It is a good idea to spread the planning and implementation load across various interested personnel and groups within the school. (What happens to your plan if your key people move from the school?)

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Do you have a Learning Technologies Manager(s) (or equivalent) at your school?
  
  
• Do they have the resources to make a difference?
  
  
• Does your school Learning Technologies Manager attend regular inter-school meetings?
  
  
• Does your school Learning Technologies Manager have a budget to implement/experiment with the latest technologies in the classroom?
  
  
• Is your Learning Technologies Manager able to "model" the use of technology in the classroom?
  
  
• Do they have access to the resources to attend PD courses which support their role?
  
  
• Is there a structure within the school for your LTM to share the knowledge and experiences?
  
  
• Are the technical issues in your school supported by appropriate staff (school or non-school), to free the LTM to be able to focus on the implementation of ICT in the school?

Once your technical foundations are in place, LTM(s) have been identified, and suitable ongoing resources are allocated, we can encourage both teachers and students to become active participants in collaborative learning (and administrative) projects.

A school Intranet is an ideal medium to support these endeavours (see also Wazza's Intranet information), providing a web-based, online publishing and information sharing environment for all members of the school community.

A vibrant and well-maintained Intranet is a powerful learning tool which supports many different aspects of the school curriculum. In many schools this is already setup - it just needs some content from the school community.

The development of an Intranet site inevitably leads to the provision of a school Internet site, providing access to these resources by the wider community.

Some planning questions to consider.....

• Do browsers in your school default to the school's intranet web site?
  
  
• Is the administrative information on your Intranet updated regularly?
  
  
• Do students in your school have their own intranet publishing space? Do they use this space?
  
  
• Do teachers in your school use their own intranet publishing space to support their classes, sports groups, drama groups, etc?
  
  
• Is your Intranet site regularly updated with current news and events, and relevant to the needs of the school?

Web 2.0 is now widely used by students to collaborate outside the school environment - Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, etc.

A great professional learning activity involves helping teachers to set up a personal Google account, and then exploring the possibilities made available by that one account - e-mail, blogs, docs, pages, photo albums, etc.

The Learning Technologies Manager can easily develop some interesting (and fun) TPL activities built around different facilities made available as part of this account.

Some planning questions to consider....

• How many staff in your school (including the Principal) understand what online applications are, and what possibilities these technologies present?
  
  
• Have any teachers at your school contributed to a blog or similar? eg - SMH, 7:30 Report, 60 Minutes discussions, etc;
  
  
• Try using 280 Slides with some teachers - and maybe some students - to create a presentation;
  
  
• More "advanced" teachers can extend their knowledge by creating a Google web page, or an online photo-album.
  
  

Once the foundations are in place, it is time to consider the day-to-day impact of all this technically-clever infrastructure and teacher knowledge on the learning environment across the school.

All new syllabuses expect the integration of technology in the curriculum - hence the need to have technology planning embedded in the school plan, rather than as a stand-alone item.

We need to ensure that the necessary resources (hardware, software, personnel, T&D, etc) are available to support these syllabus requirements, in a way that provides equitable access to all teachers and students, in all KLAs.

It is important that Teacher Professional Learning planning provides an opportunity for all staff members to become familiar with the possibilities of new technologies, both personally and in their own classroom context, while also providing opportunities for others to experiment at the "leading edge".

Some questions to consider when planning for professional learning in 2009:

• Are teachers in your school encouraged to use technology for their own professional development and personal learning - ie do they have easy access to hardware such as digital cameras, and easy access to professional support and/or technical support when required, etc.
  
  
• Do teachers in your school have the opportunity to "adopt and adapt " technology for their personal and professional use?
  
  
• Are teachers in your school familiar with new technologies that may be useful in supporting the curriculum in their classroom?
  
  
• For some KLA Internet integration ideas check out the NSW CAP Online Modules and the NSW DET Curriculum Support pages.
  
  
• For some personal and professional skills review documentation see Wazza's School ICT Planning Links.

Whew! Now that you have achieved so much success (!) why not share your school's philosophies and successes with the broader community through the universal web medium.

Information about publishing school web sites is available at Wazza's Web Publishing page.

Government policy guidelines (which often impact on public school web sites) are available at Wazza's Govt Policy Page.

If you have a school web site.....

• Does the site provide a clear understanding of the philosophies and corporate ethos of the school?
  
  
• Is the site updated regularly?
  
  
• Does the site include news and information that will encourage community members to return to the site?
  
  
• Does the site include student material?
  
  
• Could the site be managed by senior students?
  
  
• Does the site conform to the requirements of your school's system?
  
  

If you answered "no" to any of the above, it may be time to review your school web site, and implement some changes - as part of your school ICT plan.