The district (Wilkes-Barre Area) that I work for does not use Software Selection forms to gather information before purchasing software. Software Selection decisions are made exclusively by the Technology Department. Individual teachers do not have the option of making recommendations as to what new software would benefit students in the classroom.
If the Wilkes-Barre Area School District were to establish a Software Selection committee, it would be beneficial in a number of ways. First, it would allow for more educators to be involved in the selection process for new software and technology. This is important because it would allow more teachers to voice their opinions as to what types of software would be most beneficial to the students in their classrooms. It would also allow committee members to try new educational software and technology to see what it out there. Second, it would establish a solid management process. Having a committee make a decision strengthens the decisions that are made and allows for blame to be shared by all members of the committee if a poor decision were to be made rather than the blame being placed entirely on the technology coordinator. Finally, the last benefit of a Software Selection committee is that better decisions are generally made by a group over an one individual person. Having the group come to a consensus on what software programs and technology to invest in for the district will help the district achieve their vision for technology and education.
Interesting! It seems that many districts do not have teachers part of a software selection commitee. My district may use software selection forms, but I never heard of them or seen one myself. I think just like W-B, most software selection comes from either Tech. coodinator or administration.
ReplyDeleteHi Neil,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I feel the same way as Brian. I'm surprised at the number of districts that do not have a software selection form and I'm also surprised at the number of people that are unaware of them! I was the technology teacher in our building for many years and luckily was able to purchase software packages for my classroom simply by filling out a purchase request and incorporating it into my budget.
I agree with your reasons to have a software selection committee. In my opinion, the input supplied by a variety of individuals far outweighs the opinion of one or two. Is this a committee that you would consider contributing your talents to?