Dive Brief:

• Education technology audits can be helpful for administrators to get a "lay of the land" and ensure funds are being spent on resources that have the biggest impact on students, District Administration reports. 

• A good audit starts with determining a clear vision for how a district is using ed tech and what school leaders want to accomplish with it. It should also include a review of how various departments and classrooms are using ed tech tools, which can reveal the need for more training or even outside help in certain areas. 

• In addition to audits, administrators should conduct peer reviews with staff at least twice a year and do more frequent self-audits related to cybersecurity and student data privacy, the article suggests.

Dive Insight:

As the 2019-20 school year kicks into gear, students, teachers and administrators alike may find themselves learning to use a shiny new piece of technology marketed to enhance learning or increase productivity. But soon, it may go into a stack of unused — or underused — technology piling up in school storerooms. 

As previously reported, schools aren’t using the technology purchases they make to their fullest potential. Meanwhile, many districts have gone into long-term debt to keep up with the market boom.

In a post for The Tech Edvocate, education advocate and former college dean Matthew Lynch writes this wastefulness can happen when school leaders don’t "appreciate" the type of technology they need, and companies take advantage. 

“They can be easily swayed by representatives who do not have the students’ best interests in mind,” he writes, suggesting that attending industry conferences to get up to speed on the latest ed tech developments may help.