Technology Integration

• Principal Connections
• K-12 Total Cost of Ownership Web-Based Calculator

Online Professional Development

• Comprehensive Literacy Program
• Alabama Leadership Series
• eCoaching

Instructional Design

• Data-Based Decision Making: Resources for Educators
• Building Teachers: A Constructivist Approach to Introducing EducationCD-ROM

Research and Evaluation

• Toward an Effective Use of Technology in Education
• Action Research training for West Virginia Technology Integration Specialists

Facilitation

• Assessment Conference
• Webcast series for the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center

Technology Integration: K-12 Total Cost of Ownership Web-Based Calculator

Purpose: This product is based on the TCO Calculator created by Al Zeisler from Integrated Technology Education Group (ITEG). The original calculator was developed in Excel and the purpose of this project was to create a web-based version to reach a wider audience.

Audience: The calculator is designed to support school and district educators charged with developing and monitoring technology plans, such as principals, technology coordinators, and network administrators.

My Role: I designed and developed the web site, which included creating the database the serves up the data, designing all web pages and graphic elements, and creating the calculations that not only brought the work from the original spreadsheet designed by Al Zeisler to the web but expanded its capacity. I used Microsoft Access for the database and Cold Fusion to serve information to and from the database to the web pages.

Challenges: The scope of this project was the biggest personal challenge for me. There are hundreds of variables and probably at least many calculations throughout the site. It really pushed my novice Cold Fusion programming skills, but by the end I had a stronger understanding of the capacity for capturing and delivering customized information through the web. Fortunately, I had the luxury of an expert programmer to rely on, my colleague Jonathan Caldwell, who humored and nurtured me and helped me to write more efficient code. Jonathan is also responsible for updates to the tool, like the district aggregation report, found in version 2.0.

There were two primary design challenges of the project itself. The first was moving from a spreadsheet to a web-based mentality. Calculations on a spreadsheet are fairly straightforward, but by moving to variables in a database, we actually increased the possibilities of how we might manipulate and present the data. I believe that working on this project helped by Al and I to expand our thinking about using data in web applications.

The second challenge was to keep this complex tool easy for busy educators. No matter who uses the tool, a lot of data has to be collected and entered. The process of collecting the data, however, was considered important for building the capacity of the users for creating better technology plans.

Strategies: In order to address the complexity of the process and to make it easier for users, I developed a Get Started guide that stepped the users through the process. Consider the Get Started guide as an advanced organizer. I also included a glossary linked to specific terms and line items throughout the calculator and sample reports to let users know what they could expect to get out of the site.

On the fun side, I created the character, Penny the TCO Pig. Throughout the site, Penny provides helpful hints and links to helpful information that supports the planning process. Penny must have been popular, because similar TCO pigs were included on the cover of the April 2004 Technology & Learning magazine that featured an article that included the K12 TCO Calculator.

Two other methods for decreasing the complexity of the tool included chunking the information into a short series of screens that could be saved in process. This way, users could gather information for each chunk and enter it over time rather than having to enter it all at once. Also, I eliminated any calculations users once had to figure out themselves on the spreadsheet, thus reducing the opportunity for introducing error. Instead, I required users to simply count items or list amounts and the calculator does all of the calculations in the background, such as figuring out ratios and percentages.

Outcomes: As mentioned, the K12 TCO Calculator was featured in the April 2004 issue of Technology & Learning magazine. It was also noted as Site of the Week and Site of the Month by eSchool News. Since it's launch, more than 2700 users have created accounts on the site and used it to inform their technology planning.

Web site: www.edvantia.org/tco/