Managing Software Purchasing and Renewals in a School
With a 1:1 programme across our College one of the most challenging aspects of maintaining good teaching and learning practices is the selection of online subscriptions and software that complement a laptop/iPad programme. At Scotch the importance of selecting the right subscriptions and software is a process that is still being refined but in general the following is our process for ensuring that the end goal is the improvement of student learning or supporting the administration of the College itself.
Who Does What?
Often software and subscriptions are requested or, in some schools, just purchased by the various curriculum departments without any consultation with the Information Learning Technology (ILT) team. This can then cause issues around its implementation and privacy, which puts ILT in conflict as it maintains the integrity of the system and its users.
To ensure that this does not occur at Scotch a process was establish with three phases:
- The software/subscription cannot be purchased from a budget other than ILT
- An information technology integrator must work with the teacher to ensure that it enhances their education
- A Software Subscription Application Form is created (see attached)
This process, which might be seen as onerous by some, maintains the connected discussions between the person requesting the service and the ILT team, allowing them to be involved and represented during the investigation phase and able to provide support following the implementation.
Vendor Requirements
At Scotch we ensure that vendors conform to Australian laws and regulations on a number of issues. In addition to this, during the investigation phase several answers must be provided to ensure that a successful implementation can be achieved. Too often software or subscriptions are purchased for the improvement of teaching and learning but are not used well due to poor implementation.
Finally, the most important aspect of our processes here at Scotch is ensuring that no software or subscription continues to run without review. Too often subscriptions go unused due to staff leaving, logins being forgotten or changes in curriculum. Each year we ensure that all budget requests for these items are reviewed, documents are completed by the ILT integrator and everyone works with the teachers or students to get the most from the resource.
Below are the three Scotch documents that you’re welcome to modify and adjust for your school’s processes that you can preview and download as attachments in PDF format.
Comments