Beginning questions
This section will help identify what technologies will suit the needs of your students by identifying some important considerations for the planning process and examining technological needs.
Imagine your friend has asked you to buy a pair of shoes for his mother, but forgets to tell you her size. What is the chance that they will fit correctly or be an appealing and appropriate style for her needs? Now imagine trying to buy shoes for his entire extended family – it quickly becomes obvious that it is an impossible task without first going over the needs and requirements of each of the family members first. Without careful consideration, meeting a school’s technology requirements is just as impossible. In other words, a thorough needs analysis must be conducted before any other planning can take place.
Decisions about technological matters in schools are normally based on infrastructural needs. During the planning stages, technological experts are consulted about what will be the easiest and most cost-effective ways of outfitting the school and what possible drawbacks or problems might be associated with various options. However, these technological experts rarely consider, or even understand, the educational requirements of the student and teacher populations.
In order for the equipment to meet the needs of teachers and students it is important for decisions to be made with both infrastructure considerations and educational needs being considered. That is, it is important for someone to measure the student's foot and determine what walking conditions they are facing before buying the shoes.
The results of such an assessment must then be compared to the costs and benefits of a variety of technological options available.
This section examines some important considerations and looks at technological needs.
Related links:
• Telecommunications and Informatics
http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/mdf/mdf1/inform.htm
• Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions - Articles
http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/wiki/Publications