Providing for ongoing, on-site help is a non-negotiable item if your system is going to work. Things will break; teachers will need help that instructional manuals and their own problem- solving skills cannot provide. If teachers can't get help quickly, they will avoid using technology. Just as no experienced conference presenter would use an overhead projector without having an extra light bulb in her or his pocket or purse, no self-respecting teacher will organize a lesson around a piece of equipment that could leave him stranded for the next hour.

Keep extra equipment on hand for emergencies.

Maintain a small inventory of items such as cables, disk drives, CD-ROM drives, modems, network cards, or monitors.

If possible, hire a full-time, on-call district technology coordinator or a campus-based computer lab manager.

Ideally, you would have full-time employees at both the district and school level.

Contract with local technicians.

If on-staff support is not an option, consider contracting with a local company or technician, just as you may do for maintenance on your heating system or school buses.

Try to keep a log of assistance requests.

If you're able to identify recurring or common problems, you may be able to train teachers to address them, freeing your troubleshooting staff or volunteers to cope with other problems. A log that lists problems and their solutions can be an invaluable resource.

Look for volunteer help within the community.

Volunteers can provide troubleshooting and technical support, though it's imperative that they be used in conjunction with on-site staff support. If you use volunteers, try to offer incentives in return. One school offers free Internet dial-in capability to its volunteers. Some schools use student volunteers, offering course credit in exchange for troubleshooting assistance.

Send faculty for extensive training.

You can build expertise among your teaching staff by sending a core group for extensive training in technology use, maintenance, and troubleshooting. Be careful about making one or two of the staff responsible for helping everyone else. If you must rely on support from teachers, offer incentives to compensate them for the extra work--extra planning time, a stipend, personal use of a laptop computer, or free personal Internet access.