Provide for ongoing staff development; allocate 30 percent of your technology budget to training.

To be at all effective, training needs to be extensive, hands-on, and timely. A demonstration or two will not get teachers to use technology. You'll need to find ways to make staff development an ongoing activity. Some schools set up study groups, or work with businesses to find volunteer technology mentors. The Cupertino, CA school district, in addition to a five-day summer institute, provides "roving" substitute teachers. The substitute frees regular teaching staff for periodic, one-on-one training with a technology specialist.

Provide training in more than basic technology skills.

Teachers will need two types of staff development. They'll need to gain skills in using basic technology applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, web browser, and multimedia instructional materials. They'll also need assistance in integrating technology into their instructional activities. For many teachers, this may involve a basic shift in their teaching roles and their perspectives about how learning takes place.

Don't expect that teachers will make the shift on their own once they've gotten comfortable with a computer. As is true of any other instructional tool, technology can help to transform a classroom, or it can be adapted to fit a teacher's long-entrenched instructional style. Much of technology's potential will not be realized if the computer is not used in innovative ways. A worksheet is a worksheet, whether it's a mimeographed page or an image on a computer monitor.

Don't work your "technology hero" to death!

Especially in smaller districts, one or two people often end up in the role of "technology hero," taking the lead in planning, providing training and informal coaching, staying late to set up another teacher's computer or to work out a bug in the system, or making curricular adaptations for the entire grade level. While it's great to have heroes, all too often they burn out, especially if they're already carrying a full work load.

A better strategy is to provide extensive training to a group of teachers, then help them to take leadership roles in working with other instructional staff. If you must rely on a "hero," make the work a part of the staff member's formal duties. Relieve her or him of some other responsibilities, or offer extra compensation. Otherwise you're likely to lose a good employee, and you could be left in the lurch at a crucial moment.

These online resources provide professional development models for technology efforts.

Apple Computer's Classroom of Tomorrow program has provided invaluable insight for educators interested in incorporating technology in the classroom. http://www.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/

The Cupertino, California school district's model is available on their web site: http://www.cupertino.k12.ca.us

Bailey, G.D. y Lumley, D. (1994). Technology staff development programs; A leadership sourcebook for school administrators. New York: Scholastic.