Look closely at the research about effective technology implementations and there is one element that almost invariably emerges: inspirational and supportive leadership. School and district-level leaders frequently hold the key to the success or failure of a local program, while inspirational leadership by state and federal policy-makers can help change the culture of learning throughout the entire country.

Research results from the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) offer an example of how this works. In evaluating year three of the TIP program, which placed laptop computers in classrooms at 21 middle schools for one-to-one use, researchers found that "students who attend schools that keep laptops in students' hands and encourage the use of laptops at school and at home for academic pursuits, earn higher test scores" and that "the effects of technology immersion on reading and mathematics achievement generally become stronger over time as teachers and students become more accomplished technology users." Unfortunately, the majority of the schools participating in the program did not reach the levels of "classroom immersion" that tend to make such gains likely. One of the factors that most significantly impacted classroom immersion was the level of administrative leadership, as demonstrated through such actions as "involving staff in decisions, setting clear expectations for technology use, encouraging and participating in professional development events, and providing resources and support." Click here for more information.

Systemic change requires much more than placing laptops in student hands or bringing mobile carts into classrooms. For technology to play a role in systemic change, school and district leaders need to have broad and far-reaching goals—a vision for how technology can transform teaching and learning. In one-to-one programs this means understanding how the technology can help a school reach all students, teachers and administrators at all times, through a ubiquitous computing environment.

The education division of SIIA (the Software & Information Industry Association) has developed a toolkit that offers suggestions to school leaders about the planning process involved in implementing a new program. Suggested steps include:

1. Determine the program's objectives before planning proceeds.
2. Involve all program stakeholders in the planning process.
3. Include criteria for evaluating the program's success in alignment with the program's objectives.
4. Assign an effective leader, with appropriate decision-making authority, to manage the implementation.

Effective leaders are ones who are able to balance top-down and bottom-up approaches to planning and implementation. They are visionaries who know how to inspire and guide others but who also understand how to nurture grassroots leadership, enlisting input from stakeholders and building an effective team to develop a collective vision and a strategic plan to get there. Here are some steps to help implement a far-reaching, technology-based initiative:

Identify Stakeholders:

An effective initiative impacts the entire school community—administrators, teachers, students, IT staff, facilities and procurement staff, and curriculum specialists—as well as the broader community, including parents, board members, and local civic and business leaders.

Build a Task Force:

• Involve representatives of all the key stakeholder groups;
• Include not only local perspectives but also encourage participation by state-level policy-makers;
• Enlist the support of all key players who will play crucial roles in the development of the initiative;
• Define short and long-term goals for the initiative that demonstrate to stakeholders how it will improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching and increase student achievement.

Develop Teacher Buy-in:

Since teachers are key to systemic change in the classroom, it is essential to involve the professional teaching staff within each school in the development phase of any new initiative. By allowing for teacher input and giving the teachers a voice in the decision-making process, the result will be a collaborative adoption of a shared vision rather than an ill-received directive. Teacher morale is very visible to students and it's nearly impossible for change to take place if those responsible for implementing it are resistant or pessimistic about the outcomes.

Create a Strategic and Sustainable Plan:

• Develop objectives for students, teachers and administrators;
• Align these with district technology and content standards;
• Determine how the program will be evaluated—how you will measure success;
• Determine procurement policies for the initiative;
• Consider long-term funding and how to sustain the initiative over time;
• Create policy documents to guide the process and educate the participants;
• Review security and acceptable use policies and revise them as needed.

Involve People, Process, Technology and Data:

A successful, strategic implementation considers four elements: people, process, technology and data. Suggested steps include:

• Do a gap analysis of all four elements;
• Research and learn from the experiences of others;
• Forecast technical infrastructure needs, with an eye to increasing capacity over time;
• Consider beginning with a smaller-scale pilot implementation or use a phased approach;
• Seek vendor expertise and partnerships to estimate project cost;
• Know why you are implementing the technology initiative and know what success looks like.

Maximize Communication:

• Establish a task force focused on communication;
• Use 21st-century technology tools (eg., e-mail, Web sites, online user groups, wikis and collaborative documents, blogs) to support the planning and collaboration process;
• Continue communication with milestone reports to keep stakeholders informed of major progress;
• Inform people to be able to understand what is changing, when the change will occur and the successful impact the implementation would ultimately have.

Some Key Considerations:

• Everyone impacted by an initiative has the potential to become a champion for the project;
• Explaining the impact of the initiative with clarity and early buy-in is mission-critical;
• While broad representation is important, it is wise to limit the actual number of people on your task force;
• Devise questions that will lead to discussions to help target key objectives, ideas, needs and important input from all stakeholders;
• Find teachers and students who will become advocates for your vision and develop them as situational leaders to foster and support change among their colleagues.

In the end, effective leadership helps ensure that technology-based initiatives are targeted and effective. All of the following are key actions to take:

TALK…Hold special briefings for key stakeholders, detailing project progress. Share written information and data collected with peers and other stakeholders.

PLAN…Prepare an accountability plan to communicate change management progress. Identify and include change readiness tactics, impacts to individual jobs, policies and procedures and an information flow chart outlining channels of communication.

TRAIN…What additional skill sets do the new equipment and data-driven decision-making solutions require? Provide training for all skill levels.

LEARN…Study the successes and failures of others. Be open to large and small-scale technology implementation ideas and solutions that other types of businesses use.

EVALUATE…Review your vision on a regular basis, making changes as needed. Measure results and use them to drive data-based decisions that have a solid foundation.

ALLOW TIME…Informed and gradual change is easier to accept and implement. Allow adequate time for those involved to communicate questions and concerns, and to make adjustments and suggestions that strengthen the mission and ensure success.