Technology is a major part of many schools, and of many school atmospheres and educational programs. In order to make sure that the technology your school is using is good for your school, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of that technology. However, you must follow a good evaluation process so you can be sure that the results you get are worthwhile and meaningful to your school and to your overall educational program.

Evaluate where technology is used in your entire school district, from the youngest student to the oldest. This might take some time, because it requires you to look into every piece of technology used in every type of classroom. Even though this is a lengthy process, it is important because it is the only clear way to get an idea of how technology is used in our schools.

Speak to educators about the technology that is used, and about what type of educational difference those educators see with the technology. Ask them if it works or not, because educators themselves are the best measurements of whether or not something is working. An educator will tell you which pieces of technology are indispensable, and which ones you can do without.

Look at the various test scores in your district to see which have improved lately, and make correlations between those scores and the use of technology. For instance, if you see that your high school's English grades are up, and that the high school has been using computers for English in recent years, you can probably make a good assumption that computers have something to do with the scores. However, just because you don't see improvement in a place where technology is used, don't assume that the technology used in that area is not worthwhile.

Look for places where technology might be a hindrance. If students are spending time on personal websites, or getting in trouble online, this could mean that tighter security measures are important in those situations.