It took me a long time to figure it out. You know what I am talking about. Anyone responsible for technology budgets has had similar experiences on a regular basis. I am talking about how virtually every sales representative, particularly those selling technology-related products that have instructional applications, has a product or group of products that that they promise will make life easier for me or my school district, help students, raise test scores, reduce total cost of ownership, and, for good measure, probably reduce greenhouse gases.

What makes these claims even more mystifying is that the sales representative will then mention a case study or pull out a slick fact sheet or brochure that illustrates where a particular school’s or, better yet, district’s results such as those described above were achieved. “The Little Big District,” the fact sheet exclaims, “was able to achieve a two-grade jump in test scores after only three months of using our product.” I spent many nights staring at the ceiling, not being able to sleep, trying to figure this out. How could so many vendors have such impressive results, yet Johnny is still having so much trouble reading, writing and ciphering? It certainly wasn’t happening in my district and, as I perused the literature, spectacular results appeared to be the exception rather than the rule.

After missing too much sleep, I eventually had my “aha” moment. It was all a matter of putting together things that I already knew or believed in. I figured it out, and it turned out to be quite simple. I bashfully like to call it Brody’s Axiom, and it goes something like this:  Everything, or should I say virtually everything, seems to work somewhere, but nothing works everywhere. If one believes that a critical factor in the success of a technology intervention is the teacher, it makes a great deal of sense that an excellent teacher will probably be able to achieve some level of success with even a mediocre technological product. If one throws in the different levels of support provided by the school or district (e.g., professional development activities, consultants, new or upgraded equipment), it’s no wonder why some technology implementations work while others fail. Ergo, while the fact sheet extolling a success story or two may not be telling the unvarnished truth about the product, it is also not a complete fabrication.

What is a decision-maker to do? Believe everything the sales representative and the fact sheet tell you? Do so only if you are close to retirement. Instead, conduct due diligence. That is, conduct a thorough investigation of the product you are interested in acquiring. Ask your vendor to provide names of other districts or schools similar to yours that have used the product, and be certain to get contact information for those who were responsible for the implementation. See if your colleagues in other districts can provide you with similar information. Make certain when contacting other districts that have used the product, you delve into the implementation details, finding out what went wrong as well as what went right. Don’t forget to search the Web and/or periodicals for appropriate information.

When all is said and done, nothing takes the place of your own hard work in determining the appropriateness of a technology application.