Editor's Note

The Universal Challenge

Ed-tech leaders try to do more with less.

What’s really on the minds of ed-tech leaders? The answer is usually “many things,” from cyber safety and security to online learning to data-driven decisionmaking. But over the past several months, as concerns about the economy have grown, chief information officers and other ed-tech leaders are facing a universal challenge: how to maintain, or even grow, IT programs with declining resources.

In this issue, DD Senior Writer Michelle R. Davis takes an in-depth look at the current ed-tech budget challenges and how schools are employing new and creative tactics to save money and programs. This cover story includes a special look at the use of "virtualization," an IT tactic in which multiple computers are run virtually off the power of one machine.

Other articles in this issue build on the money-saving theme of the cover story. Michelle’s “GoinGreen,” for instance, examines the use of environmentally friendly technology approaches. In researching that story, Michelle found there is often a natural intersection between the use of so-called “green” technologies and saving money.

Digital Directions writers and bloggers Andrew Trotter and Katie Ash add to the money-saving theme with a pair of articles that examine the open-content movement and the possibilities it holds for producing better, less expensive K-12 content.

Undoubtedly, money is on everyone’s minds, and Digital Directions will work hard in the months ahead to give you the best information and advice available to help you navigate through these unpredictable economic times.

Vol. 02, Issue 02, Page 6

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