I would have never put Sam Walton and Technology planning together. However, I guess the answer is "why not?" The man created a business that makes in excess of 40 billion dollars a year. He is bound to have some ideas that technology planners can glean from his experiences! I am going to try to give you some of the ideas and ideals I saw in his writings.

Ask questions. Ask a lot of questions! Sam Walton must have worn people out asking them questions on a subject in which he was interested. One person quoted in his book said that after Sam left him the first time they met, he was exhausted! The reason was that Sam questioned him for two and a half-hours! I think technology planners should ask lots of questions of those who have gone before them. Ask questions of anyone who you feel has information you could need. Don't worry if it is a parent, vendor, student, programmer, or technician. If they have some information or knowledge that will help your planning project, don't be afraid to ask.

Build a partnership with the people who will eventually use the plan you're writing. Get all the teachers of your school or district involved--not just the technology teachers, but also the others who don't see themselves as technology experts. Make all teachers feel that this is their plan, not just for the techno-teachers. Seek input from all the teachers, ask for it, and welcome it when you receive it. If the teachers feel that they had input to the plan, no matter how little, they will support it all the stronger. The plan will also be stronger and more viable if you use the input you receive from those working with students every day.

Take your teachers to meet other technology users. Take you teachers to meetings where they can meet others doing what you want them to do. Get them to rub shoulders with others using the technology or ideas you would like them to use. They will ask questions, and hear and see methods of teaching that you could tell them about for days and it wouldn't sink in. However, seeing or hearing another teacher will often help them to make the connection.

Make the customer number one. If you aren't doing all of this to improve your students’ performance, then you're wasting everyone's time. Go find a job as a Greeter. Sam Walton knew that if he didn't make the customer happy, then he failed in the sale. They won't come back. Students are the same way. If they don't feel challenged, they turn you off. If they feel you are patronizing them, they will have no respect for you. If they feel you are giving them out-dated technology to use, they will try to destroy it.

Think location. Remember where all this technology will be used--not in a boardroom, but in a classroom. Keep in mind who is using it, and how, and when. Remember that it will be used for short periods of time, maybe for 45 minutes; then it will be restarted.

Think efficiency. Try to get the most for your budget. Sam believed that he could make money by being efficient, driving the best bargain he could for his customers, and not being too greedy. He was happy with a smaller mark-up than his competitors. Consequently, his customers come back again and again.

That is exactly what we want. We want our "customers", our students, to come back again and again to learn more, and more effectively from us, to be able to take what we give them and solve problems for themselves.