A school district technology director offers 10 strategies to help schools make the most of their technology dollar. These include using effective budgeting techniques, taking advantage of the buying power of groups, practicing sustainable technology, purchasing the right tool for the right job, taking advantage of free software, using cloud…

The ubiquitous spreadsheet in some version has been the sole and unrivaled instrument of financial management for decades. And it has served well. The spreadsheet provides the flexibility to design a unique business process. It allows users to create formulas that execute complex calculations, and it is available in the globally standardized Excel…

This study demonstrates that a popular graphing calculator among students, TI-83 Plus, has a powerful function to draw the NPV profile and find the accurate multiple IRRs for a project with non-conventional cash flows. However, finance textbooks or related supplementary materials do not provide students instructions for this part. The detailed…

Budgeting is a valuable planning tool, facilitated by basic spreadsheets. Three basic steps in creating a budget--listing fixed and variable costs, computing a break-even point, and evaluating modifications--are explained. Models illustrate the basics of moving around the spreadsheet and entering formulas. Popular spreadsheet programs and price…

Many school districts have planned only for upfront software and hardware costs (one-quarter of "real" costs). This article examines major cost components of client-server computing, discusses TCO (total cost of ownership) as a tool for managing investment in technology, and considers how to leverage cost-reduction strategies. (MLH)