In today’s flurry of technological advancement, the only way to keep up is to innovate. But as forward-thinking education leaders quickly learn, the path to change is littered with roadblocks.

While the specific barriers to tech integration may be unique to each school or district, one thing remains the same: Without community support and shared leadership, innovation will stall in its tracks.

“You have to have a culture of innovation,” said Pat Skorkowsky, superintendent of Clark County School District in Nevada. “You have to have a culture that allows the individual employees to have a say in what’s happening. And you have to build that structure in place to support that.”

The key to succeeding with any technology initiative is to cultivate the necessary conditions for innovation to thrive. From empowering educators at all levels to enacting policies that support change to communicating with the broader community, these conditions allow schools and districts to respond to students’ changing needs and help them reach new heights of achievement.

“Technology is sprinting ahead of us on a rapid basis,” Skorkowsky said. “But education is a marathon, and we have to learn how to balance the two.”

Watch the video of Skorkowsky's keynote from the ISTE 2014 Lead & Transform Town Hall to find out how the fifth largest U.S. school district used ISTE’s Essential Conditions for tech integration to spur rapid growth in student achievement. 

Sign up for this year's Lead & Transform: An ISTE Town Hall to find out how leaders can spur and guide systemwide change in their schools and districts.  

And to find out if your organization has developed the necessary conditions for technology integration, use our free Lead & Transform diagnostic tool.

A former journalist, Nicole Krueger has more than a decade of experience as a news reporter and professional blogger.

This article was previously published on Oct. 30, 2014.