What do I expect from the ICT class?

ICT is such a broad topic, and I thought I knew enough about it to get by.  When I started trying to use it for teaching/educational purposes, it became harder.  It seemed that I needed to use the Smartboard for my lessons, but the Smartboards in my schools were portable, and connections became loose, computers stopped recognizing the hardware, and many other problems arose that I had no clue about how to fix.  I would like to know not only how to use the Smartboard (and create lessons efficiently), but I would also like to know about other types of ICT that can help me in my teaching.  I would like to have a technology literate classroom, where the students aren't in awe every time we use it.  I would like it to be an every day type of occurrence - yet still be useful, helpful, and engaging.

I would also like to know how to use ICT in a way to support and encourage inquiry instead of stretching to try manufacture inquiry.  I would like it to be seamless and natural instead of unnatural and awkward for the students.  

I suppose the biggest question for me is how can I use technology in a school that doesn't have a whole lot of it.  Both of my practicum schools had one or two Smartboards, and a computer lab, and 1 class set of laptops, but you always had to sign up 2-3 weeks in advance to use these things.  I think that if I want to have my technology literate classroom, I would need constantly and easily accessible technology whenever the situation arises.  If a student asks a good question about a topic which would be a great starting, mid, or ending point for that topic, I would like to have immediate access to some form of technology so we can pursue it as a class, in groups, or individually.  For some reason, I don't think it would be as interesting if we pursued that question 2 weeks later, after we had covered many other things in the meantime.  I suppose my biggest want in a classroom would be that I don't want to have to put off discussing something fully because we do not have access to it.  I also don't want the technology to be some sort of commodity that makes it special when we get to use it.

So to get back to my question, what are some alternatives to technology when you do not have it "at your fingertips", and how would one go about getting it "at their fingertips"?