Databus Issue: 2007 2 05/29/2007
The Evolving Role of the IT Director
Bev Blaylock Ed-Tech Consultant
PDF
The role of the IT Director has changed
dramatically in the past 10 years. If
your tenure places you within this
decade, you may be experiencing conflict
as you continue to manage with proven
competencies that don’t seem to work well
in this age of user empowerment. Unconvinced?
Check out these examples:
1. Wireless access points have been
installed in a classroom by students,
teachers and/or parents.
2. Sophisticated software, such as a student
assessment system (ELAR), has
been acquired without your input.
3. Student assessment is a top district
priority, and you are struggling to
understand the difference between a
“scale score” and “national percentile
rank.”
4. When you talk about technology standards,
you are told, “So what? Get it
done!”
5. You have spent your career becoming
great at IT issues. Your district curriculum
coordinator has spent her career
understanding how students learn.
You wish she would just understand.
She wishes you would just understand.
6. You find yourself increasingly frustrated
as you try to explain important
concepts, such as security and Total
Cost of Ownership, to unhearing ears.
7. Data, which used to be safeguarded
and distributed from your computer
room, now seems to be everywhere in
the form of flash drives and other continually
evolving devices.
Face it. The
days when you
were “the” IT
person, are over.
If you plan to
work over the next
10 years, you will
need to make some
systemic changes in your
style. But, before you push
the panic button, here are some
strategies to help you thrive.
1. Know What Business You are In: It is
not technology, it is education! Realize
that in your environment, IT exists
to support the education process, not
vice versa. Payroll and student information
systems are important, and
so are networks, but recognize that
they are only part of a bigger picture.
Learn about the education business,
not just technology.
2. Expand Your Competencies. To be
of value in the coming years, you
must carve out time to learn how to
bridge the IT-Curriculum gap. Go to
your curriculum coordinator and say,
“Help me learn how to serve you.”
Ask to be included in teacher training
sessions when new textbooks are
adopted. Provide input on the new
draft ISTE technology standards for
students at http://cnets.iste.org/. ISTE
is trying to bridge this gap as well.
Enroll in a comprehensive program
to understand curriculum issues (i.e.
UCLA’s “Creating a Thinking Curriculum
Institute” (http://www.ues.
gseis.ucla.edu/outreach/). Establish
and attend regular meetings with the
curriculum team.
3. Understand Assessment. Refresh your
statistical skills with a college-level
class and make sure you understand
every field on the CST and CELDT
CDs. Mapping data is not enough:
You must also understand, present,
and communicate the data. Know
where the data is and think of ways it
answers key questions teachers have
about their students.
4. Understand your Communication
Style: Effective communication is
your primary responsibility. Keep
in mind that most IT professionals
are very detail oriented, whereas
administrators may prefer a global,
big-picture, visionary style. Go
ahead, prepare your 20-page datadriven
analysis but, before you present
it to an administrator, summarize it in
one or two concise paragraphs. Your
research and back-up documents will
prepare you to answer follow-up questions.
5. Communicate
Every Day: Analyze
the formal
and informal
communication
structure for your
district and become
a contributing member.
Where are the technology
hot-spots and who is leading
the effort? Think about the
IT changes you are anticipating. Who
will they impact? How? Communicate
early and often about the changes
you anticipate. Have regular technology/
curriculum conversations with a
student-centered instructional staff!
6. Teach the boss: The superintendent
must make many decisions regarding
technology. Be part of the process that
educates him or her to make informed
decisions. To help in this area, the
TechSETS project (www.techsets.org)
will be presenting articles on what
superintendents should expect from
the IT expert, and vice versa. The
goal is better communication, better
decisions and a better instructional
environment as it involves technology.
7. “Broadcast” Sound Technology
Practices: With every new IT project,
decentralize some functions and select
new people to assist you. Instead of
asking the same friendly technology
teacher to help, select the teacher
whose students have the highest math
scores. Then ask, “How does she do
that?” This strategy will yield you new
skills and will help one more person
understand why security, standards,
and TCO are really important.
8. Be a Consulting Teacher: See yourself
as a consultant. You may know the
best way to get from Point A to Point
B, but you will err if you act without
teaching others why they should follow.
When you schedule a new project or
if you have a new project assigned to
you, always schedule a “Team Visioning”
session, where everyone on the
team knows the “End in Mind” or “Big
Idea.” Be open to the ideas of others.
9. Call “Time Out” When Needed:
Occasionally, you may find your
organization going down a dangerous
path. Your professional integrity and
responsibility will require you to act
quickly. However, before you report
to your supervisor or other executives,
cool down, double-check your facts, be
student and staff centered, and prepare
your brief statement that describes how
this direction will cause harm to the
organization. This preparation will
help you articulate your concerns with
confidence and sincerity.
10. Balance Saying Yes and No: Keep an
open mind. Don’t say no to everything
and kill every idea just because
it doesn’t seem to fit an older model.
You’ll soon be seen as a millstone.
While not every idea can fly, some
can. Be part of the solution for those
seemingly good ideas. Help others see
how to make good ideas work even
better.
11. Learn From the Younger Generation:
Spend time with the digital natives!
Stock up on music and podcasts
on your iPod. Create a MySpace
account. Try out a Second Life. Submit
an entry on YouTube. Learn at
least one phrase that you can text
message faster than a kid.
These suggestions may sound like they
will take time you simply don’t have; however,
understanding key organizational
challenges, enlisting the support of users,
and communicating your intentions will
reduce resistance, improve adoption of
sound practices, and ultimately make you
more successful.
This is an exciting new age, where technology
isn’t new, where digital natives are
showing us how to rule the “New West”
with their creativity, their passion, and
their spontaneity. Lift that “Procedures
Manual” from your chest, breathe deeply,
and become a part of the future.
