School IT Departments ... Concerns
Justin Bathon on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 10:32AM As I am working here in KY to modify our schools for the information economy, increasingly I am becoming concerned that school IT departments might be more of the problem than the solution. I know that is heresy (especially given my large IT based readership), but I am starting to really have some concerns. Reading Wes Fryer's excellent post yesterday caused me to want to articulate those concerns.
First, power from the administration is being increasingly delegated to the IT department - because administrators don't understand (or won't bother to learn) the necessary technical information to make what amount to essentially administrative decisions. These IT departments may not view themselves as leaders. They may not take the more legally risky move that has the potential for more educational benefit (think blocking stuff), whereas I have coached my principals to make those moves where ethics outweigh the law.
Second, the IT departments I have seen are generally not "big picture" departments. They are more concerned about their line items in the budget than the overall budget picture. We can't sacrifice special education funding for a new computer lab - so stop asking. You are not helping the principal or superintendent by requesting outrageous investments.
Third, they are insulated - and I think intentionally so. They become little fiefdoms - a bit like Oz in the Wizard of Oz. Don't ask me how the network operates ... just respect me because it does operate ... and for the love of God, please don't pull back the curtain.
Fourth, they start to look down/criticize slow adopting teachers. This in turn breeds resentment and then stubbornness. There is just not nearly enough patience. Yes, I know you want to talk about Twitter and personal learning networks, but teachers generally are just beginning to understand blogging. Generally, they are too far ahead.
Fifth, they are geographically isolated. The school I taught in had the IT department in a little corner office off the far end of the library. Unless you knew where to look, you would have never found it. What kind of statement is that? On one hand, we want all the wires in the school to run to it, on the other we don't actually want to see it.
Sixth, they are not professional enough. They dress in jeans, are not clean shaven, don't come to meetings, spend their time on twitter instead of talking face-to-face, etc. And, when you are not professional, you are not part of the larger conversation.
Of course, I think this all adds up to a concern I have more broadly over their attitude. Returning to Wes' post, it is the best intentions gone awry. Generally, I do not question that school IT departments are doing what they think is best for the students and the school. Also, I generally do not question that school IT departments are legitimately trying to be cutting edge and trying to advance their school through technology. They legitimately have the best of intentions - but those good intentions are not translating to systemic reforms. There is plenty of blame to go around and I don't want to assign it all to IT folks, but their insular and "better-than-you" attitudes, their lack of patience and professionalism, their constant pushing toward new technology, it just doesn't translate well. And, while I do think school IT departments are advancing the ball, I think they are advancing it just enough so that everyone else can write off their technological responsibilities. Scott McLeod had a great point yesterday as well, and I invite you to join in the conversation that is currently going on over there in the comments. But, this comic does sum it up pretty well.
Reader Comments (10)
I think you are painting with a broad brush here. I can agree with some of this but, being the entire IT department, in my district some of it is simply survival due to short staff. I do agree about hiding IT; I am in a trailer but, I do shave and try to be professional. I was once an empire builder in the 90's but no more. I don't think there has to be an us vs. them but, your blog seems to want to start some kind of crazy war. The cartoon is funny but, frankly, your blog just makes me sad.
I think part of the problem is many school IT departments are made up of non-IT folks who became "IT" by default. (They had the most tech knowledge at the school, even if very limited.)
Overall, though, I think your post amounts to "get off my lawn you crazy kids."
@mswanson - yeah, broad brush is right - but I am concerned systemically, not at any one individual school. Thousands of good IT folks in schools across U.S. (and I am sure you are one), but we have a hundred thousand schools. There is not nearly enough good folks to go around.
@Tony - you first point I think gets right at it. I would definitely agree that is a very large part of my concern. On second point ... yeah, could be.
I think there's another type of IT department, the one that doesn't understand or even use technology in their life. My technology department doesn't know what Twitter is.. Heck they don't even use email efficiently. So those of us that do get it, and try and use it in the school and classroom, just because it's easier to block it or deny support, than to actually try it for themselves to see the benefit.
Part of the problem is that "educational IT" barely exists as a discipline itself. School IT should be done in a very different way than corporate IT, but there is little specific doctrine that I can find for educational IT or places people are trained in it.
So we get some people who try to run it like corporate IT, some who are upgraded teachers with inadequate IT background, and, well, a fundamental strategy -- centrally managed Windows PC's -- which is unsuited to the task and no real capacity for discussing, let alone implementing, the deep changes we really need.
@Sam - You're exactly right, which goes back to my first point earlier (non IT folk in IT roles.) It also speaks to the lack of knowledge at the admin level, which only serves to breed fear. So, the response is to block what they don't understand. I work in educational IT and I'm 100% against blocking/banning/etc. I try to give my admins and teachers information showing them the benefits of things like social networking (Twitter, blogs, wikis, etc.) and how it can benefit them personally and in the classroom. Education is the key. I have, however, worked in an environment where everything was blocked by default, and nobody could be "trusted" not to abuse the tools. It was horrible...it wasn't a failure of IT, though, it was an organizational failure that started at the top.
The role of the school IT Department should be that of an "enabler" - not necessarily visionary. I have always taken the perspective that it is my job to make sure that our staff is "enabled" to do their job and innovate, letting the teachers, principals, superintendent and others on the front line determine the vision. That means doing everything possible to make the network and systems reliable, staying on top of technical support, keeping staff informed, etc. - I want our staff to think of technology to be as reliable and 2nd nature as turning on the light switch in the room - it just works.
Too often, as the article pointed out, IT gets in the way of innovation, though I disagree somewhat with the your reasons and assumptions (and somewhat condescending attitude similar to what you accuse the IT staff of having). You and other educational futurists do not seem to appreciate a balance of freedom and control. Your post would seem to denigrate anyone who does not want to be on the cutting edge. Frankly, this philosophy can be pushed to the point of recklessness. However, for me as a tech to do my job and guarantee a reliable network (not to mention protecting the "business side" and student/staff privacy), some rules, policies and procedures must exist.
One of the keys to managing a successful educational IT department is having a positive relationship between the Superintendent and Tech Director. This is more than a respect issue, it must be a shared vision. It must be a partnership where the superintendent sees the value of IT as an enabler. At the same time, the IT staff must understand the mission of the organization and the fact that IT's primary responsibility is to support that mission.
I know it's a single district, by in mine:
First, administration guides the IT by setting parameters and expectations.
Second, the IT understands the degree that support is their role.
Third, may be a little "Oz" here and the feel of "magic" that happens at times.
Fourth, patience is at a premium on both (or maybe all) sides of the fence.
Fifth, located in THE most central spot of the high school, vertically and horizontally.
Sixth, slacks, not jeans, is the standard - dress code mirrors other educators in the building.
Now here is the twist - homegrown...a former custodian that pulled wire for a tech director that would likely fit all six in the above list and exemplifies most of them to the extreme. Self-taught, grass roots, all of that. This is a person that takes pride in the work and also understands the role and relationships of education. The downfall is pretty clear - limited experience and ability to actually make things work.
Again, this is clearly a single cell in the "body" of education, but it speaks to some of the multiple challenges we face, not all parallels of this post. Sam's comments tell a similarly distince story, as do the comments from Tony and Tom.
Some similar conversations at www.beatingthedeadhorse.blogspot.org if you are interested.
Thanks all for the comments! Really! You increased my learning and I thank you.
Alright a few responses.
@Tom (not Tom H.) - I disagree. You should be visionary. Everyone in a school should be visionary, then the school leader should validate, negotiate, and align those visions. I'm sorry, but if you view your role as only an "enabler" ... your not doing your job. I am a lawyer, I'm all about rules, procedures, etc. But those things don't make the system work for kids. It is good people with visions for how things could be better consistently pushing for their vision within the system that makes change happen. So, please, I urge you to consider your role in a broader sense. What is your role in our democracy? How do you make our democracy better? I think if you ask those questions, you must consider your vision.
@Marshall - LOVE your story. LOVE it. Here is the challenge. Systemically, how do we take that awesome homegrown talent and systematically exponentially multiply it? That's what we need. We need systematic exponential multiplication of that kind of story and we need systematic exponential multiplication of your own talents. Is the system doing enough to multiply your talents?
@Tony + Tom F. - Lets keep working on it fellas. Let's keep working on it.
I work for a large school district where there are hundreds of teachers and staff that get confused which button turns on the power for the computer or monitor. Patience is a necessity in school environments.