Round 2

Continued...
I hope you enjoyed Round 1 and took some time to do a
bit of reflecting. For another perspective on the benefits of
reflection, take a listen to John Maxwell and his take on
reflection turning experience into insight. Enjoy round 2!

Communication Systems
Usually the answer you hear when someone poses the
question how can our organization be better, is
communication needs to be improved. It is important to remember that communication is a two way street. You can't force someone to listen to your communication, but you should do your best to provide communication in a number of ways
that reaches your community.

The GPS Marketing and Communication team is a small 

but powerful group that has put in place a number of tools 

that allow the district, departments, and schools to 

communicate with stakeholders on a large scale. Besides 

a newly implemented website that is constructed to be the 

one source of truth for the parents and community, it also 

includes a messaging system that disseminates information 

via e-mail and text to parents and guardians. Each school also has tools to distribute site information through online newsletters and teachers can directly communicate 

via e-mail with parents and guardians through the district 

student information system. Each school has the ability to 

use these tools as they choose and decide what works best 

for their community.  From an IT perspective, the biggest challenge with any communication system is parent and guardian support. It is challenging to assist these groups on devices not owned by the district. The schools and Technology Services do their best to assist so that these communications reach them. Our help desk staff is also great at assisting with most issues.

Data Governance

Data governance is a very relevant topic at this time with protecting
user data from unauthorized access, proper data agreements with
third party resources, and educating users on the importance of
protecting their information from non trusted sources.

User data for any organization should be protected using best practice methods and continually reviewed for any needed adjustments. Districts should not hesitate to work with outside consultants for assistance in maintaining these best practices and configuration setups. Staying connected with cybersecurity organizations for the latest information on know vulnerabilities, updating all systems, and educating end users is critical for staying protected from threats. 

Data Access

The GPS Accountability and Assessment department works closely with all GPS schools in assisting them on how to best use collected data to guide instruction and improvement. District and state-level assessment information is reviewed in the department, presented at the Cabinet and school leadership level and used as a tool in discussion around increasing and shaping possible strategies for student improvement. Our Technology Services Information Systems team has built an internal database that assessment data can be imported along with other student demographic information. We have recently begun using a data analytics tools to build visualizations based on the needs of stakeholders. This allows for years of data to be looked at in a visually pleasing format and easy studying of trends based on different areas of selection. 

Ethics and Policies

One very notable piece of federal legislation passed in 2000 by Congress 

is the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). “CIPA imposes certain 

requirements on schools or libraries that receive discounts for Internet 

access or internal connections through the E-rate program – a program 

that makes certain communications services and products more 

affordable for eligible schools and libraries. In early 2001, the FCC issued 

rules implementing CIPA and provided updates to those rules in 2011.” 

GPS takes part in the E-rate program and provides content filtering to 

protect our students as best we can. 

The GPS Technology Services team feels we have an obligation to provide a Digital 

Citizenship curriculum to all students in GPS. We have partnered with 

Common Sense Media to provide an extensive curriculum for our teachers 

to use with our students K-12 and it is an expectation that this is done each 

year. Technology Services has also partnered this school year with the 

GPS K-12 Prevention Coordinator, who oversees the district 

social workers and counselors who assist our schools with the digital 

citizenship program. We feel as a district that the social and emotional 

well-being of our students is a priority and aspects of technology including
social media can often play a part in that area. 

Promising Technology Ahead

I always find the what's the next big thing question difficult to answer, so I
did appreciate this heading.

AZ Computer Science Standards-this will provide the roadmap needed for actual implementation in K-12 schools. The challenge, although not insurmountable, is teacher understanding and development and how computational thinking can be used across the curriculum. 

Learning models-It still seems there are struggles with different learning models due to the structure of the school funding system. GPS Global Academy is being creative with a couple of unique blended learning models and the outcomes are promising. The structure of bell schedules and traditional practices are still somewhat of a barrier in my opinion.

Artificial intelligence-AI and machine learning have crept into most 

aspects of our lives when it comes to determining our next purchase 

or what political flavor society falls into. It remains to be seen how 

this technology will benefit the K-12 learning environment so 

we can catch areas of needed remediation or enrichment for our 

students. This topic will also continue to bring into the spotlight the
ethical questions behind the technology.

Next Round...
Each one of the topics from round 1 and 2 could be stand alone discussions that would easily fill a page. It was a good exercise to put these thoughts down on paper, think a bit deeper about them, and find celebrations and areas that could use improvement. With the intention not to sound like a broken record, I will state again, without taking the time to give serious thought to our daily decisions and practice, improving them will be difficult and the same results will be achieved. Thanks for reading!

Round 1

Reflection

If there is one constant over the years that I have found most valuable for growth and improvement is reflection. Without taking the time to give serious thought to our daily decisions and practice, improving them will be difficult and the same results will be achieved.

Over the years I have been asked to answer questions around technology for peers working on their higher education degrees. The questions are usually similar enough that It is enjoyable to look back and see how my answers have changed and also create a blog post out of it, cause why not. I am going to split this one up as it was quite lengthy, enjoy!

Leadership and Vision

The biggest hurdle to developing a shared vision for technology use in today’s K-12 landscape is the divide between the Teaching and Learning and Information Technology departments. Historically the goals of these two areas have not been communicated to one another and the communication breakdown will lead to a lack of understanding of what is important for planning a meaningful and effective path for technology integration and a safe online learning environment for users. 
In Gilbert Public Schools we have an organizational chart that

allows for all-district departments to be represented at the Cabinet-level

including the Teaching and Learning and Information Technology

departments. Having the Executive Directors and Assistant Superintendents at the table allows for each area to be represented, communicate their needs and understand the importance of the IT side to ensure a safe network, protect student and staff data, and provide support to meet strategic plan goals.

Gilbert Public Schools has created a strategic operating plan that has technology embedded to achieve the ultimate goal of, success for all students. Each area of focus, safe and supportive schools, family and community engagement, employee excellence, and financial and operational efficiency all have goals and action items in place that are measured to monitor progress and allow for modification when needed.

Technology is embedded in each of these areas but is only a small piece of supporting our student’s success. Ultimately, it is the relationship between teachers and students and the support provided by leadership that will allow us to measure the true success of the plan.  

Team Building and Staffing The same philosophy that applies at the district level for cross-functional departments is necessary within an Informational Technology team structure. The rapid rate of change that takes place with technology is difficult to communicate at times and does lead to issues with bringing awareness to end-users. In the GPS Technology Services department, there are 5 internal teams to include: IT Customer Care Specialists, Information Systems, Network and Telecommunications, Systems Administration, and Instructional Technology. Each leader of these areas plus a Project Specialist make up the Technology services leadership team. The Executive Director of Technology meets weekly in a formal meeting with the team and daily on an informal basis. This team is responsible for working closely with one another to ensure Technology Services is working collaboratively to support GPS. One example of this would be the leadership team working with one another to coordinate occasional cross-functional team meetings. They create an agenda around issues happening with end-users, ways to address them and share other problems or successes happening in the field. 

GPS Technology Services has also established a userXperience team that meets regularly to discuss and make decisions on existing and future implementations, device functions and features, updates, and other variables as it relates to the end-users in GPS. This group has representation from all Technology Services departments and is important to our end user’s success with implementations and integrations that impact the daily function of staff and students. We have been able to make changes and roll back changes based on the feedback they bring to the table representing each area of the department. 

      Instructional Focus and Professional Development

Bringing awareness to all staff members around emerging technologies and potential issues to protect the network and data is on-going. I agree with the philosophy of leading from the middle and that everyone is a leader regardless of their position. We encourage all Technology Services staff to share ideas, emerging technologies they see and support to everyone around them. Our Instructional Technology team works closely with site Principals to present at staff meetings, meet one on one with teachers, attend grade-level meetings, share a weekly newsletter and any other form of communication that leads to awareness. 

Another example from the department level is our yearly awareness campaign around Computer Science Week. For the last three years, the Technology Services department has provided support around CS by providing professional development activities, meet-ups, video campaigns, and support for our teachers to bring CS into their classrooms. 

There is not a one size fits all approach with learning and the same applies to the technology that can support the educational outcomes our teachers want for our students. 

Round 2

Thanks for taking the time to read a bit on what started as assisting a friend with their doctorate assignment to gaining a little glimpse of how we do things in Technology Services. There is not any secret sauce being served up here, just a good group of individuals working together for students. See you soon for Round 2. 

Island Life

Tropical Paradise
I want to talk about island life for a moment and full disclosure, I have never lived on a remote island, so no offense to those who have. Living on a remote tropical island really sounds good though, at least for a short amount of time, but long-term, being on an island can become isolating. Not interacting with others, sharing, and working alongside peers that challenge you, will keep us from growing as individuals and we can become stale.

Stay Fresh
It is easy to become isolated on internal islands within our own technology departments. With the grind that comes with answering help desk tickets and trying to maintain normal daily responsibilities while pushing ahead with additional projects, communication between our peers becomes increasingly more difficult. If we layer on top of that the rapid pace that technology changes and the amount of content generated on a daily basis, the island starts feeling like a safe place to be. We all know however that isolation will not help us solve the problems in front of us, keep us fresh with new ideas, and increase collaboration amongst our peers to better serve our students and staff. 
 

PLN Strong
The concept of a professional learning network has been around for quite some time now and still, in my opinion, the most effective way to connect with peers. The power of a PLN is the informal manner that a person can participate, share content as well as consume, and take advantage of a global community. Having a staff that has strong PLN's will benefit our internal technology teams that often struggle with getting out and allows that isolated island feeling to creep in. Although the PLN and PLC terminology is synonymous with teachers and administrators, there is a vast community of technology-related professionals waiting to connect. A few places to connect with other technology-related professionals.

• Twitter: Search hashtags, ie. #itdirector, #networkadministrator, #datasecurity, #programmer
• LinkedIn
• COSN: Consortium for School Networking
• ISTE: International Society for Technology in Education
• State and local listservs 

Creative Time
I am not sure that creative time is a thing, my point here is that time is the magical piece that there is never enough of. Instead of using the old saying that you will find time for what is important, be creative with time and find different ways to get together other than the traditional meeting. A recent post on Engage, an employee engagement blog, on "7 Fun Ways to Host Team Meetings", points out a variety of simple common sense ways to make meetings not boring. Three of my favorites are mentioned below that I have added some ideas on how to make these easily happen with minimal time involved in preparation. 

• Use grouping: We know birds of a feather flock together right, so instead of having everyone count off from 1-5 then split up, which is boring, pass out different pieces of candy to everyone when they arrive and find their table of like sugary fun. Substitute anything you would like if candy isn't your thing. 
• Change the scenery: This one is very self-explanatory and why not meet at the local coffee shop, nothing makes a meeting more enjoyable than sitting in a comfortable chair with an iced coffee. One notable mention here is as the leader, you need to reassure your leadership team that this is OK. Let them know your expectations, traveling an hour across town to a nice speakeasy is probably not what counts as productive for most organizations. 
• Switch up positioning: This is similar to grouping in moving people out of their comfort zone by not having them sit in the same exact chair every week. Here is where you need to lead by example, the next time you walk into the meeting room, you start it off by sitting in a different spot every time. If we expect others to venture out of their comfort zone, we must lead by example.
  
  

Sharing is Caring

I would love to hear what others are doing with their staff for staying fresh, building their PLN's and being creative with time. Leave a comment, tag me on Twitter @jcastelhano, share the great things you are doing!

Soft Skills vs Tech Skills

Dark Cave

One of the most common things I have heard from business owners about high school students is the lack of soft skills they possess. The technical skills are there and they can learn, but it is difficult to teach the soft skills. The issue is not specific to high school students, but in the tech world, that generalization has been there for many years. The dark caves stories that make up an IT shop exists for a reason, many are like that. If you only know that your help desk ticket goes into a secret cyberspace and eventually someone assists without any human contact, is a giveaway that your IT department is operating under the dark cave model. This model does not promote soft skill expectation or development.

Tech Savvy?

Make no mistake, hard or technical skills are necessary to keep any environment running smoothly for the end users. Problem-solving, project management, coding, and technical writing are all important hard skills that make this possible. Under good leadership, mentoring, and training, these hard skills can be learned by a motivated person. The question becomes can someone be taught the soft skills necessary to balance and provide the best customer support possible to the end user? In January this year, LinkedIn released the "The Skills Companies Need Most in 2018-And The Courses to Get Them". Top four soft skills include leadership, communication, collaboration and time management. According to LinkedIn, 57 percent of leaders say soft skills are more important than hard skills, makes sense in a customer service focused environment. 

Organizational Chart     

We know the dark cave model does not work in today's world, but what organizational structure best works for an IT department to provide the best end-user support with customer support as the ultimate goal? If we are working to shed the stereotype of the dark cave, then our IT team needs to be visible and accessible to the end users. So where do we start with setting the customer service expectations desired?

Job Description
When researching job descriptions recently for technicians that are in the field with our end users I noticed that technical skills are still the priority. It was not until I searched for "customer care representative" that I found the soft skills listed on job descriptions that are needed for any technology department to be successful. If we are going to set an expectation that relationships are the number one priority for our teams, then soft skills should be on the top of any application.

• Positive attitude
• Build and maintain positive relationships with students, staff, and stakeholders
• Go the extra mile to engage end users
• Greet customers warmly 
• Customer orientation and ability to adapt/respond to different types of users
• Resolve end-user issues via an in-person visit, phone, help desk, or email, based on the individual needs of the user

Get Out
It is not a new concept that creating an environment that places end-user support at sites, allows access and relationships to develop between end users and technical services support. Knowing that shoulder to shoulder support is nearby is comforting for those that still feel they are not good with technology and at the same time gives the early adopters a place to bounce ideas and be innovative knowing someone has their back when needed.

Soft skills and relationships are not an option, they are key to a successful customer care environment. Take the time and step out of the dark cave and look around, you may find it is a great place to be!     

The ISTE Blues

Data Overload

Like most of us returning from ISTE, you are probably experiencing the emotional roller coaster ride that accompanies the flight or drive home. The data overload from the content filled sessions, keynotes, poster and playground spaces, and endless conversations can be overwhelming. It is possible to keep the "ISTE's Over Blues" from setting in, but do not put it off for later, jump into your content while it's fresh and take charge! 

From the Middle

It doesn't matter what your role is in your organization, you have just spent four days gathering content that you need to share. Take the lead from the middle approach and decide how you can share what you have learned with your peers, administration, technology staff and any others that could benefit from what you have learned. This could also be an opportunity to use a new medium to share information with a presentation platform, blog site, or creative new app that you experienced at the conference. With the pace at which new technologies and classroom practices evolve, technology, curriculum, and professional development teams will appreciate the benefit of the information you provide. 

Stay in Touch

I have said a number of times that the best place to make connections at ISTE is standing in line waiting to purchase that delightful ice coffee or refreshing bottle of water. I do suggest we change the phrase "standing in line" to the "PLN line", because we ultimately exchange email addresses, Twitter and Instagram handles and district names for future collaboration, with educators from around the globe. Now that you have these new contacts, don't hesitate to reach out and continue the conversations and sharing of ideas that you started while waiting in that PLN line.

The power of social media can assist, so take advantage of the new account you just created in those power sessions and use the #ISTE2016 hashtag to share with your new friends. 

Bring ISTE Home

Coming together with 15,000 like minded educators is something magical that ISTE has

managed to create for many years. What many ISTE members may not be aware of is the ISTE affiliate groups that exist in virtually every state in our country, as wells as international affiliates in Australia, Canada, Europe, India, The Philippines, and the United Kingdom. These affiliate groups are all a bit different and have a variety of benefits and professional development opportunities that happen year around. Joining a local affiliate is another way to continue to grow your PLN, attend events in your state and become involved with advocacy movements that can directly affect your classrooms and students. To find an affiliate in your area, check out the affiliate directory and continue making connections!

Small World

CC BY-SA 3.0

Staying relevant in a world continually growing smaller is not an easy task and each new generation of students brings a fresh mindset that as educators we must be able to connect with. Attending events like ISTE, connecting with others through social media, and remaining outside of the four walls of our classrooms, cubicles and offices, will allow us to continue growing and remain the most important part of the classroom. See you in San Antonio! 

The Big Four

CC0 1.0

Mix IT Up
There was a time when I would focus my discussions with others on how important infrastructure is when planning any type of technology integration project. My opinion on the importance of infrastructure has not changed over the years, however the conversation about the other ingredients that must go into the foundation for integrating technology in our classrooms are not independent of the infrastructure. As relevant as it is to have a robust network backbone and a great Internet connection, that by itself will not give our students the opportunities they need to be successful when they leave the K-12 environment.

Creating the right mix that goes into the foundation for integrating technology in our classrooms is similar to the science of creating the perfect batch of concrete that supports our houses, buildings and roads. The science used to arrive at the finished product is far more complicated than buying a few bags of concrete at your local Home Depot for the backyard swing set. Building a foundation for today's digital learners is as important as the base for the tallest skyscraper, and requires the proper mix of four key ingredients that I believe are critical for our classrooms. Let's take a look at the ingredients in no particular order.

Professional Development
Historically PD is the afterthought when integrating technology in our classrooms and becomes the first reason cited for technology integration failure. The excitement of having support to integrate the devices often allows a structured PD plan to be pushed aside, making it difficult to play catch up. If our foundation is going to hold up, we need our technology and curriculum departments working collaboratively with our site leaders, teachers, students, and parents to craft a PD plan. One way to accomplish a baseline for building a plan across all stakeholder groups is to leverage data. Participating in a survey, such as Project Tomorrow's Speakup Survey, allows educators, students, and parents to have feedback on their current and future technology use in education. The data provides starting points for discussions during the PD planning process and gives voice to all stakeholders involved. 

Digital Citizenship Digital citizenship is not different from the general definition of citizenship other than the medium where that community exists. If we expect our students to be responsible members of the digital community, then we have to collaborate with all stakeholders to create successful learning opportunities, have parental support, lead by example, and include our students in that discussion. A digital citizenship road map is a key ingredient to our foundation and one that will lead to many cracks if ignored. Having the proper resources and embedding digital citizenship within the everyday curriculum will allow teachable moments while not adding another layer and demonstrating real world application. Develop or adopt digital citizenship standards or elements that can be made visible throughout your school district and community. Providing a common digital citizenship language for all students, educators, and parents will help in changing the culture and support behavior in the digital world.

Devices
The million dollar question has long been, which device is the best choice for our classrooms. The simple answer is there is not a "best" choice or one size fits all device that exists, and the reason for that is simple in my opinion. Every classroom, school, and district is a little bit different than the next, the magic is finding the device that works best for you. There are a few ways to gather feedback from stakeholders that may take a bit of time, but will provide valuable feedback before making a commitment.

1. Try and buy. If you are committed to purchasing devices, there will large amounts of budget spent, why not purchase a small number of devices first and distribute those to teachers, students, and technology staff. It is amazing how fast word spreads among teachers and students when they have a new device that allows them to improve what they are doing in the classroom. 
2. Student devices. Once a decision is made, allow your teachers to have access to a device prior to them being implemented in the classroom. Our teachers need to know the device before there are 30 of them in their classroom. 
3. Plan to manage. The technology team needs to understand the devices and be able to craft their plan on how they will manage devices in their network environment. Every device type will have it's own characteristics and the tech team will need to be able to support them in the classroom.

Remember that devices can be the most difficult ingredient in the foundation and cause the biggest cracks if not well thought out. Buy in from all stakeholders is important so that everyone is supportive of the device through its lifespan.

Infrastructure
Watching the discussion relating to infrastructure change with the transition from desktops to mobile devices has been exciting. The good old days of deciding where to locate the 5-8 drops per classroom now revolves around supporting a 1:1 environment and wireless connectivity from the front office to the football field. The challenge becomes where to begin when planning your infrastructure needs and how to build for the future. Taking the time to properly plan, it is much easier than chasing connectivity and bandwidth down the road, here are a few things to think about.

1. Take a field trip. Don't underestimate how much can be learned by visiting other districts, asking questions about their planning process and why they made the decisions that they did. Having prior knoweldge and learning from others before starting your journey is invaluable. 
2. Schools and Libraries Program (E-rate). The e-rate program was established in 1996 to assist schools and libraries with making their telecommunication needs more affordable. The program has gone through a modernization effort and is focused on assisting schools with obtaining affordable access to high-speed broadband and funding internal connections to support the connectivity. Participating in the program can make a difference in the planning process.
3. Use the resources available for baseline data. There are national resources available such as Education Superhighway, who's mission is to bring internet access to every public classroom in our country. They have spent time putting together tool kits to help with the infrastructure planning process. Their resources were put together by working with districts from across our country and provide starting points.
4. Outside assistance. Reaching out and working with experts in the infrastructure field is not a sign of weakness, it's a smart move. Bringing a consultant to the table is not only beneficial for collaborating on designing the appropriate infrastructure but offers large amounts of knowledge transfer throughout the process.

How to Finish

The last stage of pouring concrete is known as finishing and like many aspects of construction is a form of art. A good finisher brings that smooth, consistent look to the end product, that makes the weekend construction warrior so envious of. Finishing can also be considered the last step in tying together the ingredients of a strong foundation. Building an environment for today's digital learners is challenging, strenuous at times, and absolutely rewarding when student and teachers have a great experience integrating technology in the classroom. Remember, it's the ingredients working together that is supporting the foundation of your structure. 

Move Over Flair

Time...

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Probably the most common issue we hear about in life has to do with not having enough time for, and fill in the blank. Often the counter to that statement is we will make time for what is important, which is true to an extent, but doesn't change the fact that in our professional lives we still must prioritize. What has been a struggle for a number of years now from a technology integration perspective, is how we provide solid professional development to our teaching staff that is relevant, timely, and doesn't require the traditional hour before or after school that teachers may not have time for. 

Short Meaningful PD

I like to use the average length of a YouTube video to provoke discussion on just how long someone will stay with you when providing PD. Depending on what day you check, the average length of the top five most popular YouTube videos vary from 2.5 to 4.5 minutes long. When I checked #popularonyoutube when writing this post, the longest video was 5.31 and the shortest was 31 seconds. I would imagine that some may say if the content is good, it doesn't matter how much time it takes to view and to some extent that may be true. However in the hustle and bustle of the K-12 setting, moving at the pace of 140 characters at a time seems to make more sense if we want to reach a larger audience. At AJUSD we have made the conscience effort to change the way we are providing PD to our teaching staff that provides short, meaningful bursts of sharing content while staying as close to the 15 minute window as possible. Bethany Ligon, AJUSD's Technology Integration Specialist, has taken this approach with our collaboration coach tips and tools videos recently and we are monitoring feedback on video length to see what is most effective for our staff. 

Badge Up

Another area that takes time and attention is growing our professional learning networks and sharing what our teachers and administrators are doing on their campus. Social media has obviously been a game changer in this area and blending this with the traditional walking by a classroom and seeing evidence of the great things happening, has led us into the badge game. It is difficult for just one district TIS, to get around to every classroom and see what is happening. With a quick Google Site and Forms, teachers and administrators can apply for a badge, share their artifacts, display their accomplishment, and share with others how they are integrating technology in their classrooms. Bethany summed up nicely what she enjoys most about implementing this program:

The best part for me, is that teachers are able to request training on exactly what they want. It's not a one size fits all professional development setting anymore. But it's me meeting with one teacher or a small team of teachers who want to grow their instructional toolbox in a specific area or with a particular tech tool/app. And because I now have documentation on which teacher is proficient on each tool, I can use them as a resource as needed. Another "best part" for me is the teacher's reaction when I walk into their rooms on a Thursday afternoon to hand them their badge. Yesterday, a teacher literally jumped up and down and clapped her hands because she was so excited and then her little first graders started cheering for her. That totally made my day.

Find A Way
Time doesn't have to be a monster that keeps us from growing and sharing on a professional level. If we look around and see what others are doing, share what we are doing, and be willing to try new things, great things will happen. In the words of Ian Malcolm, life finds a way. 

A Tech Director's Reflection V: Be Happy Now

Part V is going to be a two question wrap up of a Tech Director's Reflection. I have enjoyed sharing these questions with everyone and I hope you have enjoyed answering the same questions yourself.

Satisfaction
When you work in IT, you have to understand that constant change, end user issues, and other variables that you can't always control are part of the gig. If flexibility and understanding are not part of you, then satisfaction on the job is probably going to be hard to come by. Salary in the K-12 setting can also be a challenge for some as it isn't always comparable to a similar industry job. Talking often about other reasons that create personal satisfaction on the job are an important part of a tech director building a strong team.

What is the most important personal satisfactions connected with your position?
Knowing that what we are doing on a daily basis provides our students and teachers with an opportunity to have and provide a relevant education is very rewarding and that makes the stressful situations seem very minor.

What other job(s) does your background qualify you for?
I don’t think there is a specific job(s) that I would name to answer this question. Good leaders develop a style that work in a number of settings because they understand how to build great teams.

A Tech Director's Reflection IV: Leading From The Middle

Everyone Can Lead

I truly believe that everyone can be a leader if they choose to be. Leading up, down and across can be beneficial for an organization if encouraged and there is a way for the communication to happen. The saying is a bit old now, but bringing everyone outside of the four walls of their classrooms and cubicles is still relevant and if we can do that, strong working environments can happen.

How do you promote and encourage the use of new and emerging technology in the classroom and district?
I like to share as much as possible through my social media outlets, write using my blog, and support staff through quality service. More important than that is  providing  a way for the real experts, the classroom teachers, to have a way to collaborate with one another and share what they are doing with emerging technologies and practices. To do this we have a Technology Integration Specialist, Collaboration Coach Leads, and Collaboration Coaches in the district that work to support one another. I do my best to support them with what they need to make that happen. 

A Tech Director's Reflection III: The Journey

cc-by-2.0

Morning Coffee
The great thing about careers is that often we have no idea where our current jobs and experiences will lead us in the future. I understand  that many people may map out a career path from first job to retirement, however I would assume when that plan is reviewed while sipping coffee on the front porch enjoying the morning sunrises of retirement, that there were different roads taken along the way. Reflecting on how you have arrived at your current position is a good reminder of the hard work that you have done over the years and a nice trip down memory lane, give it a try!

Courtesy Jeff Power

What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position?
I feel all my positions in education have lead me to my current position. When I started my career as a classroom teacher, I gained knowledge of what it is like to not only guide students, but what teachers need to be successful in the classroom. As a Technology Integration Coach, I was able to work with adults and develop leadership and collaboration skills and also continue to become familiar with technology on the data center side. These real world experiences prepared me for my current position and everyday is another opportunity for a hands on learning experience for continued improvement.

A Tech Director's Reflection Part II: Why Tech Director?

Morning Commute 
We should all be able to answer in a few sentences why our jobs interest us. I have spoken to a number of people that have to ponder how to answer that question and reply with, "that's a good question." The ride to work everyday should not be dreadful, if you are looking for an excuse to exit the freeway early, it may be time to reflect on why, so you can start enjoying the commute to the office.

Why did this type of position interest you and how did you best prepare for the job?

I enjoy change, moving forward and trying new things regularly. The technology landscape is an ever changing world that continually reshapes itself and that keeps my job fresh and challenging. Preparing for an ever changing set of circumstances takes understanding, patience and the ability to have strong people around you to handle the situations that will arise. I believe I prepared by being in real world situations, working hard, and not being afraid to fail. 

How does your job interest you?