[Year 12 IT Apps] RE: Google docs issue

Mon Dec 8 16:31:04 EST 2008

>However in schools this was not always the case - individual teachers and other staff seemed to believe that their individual views represented that of the entire school, and IT staff were pulled in all directions, often contradictory, After unblocking one website for one staff member, they'd get another complaining that their kids could now waste time on that same website. After installing some piece of software based on one request, theyd have someone else asking him why staff were being confused with multiple offerings. You can probably see his dilemma.

>His view that he was paid by the school to meet the school's needs - but the school's needs were not always clearly defined

>He commented that in some schools the IT support people ended up taking the lead because there seemed to be nobody else willing to manage a process that reached a school-level view on priority and strategy. He thought this was a dangerous situation. 

Ken, has your IT technical manager been speaking to our IT technical manager? One of the biggest frustrations our guy has is that he feels he is there to serve the needs of the school community, but that the said community doesn't seem to have a clue where it wants to go with all this IT staff. And that is a curriculum issue, not an IT issue.

It sounds to me like Royce is taking a tough but perfectly understandable line on all this. Not wishing to put words into his mouth, but something like "show me the evidence that this will improve student learning, get the school to agree with you, and then come see me with your proposal"

Regards
Robert T-A
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: ken price 
  To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List 
  Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 10:05 AM
  Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] RE: Google docs issue

  I agree, the analysis of how IT meets organisational needs is valid as it is part of the course.

  I'll tell a short tale of  a very skilled IT technical manager at a school where I taught. He had spent several years working for large national organisations as IT manager. He was (and still is) very keen to make IT work for the school in the best possible way. He is a very valuable school IT manager.

  After a few months working at the school he made an interesting observation about schools vs his past employer which might be relevant here.

  He noticed that in the large organisations, there was strong governance over ICT decisions and investment. Decisions were made/endorsed by senior management based on needs and suggestions put forward by all staff (including IT support). It was thus very clear what the organisation wanted in terms of ICT. However in schools this was not always the case - individual teachers and other staff seemed to believe that their individual views represented that of the entire school, and IT staff were pulled in all directions, often contradictory, After unblocking one website for one staff member, they'd get another complaining that their kids could now waste time on that same website. After installing some piece of software based on one request, theyd have someone else asking him why staff were being confused with multiple offerings. You can probably see his dilemma.

  His view that he was paid by the school to meet the school's needs - but the school's needs were not always clearly defined. He felt that if staff in most large organisations directly approached their IT support unit demanding their own way, they'd be referred very quickly to the IT decision-making committee. If they did it more than once, things would get serious for them. Similarly, he saw that if his IT support staff ignored the priorities set by the organisation and did whatever they thought was a good idea or interesting, their job would be in jeopardy.

  He commented that in some schools the IT support people ended up taking the lead because there seemed to be nobody else willing to manage a process that reached a school-level view on priority and strategy. He thought this was a dangerous situation. It relates directly to Anne's quote from the Unit3 syllabus.

  So perhaps there is another issue here - the nature of schools and how they reach decisions on how they want to use IT,innovate, etc, and how these decisions are informed by educational and technical issues?

  The IT manager was unsure if schools are inherently different to other large organisations, or if there is something else here. I haven't spoken to him for some time, so I'll get in touch and see what his views are now,

  Perhaps we can get some examples of how schools manage this school-level decision making and how it translates into the work that "techies" do?  Perhaps they would be useful as case studies for students?

  Ken Price 
  DoE Tasmania
  President, TASITE www.tasite.edu.au

  On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 8:10 AM, <murch at tpg.com.au> wrote:

    This discussion may have gone on long enough but I would like to argue that it is not inappropriate to
    this list or OT as it embraces the very nature of the ITA course. >From the summary of the VCAA course
    design.
    "Unit 3 focuses on how individuals or organisations use ICT to solve information problems. This unit
    focuses on how ICT is used by organisations to solve ongoing information problems and in the
    strategies to protect the integrity of data and security of information."
    I think that this is a realistic problem that teachers and technicians on the list are looking at and are
    discussing. It is one that will be used for my students next year as they will see the relevance of such a
    problem as it pertains to their education. It has been interesting to hear the opinions of the various
    people involved in organisations - technicians, educationalists etc And best of all, here is a virtual team
    in action trying to solve the problem.
    So thank you to everyone, and I in no way meant to be an egotistical contributor, simply someone
    seeking a solution.

    Anne Mirtschin
    Hawkesdale P12 College
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