Essential Skills of School District Technology Leaders

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders
David Thornburg Director, Global
Operations Thornburg Center
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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders
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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• As of 2003
• Cell phones outnumber wired phones
• Digital cameras outsell film cameras
• Teens spend more time on Web than watching TV
• 78 US teens access Internet from home
• Young people expect access wherever they are

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Todays Presenters
• Nancy Markle, President, Society for Information
  Management (SIM)
• Ed Zaiontz, Executive Director, Information
  Services, Round Rock ISD, TX
• Jim Hirsch, Associate Superintendent for
  Technology, Plano Independent School District, TX

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Nancy Markle
• President,
• Society for Information Management (SIM)
• International

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SIM is
a professional society of senior IT leaders.
the premier network for IT leadership.
a provider of resources and programs
inspired by IT leaders for IT leaders. a
community of thought leaders who share
experiences and rich intellectual capital. an
organization that enables CIO's to further
develop the leadership capabilities of themselves
and their staff. a collective voice to advocate
policy and legislation on behalf of the IT
profession across industries.
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SIM Annual Member Survey Sept. 03

• Key IT Management Concerns
• IT and Business Alignment
• IT Strategic Planning
• Security Privacy
• Attracting, Developing Retaining IT
  Professionals
• Measuring the Value of IT Investments

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Business and K-12 Comparison

• Key Issues from SIM Survey
• IT Understands the Firms Business Environment
• Close Partnership Between IT Business
• Senior Executive Support for IT
• IT Plans Linked to Business Plans
• IT Demonstrates Strong Leadership
• Alignment Between Admin and Business Technology

Legend

• Business is ahead of K-12
• Business is behind K-12

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What Will Help?

• State Actions
• Determine Strategy and Direction
• Educational value
• Technology support requirements
• Reduce Complexity, Inter Intra-state
• Consistency in reporting
• Consistency in definitions and data
• Fund Teacher/Staff Tech Education
• Bring the Teacher/Staff Technology Savvy current
  with the students, at least
• Centralize Technology, where feasible

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Support for Development of Online Education All
Households
Governors Task Force on Virtual Education
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What Will Help?

• Technology Organization
• Leverage what others are doing
• Use existing open source software
• Share with colleagues, like CoSN
• Give one-one Training to Teachers
• Develop Creative Funding Sources
• Leverage the students
• Leverage business and non-profits

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Understanding the lay of the land,
• Building a great team and
• Having an impact.1
• Being a Colleague, to Peers and Partners
• Continuous Learning and Sharing

1 Charlie Feld, CIO Magazine Dec 15, pp 32-34.
Sarasota Herald Tribune Feb 28, 2004 MIT tackles
hot topic
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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Ed Zaiontz
• Executive Director
• Information Services
• Round Rock ISD, TX

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO
• Leadership and Vision
• Works closely with executive team and
  stakeholders to create a vision for how
  technology will support the districts strategic
  goals.
• Planning and Budgeting
• Works with the instructional and technical teams
  to identify the steps needed to meet strategic
  goals and a budget that takes into account the
  total cost of implementing technology solutions.

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO
• Team Building and Staffing
• Creates and supports cross-functional teams for
  decision-making, technology support, professional
  development, and other aspects of the districts
  technology program.
• Systems Management
• Directs, coordinates, and ensures the
  implementation of all tasks related to technical
  and infrastructure, standards, purchasing
  decisions, and the integration of technology into
  every facet of operations within the district.

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO
• Information Management
• Oversees the establishment and maintenance of
  systems and tools for gathering, mining,
  integrating, and reporting data in usable and
  meaningful ways.
• Business Leadership
• Serves as a strong business leader who guides
  purchasing decisions, assists in determining the
  return on investment for all technology
  implementations, and fosters good relationships
  with vendors, potential funders, and other key
  groups.

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO
• Education and Training
• Budgets, plans for and coordinates on-going,
  purposeful professional development for all staff
  using new technologies.
• Ethics and Policies
• Oversees the creation, implementation and
  enforcement of policies and educational programs
  related to the social, legal and ethical issues
  involved in technology use throughout the
  district.

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO
• Communication Systems
• Directs and coordinates the use of e-mail,
  district web sites, voicemail systems, and other
  forms of communication technology to facilitate
  decision-making and enhance effective
  communication with the community and other key
  stakeholders.

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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders
CoSN Compendium The Compendium is a series of
eight monographs focusing on key educational
technology issues. Article topics include
scientifically-based research, accountability and
assessment and safeguarding cyberage
students. Copies can be purchased for 39.95
(members) / 59.95 (non-members) Individual
printed monographs can be purchased for 7.00
(members) / 10.00 (non-members) CoSN members
have free online access to the Compendium others
can read a sample monograph on wireless computing
at cosn.org/initiatives/compendium/3.pdf
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Essential Skills of School District Technology
Leaders

• Opening Questions
• Is there any validity to the preconception that
  the IT needs of schools are fundamentally
  different from business?
• How do we plan for the anywhere/anytime access
  expectations of learners?
• What major challenges face the education IT
  community in light of the NCLB legislation?