190: Characterizing Weak Leaders The blogosphere is full of examples of bad leadership. We have all seen the lists of characteristics of those who are bad leaders and we have all experienced them. Some of my favorite examples do not make these lists. “Guess what I am thinking disguised as brainstorming” is one of my Read More
This post is the profile of an “early majority user” (Rogers, 2003). This was a school leader whose work aligned with the characteristics of one at that stage. Our project started with me talking with another curriculum coordinator at one of our regionalmeetings. He was talking about how they were supporting teachers. Teachers were sharing Read More
I recently had a series of conversations with educators about Google. I was anable to point these folks to the specific artcile I read a few years ago in which scholars challenged some of the assumptions we made how Google uses student data. I promised a blog post pointing to it. Here it is! In Read More
One of my LinkedIn connections liked a post recently. The post can be summarized as “community colleges don’t have a strategy problem; they have an execution problem.” The author details how many of the goals that have been integrated into community college plans in the last decade or so have not resulted in the expected Read More
174: Contingencies and Technology Planning The decisions that past technology teams made and the hardware, software, and network infrastructure they installed affect the decisions that can be made in the future. Especially in schools, the IT system tends to be a kluge; new features and functions were added piecemeal, and each was made to operate with extant systems. In many cases those integrations depended on custom programming and configurations. School budgets rarely allow for wholesale replacement of technology. The total cost of Read More
175: School Leaders & Technology In most aspects of school function, school leaders have experience and preparation. A leader probably started their career as a faculty member, then studied school administration and progressed through positions that gave them more experience and in which they gained increasing knowledge of school operations. Most school leaders freely admit they are not “technology Read More
169: Key Performance Indicators and School IT | RSS.com Key performance indicators (KPIs) are measurable values that help organizations track and assess their progress toward achieving specific business objectives. They provide a framework and structure for monitoring performance, making informed decisions, and driving improvements. Information technology leaders who work in schools are well-served to have key performance indicators identified. These are goals that are specific Read More
180: On Multiple Working Hypotheses When I was an undergraduate student studying biology, a botany professor shared with us an article from Science magazine published in 1890. The paper was presented to the Society of Western Naturalists by its president T. C. Chamberlin. It was very influential to me in 1985, but during a move Read More
161: A Story About School IT Leaders I once coached a technology coordinator who was fond of saying, “I built what they asked for, it they asked for the wrong thing, that is not my problem.” He used it whenever the educators decided the system they wanted wasn’t exactly what they wanted and they asked him to Read More
163: Comfort Zone Technology | RSS.com One of the challenges of being a school technology leader (and probably in other fields as well, but my area of greatest expertise is in education) is what I (and probably others) call “Comfort Zone Technology.” Here is the general situation: A new leader is hired into whatever is Read More