Finding Tech Help

In the most recent issue of PCWorld, I stumbled upon a column giving business leaders advice on finding good tech support. As I read it, I thought how appropriate the advice is for school leaders as well. (It is also unfortunate that we sometimes need to take this advice when dealing with those who provide tech support in our own buildings!)

The main points of that column that seem of particular importance for education leaders:

1) Look for tech support that focuses on the goals and activities in your building, not just on technology. Surely, there are differences between how we configure servers that must handle a large number of connections in a brief time (think of the connections established in the first few minute or two of a class period!) or a printer that must handle a large number of print jobs in a the last few minutes of class and the server in business that handle a large number of users, but in much different use patterns in business.

Consider also the unpredictable nature of educators' (and students') access needs. We need to be able to connect from many different places and have access to constantly changing information. In business, most users need access to the same resources every day. These are important differences that affect how educators design and maintain our information systems.

2) Make sure the scale of the technology is appropriate for your needs and your budget. Consider wireless Internet access. If your school does not have this yet, there are many ways it can be installed in your school. Managed wireless throughout your school may costs tens of thousands of dollars to install and ongoing maintenance fees (maybe thousands of dollars per year). A wireless access point can plugged into and existing Ethernet network and be configured in a matter of minutes for a couple of hundred dollars (a one-time fee). Of course, the capabilities of these two systems are much different. School leaders must understand the differences and make reasonable decisions.

3) Beware of buzz words and sales people. I am always happy to see school leaders at technology conferences, but I am worried when I see school leaders at technology conferences. What worries me most is when I see school leaders wandering through the vendors at technology conferences.

I understand technology is not within the area of expertise of many school leaders. I understand it changes too fast for many adult minds to understand (this is not in any way denigrating school leaders, it is a statement supported by much recent research). School leaders must look at this state of affairs, and find trusted and reasonable translators: someone who can communicate technology terms and products into education-friendly terms and someone who can translate educational needs into technology terms.