Monahan
1. Reflect on your own school and the relationship you have with your administrator(s). Explain your situation and how you work with administration when dealing with technology issues and equipment purchases.
My relationship with my administrators is somewhat dysfunctional. Our school district recently went from a dual platform (mac/pc) to single platform (PC), but the crux of several recent issues have been the iPad. Our district IT is more on the side of 'controlling' the users rather than 'serving' their needs. Any school requests for iDevices have been outright denied because it is seen as circumventing the single platform issue; but also because the devices do not offer the same level of administrative management/control as a pc.
Options for equipment purchases are strictly controlled by the IT department and schools are only given a choice of a small handful of devices (netbook/laptop/desktop), a one size fits all approach. Some schools are circumventing the process by using funds from Parent fundraising to purchase iPad devices that will function independantly of the school's network.
Overall it is creating a fractured and dysfunctional relationship where the needs of the users are less important than the need to control and manage the equipment.
Scott,
I think there is a great deal of caution surrounding varying devices on a network, particularly in schools. Of course this brings up the topic of one to one and BYOD programs. For me the issue that must be addressed is one of privacy created by the policy makers. In many case the iPad works best with Cloud based tools. This being the case public schools that implement the iPads use would not be in compliance with Section 30 of FOIPPA (at least in BC), where student information is not to be stored on servers outside of Canada. This means tools such as Google Docs should not be used unless there is written permission from a students guardian/parent. Of course collecting this written permission for an entire class of 30+ would be difficult.
Does your district have a no cell/smart phone policy as well?
Based on my experiences the 'dysfunction' you speak of will exist due to: 1) financial reasons 2) network issues (need to upgrade so all types of devices can make use of network) 3) misunderstanding or lack of technology knowledge and skills for parents/teachers/admin 4) concern by parents/admin and teachers regarding the safety and privacy for students while working online 5) the rate at which new devices are released to the public - remember when your VCR was good for 10+ years? 6) policies created are not modified or reflect use of current technologies 7) lack of time for Pro-D...least to say with so many considerations when it comes to the implementation of new programs it is a surprise we have technology available in schools at all.
The other issue facing school districts is legal liability. It used to be that tech facilitators at schools took care of installing and uninstalling all the programs and there was no deep freeze on computers. As a result a lot of staff started to upload illegal software which resulted in several lawsuits against the district. In addition viruses started to become a problem. Schools are ultimately responsible for what is on their equipment and it is costly to maintain many different kinds of equipment. I can see them supporting a BYOD policy as the students become responsible for their own devices.
I see this level of control continuing and even becoming stronger in school districts. The problem is that this kind of system prevents innovation which is why I see this tension between Teachers and IT departments continuing.