District Administration - March 2012 - (Page 45)

Ed Tech Dream Team Building an By Ron Schachter If you could put together a staff to make the most of educational technology in your district, what would it look like? A t almost every turn over the past decade—from innovative instructional technologies to advanced database management—administrators and teachers have discovered a brave new world in education. But a host of experts in educational technology say that for all the progress in districts so far, that world is becoming markedly braver and newer—and in a hurry. Even technology basics have made a quantum leap, observes Don Knezek, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). “We used to think of bandwidth that supported 75 percent of the users in the district,” he points out. “Now we need bandwidth for two-and-a-half times the number of those people. Kids need laptop access and may also need tablet and mobile phone access.” Justin Bathon, co-director and cofounder of the year-old Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, adds that technology-based initiatives once deemed futuristic are becoming commonplace in today’s classroom. “Tere’s increasing pressure to deal with technology in new ways, from online www.DistrictAdministration.com Te Mooresville (N.C.) Graded School District dream team solves problems. Te team includes: Clockwise from top left: Robert Lane, WAN manager; Robert Rhyne, technology technician I; Frank Mukina, technology technician III; Chief Technology Officer Scott Smith; Jeff Martin, technology technician I; Kim Cline, accounts manager; and Michael Hiskey, LAN engineer. schooling to the growth in one-to-one computing to project-based learning,” he says. “All of these new learning models are made possible by the underlying technology structure.” Bathon adds that these new models demand a different approach than many education technology departments have taken in the past. “Te Internet is the greatest learning tool in the history of mankind, and we’re just at the beginning of what we can do with that platform,” he explains. “But you can’t use the same ed tech crew that you had 10 years ago, when the Internet was in its infancy. Ten the district technology coordinator purchased and maintained the computers, and put some new technologies in the classroom. Te district technology team has to recognize that’s not the job anymore.” Douglas Levin, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) in Washington, D.C., agrees that today’s ed tech teams have to master new skill sets. March 2012 45 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2012

District Administration - March 2012
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Research Center
CIO News
Building an Ed Tech Dream Team
Are you Ready for Common Core Math?
A Crystal Ball for Student Achievement
The Single Largest Education Donor Comes With Controversy
Models of Education Reform
Noteworthy Books
New Products
Going Mobile
Professional Opinion

District Administration - March 2012