Thoughtful Problem #6 background
Congratulations! You are the new Technology Director of a school district that has outsourced all technology support services in the past. You believe that your district needs its own technology department to address technology needs effectively and economically. The most expensive part of your department will be staff. Do a web search to see how other schools staff their technology departments. Find at websites that help you address the topic.
Thoughtful Problem #6 question
In three-to-five paragraphs, describe the jobs, tasks qualifications of the kinds of staff you will need. List no more than three websites you found helpful. (Alternative: you may choose a different aspect of maintenance and support using the same scenario.)
Response
In order to make an educational technology department self sufficient, you need several key positions. Depending on the size of the district, more than one person may hold any single position or one person may hold multiple positions. That being said, here are the critical positions:
Network Technician - The Network Technician is responsible for keeping the district network functional. This staff member should have a good amount of experience working with many different types of infrastructure hardware and should hold some industry certifications, such as Cisco Certified Network Professional. They must know switching and routing, firewalls, and intrusion detection. This position will most likely be you most expensive salary but it will be well worth it when you have a staff member that can diagnose network issues instantly.
Server Technician - The server Technician is responsible for maintaining all district servers. This staff member needs to be familiar with all operating systems in use across the district and should have an industry certification as well such as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or Certified Netware Engineer. They should also be well versed with the hardware in place and may even hold a hardware certificate from specific vendors certifying they know the layout of the equipment. This staff member will most likely also be able to serve as a helping hand for the Network Technician.
Desktop Technician - Desktop Technicians are the grunt workers in an IT department. They are often responsible for hundreds of computers across a widespread area. Certifications for this position are not responsible however, the staff members should have an adequate amount of experience working on desktops. A good knowledge of desktop cloning is also preferred.
Database Technician - This position may not be required in all districts. Most district systems such as Grading, Student Information, Scheduling, etc. all rely on underlying databases. If the district has these products on site, it is important to have this position on staff. If they are all off site, it is less important. This staff member should be familiar with SQL and Oracle databases. They should be able to run queries and extract data when necessary. This person most likely holds a computer science degree.
These four positions will allow most technology departments to be self sufficient. There may still be an occasion where outside help is required however, that should be few and far between.
Websites
http://www.qcsd.org/21301081720118763/site/default.asp
http://www.beth.k12.pa.us/technology/it/staff.html
http://www.methacton.org/688090617141134/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=53352
*Also a good deal of this was taken from the structure I helped setup an Colonial School District
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2 comments:
I enjoyed looking at your technology department structure. Our overall ideas for the composition for the department are very similar and I feel both represent the core of what a school district needs to support a modern technological program. I was especially interested to read you section related to network and server staff. As we progress in the class I am starting to learn more and more about the fact I really know nothing related this positions role in supporting technology. I am astounded by how diverse and knowledgeable they must be to do there job well. If for some reason or another I end up in as a technology director for a school district I will be hiring that position first and thoroughly interviewing for applicants. I also liked that you pointed out that the overall size of the district will dictate if one person will have to step up and take on the responsibilities of multiple positions.
I agree with you that it will be helpful for the network maintenance task if the potential network technician has an industry certification such as Cisco Certified Network Professional. I have seen the Cisco certification textbook series. Those instructional materials explain clearly the network system management from the very basic concepts to the complex troubleshooting practices. But, If a school district uses a different network system instead of the popular Cisco switching and routing equipment, I guess, a Cisco certified network technician will still have to take his time to learn and prepare for the new challenge.
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