No IT professional wants users of their systems to be ineffective and complaining. This poses a difficulty for IT professionals who move from business in to education. IT professionals will notice differences (some nuanced and some significant) between the needs and expectations of IT users in business and IT in school. With the more complete and more accurate concept the nature of the computing environment necessary for successful schooling, IT professionals will be better prepared to meet those needs. Educators will also from clarifying the nature of their IT needs and how these may be different from those that are familiar to IT professionals who are hired to work in your school.
The preceding paragraph portends a common situation in schools: The IT professionals lack the expertise to makes decisions about what is an appropriate configuration of IT to meet teaching and learning goals, but their decisions can limit what can be done. Educators lack the skill and expertise to properly configure the IT upon which they rely to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. IT in school is further complicated by the fact that schools are under resourced, and they are obligated to comply with laws and regulations, so some actions educators and IT professional want to undertake are found unreasonable. Appropriate, proper, and reason are words that are defined in chapter x where I present an overview of effective decision making in schools. For now, it is enough to recognize that expertise with IT and expertise with education are necessary to keep educational technology functioning the way educators and their students need. “Stay in your lane” is a phrase that is used by leaders when members of their organization are overstepping their role. While I generally find that term to be in poor taste, it does accurately describe the division of labor and responsibility necessary for successful management of IT in schools.