Eric von Hippel (2005), a scholar who studies technological innovations, suggested lead users, those individuals who tend to develop new applications of technology are most productive and contribute the greatest innovation when they are provided with a toolkit that affords: The ability to complete the entire trial and error process- This is particularly important for Read More
Category: Leadership
Planning and Goals
For the last several decades, school planning has focused on first setting goals or defining expected outcomes and then designing and implementing systems to accomplish those goals. In this, educators are following the strategic and logistic planning that has been common for leaders of other organizations. In the 21st century, curriculum standards have become the Read More
#edtech for #edleaders: Technicians
Placing a technician in every school to be the primary source of IT support does improve efficiency of repairs but, coincidently, it increases dependence on that technician, thus efficiency can actually decrease. When teachers and others depend on the technician, they are unlikely to develop their own troubleshooting skills, so rather than resolving a problem Read More
Mintzer’s Typology: Components of Systems
Especially in large and diverse organizations in which the logistic goals are only achieved by individuals who have greater expertise than others in the organizations, the division of labor and responsibility is more marked than it is in other organizations. Efficacious IT management is clearly an example of such a situation, so it is helpful Read More
Rogers’ Stages of Adoption
Everett Rogers’ (2003) influential work on the diffusion of innovations explains much that we see on how new idea and practices spread throughout populations. This excerpt from my book Efficacious Technology Management which was released under a Creative COmmons license about a year ago is one summary I use when talking about this with education Read More
Defining Change
The literature surrounding organizational change often uses the terms “change” and “innovation” interchangeably. When organizations deploy innovations, the leaders and members adopt new tools, follow new procedures, and are driven to meet new purposes. Scholars and practitioners in the field also recognize change can affect different levels within the organization and also the purpose of Read More
#edtech for #edleaders: Freezing
While imaging is a reaction to software changes that have adversely affect the performance of a system, freezing is a strategy that prevents software problems from occurring. A technician installs the application that provides the freezing function and then configures the system exactly as he or she wants it to function. Just like imaging, all Read More
A Planning Cycle for #edtech
ICT systems that are embedded in everyday teaching and learning must be highly functional and have high effort expectancy among educators. These characteristics are not necessarily coincident. For example, systems designed for highly controlled access may be safe from accidental or malicious misconfiguration, thus highly resistant to change and highly functional. Complicated rules for accessing Read More
#edtech for #edleaders: Imaging
This is one of a series of posts that introduce common information technology management activities to educational leaders. In the vocabulary of IT technicians, imaging refers to the process of creating a file that contains the copy of a computer hard drive, then sending that to the hard drives of other computers. This strategy is Read More
#edtech for #edleaders: Edtech Professionals and Customer Service
Regardless of the role or she fills, all IT professionals who work in schools should be expected to demonstrate excellent customer service skills. “Customer service” is not a term commonly associated with education professionals, but they are skills needed for those who are providing technology support. Exactly what is meant by customer service also depends, Read More